JB
James Best
Actor, Director, Producer, Writer, Additional Credits
Born July 26, 1926Died April 6, 2015 (88 years)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
James Best (born Jewel Franklin Guy; July 26, 1926 – April 6, 2015) was an American television, film, character, voice, and stage actor, as well as a writer, director, acting coach, artist, college professor, and musician, whose career spanned seven decades of television. He appeared as a guest on various country music and talk shows.
One of the busiest actors in Hollywood, who began his contract career with Universal Studios in 1949, where he met unfamiliar actors Julie Adams, Piper Laurie, Tony Curtis and Rock Hudson. Best's long career began in films in 1950. He appeared primarily in Westerns, playing opposite Audie Murphy in Kansas Raiders (1950), The Cimarron Kid (1952) and The Quick Gun (1964), Raymond Massey in Seven Angry Men (1955), George Montgomery in Last of the Badman (1957), Frank Lovejoy in Cole Younger Gunfighter (1958), and Randolph Scott in Ride Lonesome (1959). He also starred in the science fiction cult movie, The Killer Shrews (1959) and its sequel, Return of the Killer Shrews (2012). He is most known for playing bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in the action/comedy Dukes of Hazzard, a role that he revised in The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion! (1997) as his character was now "boss" of Hazzard County as well as sheriff, and again in The Dukes of Hazzard: Hazzard in Hollywood (2000).
James Best (born Jewel Franklin Guy; July 26, 1926 – April 6, 2015) was an American television, film, character, voice, and stage actor, as well as a writer, director, acting coach, artist, college professor, and musician, whose career spanned seven decades of television. He appeared as a guest on various country music and talk shows.
One of the busiest actors in Hollywood, who began his contract career with Universal Studios in 1949, where he met unfamiliar actors Julie Adams, Piper Laurie, Tony Curtis and Rock Hudson. Best's long career began in films in 1950. He appeared primarily in Westerns, playing opposite Audie Murphy in Kansas Raiders (1950), The Cimarron Kid (1952) and The Quick Gun (1964), Raymond Massey in Seven Angry Men (1955), George Montgomery in Last of the Badman (1957), Frank Lovejoy in Cole Younger Gunfighter (1958), and Randolph Scott in Ride Lonesome (1959). He also starred in the science fiction cult movie, The Killer Shrews (1959) and its sequel, Return of the Killer Shrews (2012). He is most known for playing bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in the action/comedy Dukes of Hazzard, a role that he revised in The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion! (1997) as his character was now "boss" of Hazzard County as well as sheriff, and again in The Dukes of Hazzard: Hazzard in Hollywood (2000).
Movies & Shows on Plex
Known For
Filmography
| 2013 | |
| 2013 | The Sweeter Side of Life · as Paddy Kerrigan |
| 2012 | Return of the Killer Shrews · as Thorne Sherman |
| 2007 | Moondance Alexander · as Mcclancy |
| 2006 | Hot Tamale · as Hank Larson |
| 2004 | The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made · as Thorne Sherman (archive Footage) |
| 2002 | The Men Who Made the Movies: Samuel Fuller · as Sgt. David Brent (archive Footage) (uncredited) |
| 2000 | The Dukes of Hazzard: Hazzard in Hollywood · as Rosco P. Coltrane |
| 1998 | Death Mask · as Wilbur Johnson |
| 1997 | The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion! · as Boss / Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane |
| 1996 | E! True Hollywood Story (TV Series) |
| 1992 | Gunfighters of the Old West · as Folliard |
| 1989 | B.L. Stryker (TV Series) |
| 1988 | In the Heat of the Night (TV Series) |
