Actress Dorothy Best’s husband, actor James Best –best remembered for his role as Rosco P. Coltrane, the bumbling sheriff of Hazzard, –died Monday night in Hickory.
Reports say her husband died in hospice after a brief illness of complications from pneumonia, he was 88. The actor who, never really retired is survived by his wife, three children and three grandchildren.
He had a prolific career which included 83 movies and 600 TV shows, among we can mention “The Caine Mutiny” with Humphrey Bogart and “Shenandoah” with Jimmy Stewart. After television came to the fore in the 1950s, Best found roles on popular shows like “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” and “The Andy Griffith Show.”
It was in “The Dukes of Hazzard,” he became a national and international figure with the CBS show running from 1979 to 1985.
As far as his personal life goes, the actor was married three times. From 1959 – 1977 he was married to Jobee Ayers with whom he fathered daughters Janeen and Jojami (pictured below).
He also fathered a son, Gary Allen Best from a previous marriage.
Film actress Dorothy Collier became his third wife in 1986, James was 21-years her senior. The couple moved to the Bethlehem community near Hickory in 2006 from Orlando. They were married for 29-years.
Her stepchildren, Gary Allen Best is married to Angela Best. JoJami Best Tyler is a social media manager living in Los Angeles and is married to Eric Tyler (pictured below).
While Janeen Damian is a film producer and is married to actor/producer Michael Damian.
Dorothy Best 67, originally from Wisconsin is known for roles in Death Mask (1998), Return of the Killer Shrews (2012) and House of Forever (2004). She began acting at a young age.
She and her husband created a film production company in 2003 ‘Best Friend Films.’
Our condolences to the Best family.
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