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Veteran character actor James Best played good and bad guys in 83 movies and 600 television shows.
His resume is sprinkled with notable titles such as "The Caine Mutiny" with Humphrey Bogart, "Shenandoah" with Jimmy Stewart, "Firecreek" with Henry Fonda,"Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and "The Andy Griffith Show."
But the role that made him a household name came later in his career: Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in the hit TV series "The Dukes of Hazzard."
Best created an over-the-top character that caught on worldwide.
"I acted the part as good as I could," said Best, 83, who lives in the Bethlehem community near Hickory. "Rosco, let's face it, was a charmer. It was a fun thing."
Best and his wife, Dorothy, moved to Alexander County from the Orlando area three years ago. At their home on Lake Hickory, he fishes, paints and has written a new book about his career as an actor, writer, producer and director: "Best in Hollywood: The Good, The Bad and the Beautiful."
Janey Deal, genealogy librarian at the Hickory Public Library, hopes Best will do a book signing.
"Why, people would come from everywhere," she said. "I remember in the movies he (Best) was the bad guy, but he was much better, to me, in comedy. Nobody could play Rosco P. Coltrane like he did. He was made for that role."
"The Dukes of Hazzard" ended in 1985 after a seven-year run, but it still looms large in Best's life. He dresses up in Rosco's uniform for 20 to 30 personal appearances around the country every year. At these events, he gets sworn in as an honorary sheriff by the local sheriff's department, and fans line up for autographs.
The new book, co-written with Nashville author Jim Clark, is a project that started three years ago with a series of interviews.
"Jim's a great storyteller. I wanted the book to sound like you were sitting in the living room listening to him tell stories," said Dorothy Best. "I felt that was accomplished."
Contract player
Born in Kentucky and orphaned at age 4, Best was reared in Indiana. His first professional stage experience came with the Army after World War II, touring Europe in a show directed by Arthur Penn.
Penn later directed such movies as "Bonnie and Clyde," "Little Big Man" and "Left Handed Gun" with Paul Newman - a film in which Best had a small role.
As a contract player at Universal Studios, Best played bit parts - "I mostly played mean guys" - in whatever came his way, from westerns with Audie Murphy and Charlotte native Randolph Scott to "Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair" and "Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man."
On television, Best had featured roles in two episodes of "The Andy Griffith Show" and appeared in "The Jar," a haunting episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents."
Teaching other actors
Best's academic credentials include teaching motion picture technique and drama at the University of Mississippi, where he was artist-in-residence and teaching at the University of Central Florida.
For 25 years, Best taught an acting technique class in Hollywood and worked with such celebrities as Gary Busey, Clint Eastwood, Burt Reynolds, Teri Garr, Farrah Fawcett and Quentin Tarantino.
One thing that sold Best on doing "The Dukes of Hazzard" was the location where the first episodes were shot: Conyers, Ga., an area known for good fishing.
Georgia was great, Best said, but later the production moved back to California.
"The pace was grueling," he said. "But it was good money."
Best played his part wide open, like the show's good ole boy car chases. Scenes with Boss Hogg, played by Sorrell Booke, "were 90 percent ad libbed," Best said. "He was such a professional."
The cast, which also included Denver Pyle, Ben Jones, Tom Wopat, Rick Hurst, John Schneider, Catherine Bach and Sonny Shroyer "was like a family," Best said.
Between personal appearances and his hobbies, Best is starting a new venture. He and his wife and several associates have formed Best Friend Films, a company specializing in high definition productions.
"I'll never slow down," he said. "The good Lord has worked overtime for this old country boy."