| 1983 | The Dukes (TV Series) · as Rosco Coltrane (voice) |
| 1980 | Enos (TV Series) |
| 1979 | The Dukes of Hazzard (TV Series) · as Rosco P. Coltrane |
| 1978 | Centennial (TV Series) |
| 1978 | Hooper · as Cully |
| 1978 | The End · as Pacemaker Patient |
| 1977 | Rolling Thunder · as Texan |
| 1977 | Quinn Martin's Tales of the Unexpected (TV Series) · as Anne's Father |
| 1976 | Nickelodeon · as Jim |
| 1976 | The Savage Bees · as Pellegrino |
| 1976 | Gator · as Cast |
| 1976 | Ode to Billy Joe · as Dewey Barksdale |
| 1976 | How the West Was Won (TV Series) · as Sheriff Gruner |
| 1975 | The Runaway Barge · as Bingo Washington |
| 1974 | Savages · as Sheriff Bert Hamilton |
| 1974 | Manhunter (TV Series) |
| 1973 | Hawkins (TV Series) · as Sheriff John Early |
| 1972 | |
| 1972 | The Brain Machine · as Rev. Emory Neill |
| 1970 | Run, Simon, Run · as Henry Burroughs |
| 1970 | Dan August (TV Series) · as Wiley |
| 1970 | West Texas · as Wilbur |
| 1968 | The Mod Squad (TV Series) |
| 1968 | Lancer (TV Series) |
| 1968 | Firecreek · as Drew |
| 1967 | The Guns of Will Sonnett (TV Series) |
| 1967 | First to Fight · as Sergeant Carnavan |
| 1966 | The Felony Squad (TV Series) |
| 1966 | The Iron Horse (TV Series) · as Chico Trent |
| 1966 | The Green Hornet (TV Series) · as Yale Barton |
| 1966 | Hawk (TV Series) |
| 1966 | Three on a Couch · as Dr. Ben Mizer |
| 1965 | Honey West (TV Series) · as Vince Zale |
| 1965 | I Spy (TV Series) · as Sam |
| 1965 | Shenandoah · as Carter, Rebel Soldier |
| 1965 | Black Spurs · as Ralph Elkins |
| 1964 | Daniel Boone (TV Series) · as Jethro Wyatt |
| 1964 | Flipper (TV Series) |
| 1964 | The Quick Gun · as Scotty Wade |
| 1964 | Destry (TV Series) · as Curly Beamer |
| 1963 | Shock Corridor · as Stuart |
| 1963 | Burke's Law (TV Series) · as Tucson, 'the Cowboy' |
| 1963 | Temple Houston (TV Series) · as Gotch |
| 1963 | The Fugitive (TV Series) · as Dan Murray |
| 1962 | The Gallant Men (TV Series) |
| 1962 | Combat! (TV Series) · as Trenton |
| 1962 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (TV Series) · as Tom Carmody |
| 1962 | The Virginian (TV Series) · as Curt Westley |
| 1962 | Black Gold · as Jericho Larkin |
| 1961 | Ben Casey (TV Series) |
| 1961 | Whispering Smith (TV Series) |
| 1960 | Stagecoach West (TV Series) |
| 1960 | The Andy Griffith Show (TV Series) · as Jim Lindsey |
| 1960 | SurfSide 6 (TV Series) |
| 1960 | Michael Shayne (TV Series) |
| 1960 | The Barbara Stanwyck Show (TV Series) · as Joe |
| 1960 | The Mountain Road · as Niergaard |
| 1960 | Overland Trail (TV Series) |
| 1959 | Pony Express (TV Series) · as Bart Gentry |
| 1959 | Hawaiian Eye (TV Series) |
| 1959 | Ford Startime (TV Series) |
| 1959 | |
| 1959 | The Twilight Zone (TV Series) · as Billy-Ben Turner |
| 1959 | Men into Space (TV Series) |
| 1959 | Lock-Up (TV Series) |
| 1959 | The June Allyson Show (TV Series) · as Jovan Wilanskov |
| 1959 | Laramie (TV Series) |
| 1959 | The Man and the Challenge (TV Series) |
| 1959 | |
| 1959 | Cast a Long Shadow · as Sam Mullen |
| 1959 | The Killer Shrews · as Thorne Sherman |
| 1959 | Markham (TV Series) · as Don Lennard |
| 1959 | David Niven Show (TV Series) · as Boland |
| 1959 | Verboten! · as Sgt. David Brent |
| 1959 | Ride Lonesome · as Billy John |
| 1959 | Black Saddle (TV Series) · as Ben Travers |
| 1959 | Rawhide (TV Series) · as Brock Quade |
| 1958 | The Naked and the Dead · as Rhidges |
| 1958 | 77 Sunset Strip (TV Series) |
| 1958 | Bat Masterson (TV Series) · as Danny Dakota |
| 1958 | The Rifleman (TV Series) |
| 1958 | The Texan (TV Series) |
| 1958 | Bronco (TV Series) |
| 1958 | Rescue 8 (TV Series) · as Chad Curran |
| 1958 | Wanted: Dead or Alive (TV Series) · as Luke Perry |
| 1958 | The Left Handed Gun · as Tom Folliard |
