James Best The Andy Griffith Show Autographed Photo #3

James Best (born July 26, 1926, Powderly, Kentucky) is an American actor best known for his role as bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in the television series The Dukes of Hazzard.

Best was born as Jules Guy in Powderly in Muhlenberg County in western Kentucky.His mother was an Everly, sister to Ike Everly, the father of the famous pop group the "Everly Brothers." After his mother died in 1929, the three-year-old was sent to live in an orphanage. He was later adopted by Armen and Essa Best and went to live with them in Corydon, Indiana. He began his acting career with an uncredited role in the 1950 western One Way Street.

Best would portray a wide variety of characters in a wide spectrum of film genres. Some of his more notable roles include Jason Brown in the 1955 historical drama Seven Angry Men, Kit Caswell in the 1958 western Cole Younger, Gunfighter, Private Rhidges in the 1958 film adaptation of Norman Mailer's The Naked and the Dead, the vicious outlaw Billy John in 1959's Ride Lonesome, Dr. Ben Mizer in the 1966 comedy Three on a Couch, the cross dressing Dewey Barksdale in the 1976 drama Ode to Billy Joe, and the gunman Drew in 1968's Firecreek, with James Stewart and Henry Fonda.

He has also appeared more than 280 times in numerous televisions shows including Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Have Gun – Will Travel, Tombstone Territory (episode "Guilt of a Town"), The Twilight Zone, Overland Trail, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Man and the Challenge, Combat, The Mod Squad, The Andy Griffith Show, I Spy, Perry Mason, The Incredible Hulk, The Fugitive, Stagecoach West, and In the Heat of the Night. Fans of The Andy Griffith Show will remember Best for his portrayal of the young guitar player Jim Lindsey in two episodes.

The Dukes of Hazzard role was Best's most visible success. He later revealed that the caricature-like persona of Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane was developed from a voice he used when he would play with his young children. In contrast to the comic Coltrane of "Dukes of Hazzard" in a"Heat of the Night episode" he played a repentant killer who has to come to terms with his crime.

After Dukes, Best continued to act. He later moved to Florida and taught at the University of Central Florida. Now semi-retired, Best runs a production company and takes occasional acting roles. He has also earned a name for himself as an artist and painter. James Best is currently a resident of Hickory, North Carolina.

A highly respected acting coach, he taught drama and acting techniques for over 25 years in Los Angeles. His acting school listed some of the top names in Hollywood as pupils. He also served as artist-in-residence and taught drama at the University of Mississippi for two years prior to his stint on The Dukes of Hazzard.

Family

He has two daughters, Janeen and Jojami, and a son named Gary. He is also the father-in-law of actor-singer Michael Damian.