James Best, Dukes of Hazzard actor, dies aged 88

American actor who played Sheriff Rosco P Coltrane in TV show from 1979-85 has died from complications of pneumonia

James Best, a prolific character actor known for his role as Sheriff Rosco P Coltrane in TV show The Dukes of Hazzard, has died aged 88.

His wife of 29 years, Dorothy Best, said he died on Monday night in a hospice from complications of pneumonia.

Best starred in the series that ran from 1979 to 1985 on CBS. He played the lawman futilely chasing the Duke boys, often in the company of his droopy-faced basset hound Flash. Best employed a battery of catchphrases in the role, as well as a memorable, comically villainous laugh.

During a wide-ranging career spanning several decades, he also acted in films including The Cain Mutiny and Rolling Thunder, and in TV shows including Gunsmoke and The Andy Griffith Show.

“I was fortunate enough to call him my friend since the day he walked on the set of Gunsmoke back in the early 60s,” actor Burt Reynolds said in a statement. “Onset or off, behind the scenes, in front of a class or just as a friend, his name was so fitting because he was truly the best at whatever he did. My heart is heavy, and I miss him deeply.”

Best was an acting teacher who helped several future Hollywood stars learn how to act more naturally on camera.

“I learned more about acting in front of a camera from Jimmie Best in an afternoon than from anyone else in a year,” said Dukes of Hazzard co-star John Schneider, who played Bo Duke. “When asked to cry on camera, he would say, ‘Sure thing – which eye?’ I’m forever thankful to have cut my teeth in the company of such a fine man.”

Best was the youngest of eight siblings born in the western Kentucky community of Powderly. After his mother died when he was a toddler, Best was adopted and raised in Indiana. According to his website he served in the US army in the second world war and began as an actor in a military theatre company.