| 1958 | Cole Younger, Gunfighter · as Kit Caswell |
| 1957 | Man on the Prowl · as Doug Gerhardt |
| 1957 | Tombstone Territory (TV Series) |
| 1957 | Trackdown (TV Series) |
| 1957 | The Restless Gun (TV Series) · as Jim Kenyon |
| 1957 | Perry Mason (TV Series) · as Martin Potter |
| 1957 | Wagon Train (TV Series) · as Art Bernard |
| 1957 | Have Gun, Will Travel (TV Series) |
| 1957 | I Was a Teenage Werewolf · as Kid At Party Who Gets Slapped |
| 1957 | Hot Summer Night · as Kermit |
| 1957 | |
| 1957 | Last of the Badmen · as Ted Hamilton |
| 1956 | Richard Diamond, Private Detective (TV Series) · as Jack Milhoan |
| 1956 | The Rack · as Millard Chilson Cassidy |
| 1956 | Gaby · as Jim |
| 1956 | West Point (TV Series) |
| 1956 | Zane Grey Theater (TV Series) · as Pyke Dillon |
| 1956 | Calling Homicide · as Det. Arnie Arnhoff |
| 1956 | The Sheriff of Cochise (TV Series) · as Mike Norris |
| 1956 | Forbidden Planet · as Crewman (uncredited) |
| 1956 | Telephone Time (TV Series) · as American Soldier |
| 1956 | When Gangland Strikes · as Jerry Ames |
| 1956 | Come Next Spring · as Bill Jackson |
| 1955 | Crossroads (1955) (TV Series) · as Pierre |
| 1955 | The People's Choice (TV Series) · as Mr. Hunnicut |
| 1955 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents (TV Series) · as Hennessy |
| 1955 | Frontier (TV Series) |
| 1955 | The Adventures of Champion (TV Series) · as Mace Kincaid |
| 1955 | |
| 1955 | Gunsmoke (TV Series) · as Beal |
| 1955 | The Eternal Sea · as Student |
| 1955 | Top of the World · as Col. French's Orderly (uncredited) |
| 1955 | A Man Called Peter · as Man With Jane At Youth Rally |
| 1955 | Seven Angry Men · as Jason Brown |
| 1955 | Buffalo Bill Jr. (TV Series) |
| 1955 | The Millionaire (TV Series) · as Fred Morgan |
| 1954 | They Rode West · as Lt. Finlay (uncredited) |
| 1954 | Climax! (TV Series) · as Shag |
| 1954 | The Lineup (TV Series) |
| 1954 | The Raid · as Lt. Robinson |
| 1954 | Return from the Sea · as Barr |
| 1954 | The Caine Mutiny · as Lt. Jg Jorgensen |
| 1954 | The Yellow Tomahawk · as Private Bliss |
| 1954 | Stories of the Century (TV Series) |
| 1954 | Riders to the Stars · as Dr. Sidney K. Fuller |
| 1954 | Annie Oakley (TV Series) · as Jess Dugan |
| 1953 | Seminole · as Corp. Gerad |
| 1953 | City of Bad Men · as Deputy Gig (uncredited) |
| 1953 | Column South · as Primrose |
| 1953 | The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms · as Charlie - Radar Man |
| 1953 | The President's Lady · as Samuel Donelson |
| 1953 | General Electric Theater (TV Series) · as Hardy Coulter |
| 1952 | Flat Top · as Radio Operator |
| 1952 | Cavalcade of America (TV Series) · as Slate Morley |
| 1952 | Hopalong Cassidy (TV Series) |
| 1952 | Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair · as Marvin Johnson |
| 1952 | Francis Goes to West Point · as Cpl. Ransom |
| 1952 | The Battle at Apache Pass · as Cpl. Hassett |
| 1952 | Steel Town · as Joe Rakich |
| 1952 | Death Valley Days (TV Series) · as Jim Campbell |
| 1952 | The Cimarron Kid · as Bitter Creek Dalton |
| 1951 | Hallmark Hall Of Fame (TV Series) |
| 1951 | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars (TV Series) |
| 1951 | The Adventures of Kit Carson (TV Series) |
| 1951 | Air Cadet · as Jerry Connell |
| 1951 | Apache Drums · as Bert Keon |
| 1951 | Target Unknown · as Sgt. Ralph Phelps |
| 1950 | Kansas Raiders · as Cole Younger |
| 1950 | The Lux Video Theatre (TV Series) · as Clem Wallace |
| 1950 | The Gene Autry Show (TV Series) |
| 1950 | Peggy · as Frank Addison |
| 1950 | Winchester '73 · as Crater |
| 1950 | |
| 1950 | Comanche Territory · as Sam |
| 1950 | One Way Street · as Driver (uncredited) |
| 1949 | The Lone Ranger (TV Series) · as Jim Blake |
| 1949 | Fireside Theatre (TV Series) · as Cast |