Trivia

Had a black belt in karate.

It was Best's idea to bring his real-life dog on The Dukes of Hazzard (1979) with him; her name was "Flash".

When casting The Dukes of Hazzard (1979), there was a concern about Best's health. He had had at least one heart attack and insuring him was problematic to the degree that he might not have gotten the part. His friend Clint Eastwood stepped up and posted the insurance bond for him.

Cousin of singers Don Everly and Phil Everly.

In the mid-70s he decided to take a semi-retirement, and became an artist-in-residence at the University of Mississippi. During his two years there, he taught motion picture technique and drama, directed four plays, established the Mississippi Film Commission and was elected to the university's Hall of Fame.

In The Dukes in Hollywood (1984), Roscoe (Best) and Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke) are discussing who should play them in a fictional movie about Hazzard County. Roscoe picks Burt Reynolds. Reynolds was a former acting student of Best, and the two had been friends for many years. Reynolds later played "Boss Hogg" in The Dukes of Hazzard (2005).

Before she took up acting, Lindsay Wagner babysat for Best's children. It was Best who encouraged Wagner to take acting lessons and, in effect, kick-started her career.

Met Denver Pyle when both worked in The Left Handed Gun (1958). Some 21 years later he would co-star opposite Pyle on The Dukes of Hazzard (1979), in which Pyle played the patriarch of the Duke family. The friendship would last for almost 40 years, until Pyle's death in late 1997.

Was the youngest of eight boys and one girl. His mother died when he was three and he was taken to an orphanage when his Kentucky-born father, a coal miner, could no longer keep the family together. He was adopted at age 4 by Armen and Essa Best of Indiana.

Met comedian/singer Andy Griffith on the 3rd episode of The Andy Griffith Show (1960), where Best's character was portrayed that of a guitar player. They were friends for 52 years, until Griffith's death in 2012.

Founded the first school to teach actors motion picture technique in the 1970s. He taught in Hollywood for 25 years and worked with such stars as Burt Reynolds, Clint Eastwood, Gary Busey, Teri Garr, Lindsay Wagner, Farrah Fawcett and Quentin Tarantino.

Was set to film "Old Soldiers" with Mickey Rooney and Hugh O'Brian. Unfortunately, while the movie was in the planning stage, all three actors passed away.

Former roommate of Adam West.

He and wife Dorothy Best, along with Kevin Lang, formed their own production company, Best Friend Films. The company specializes in high-definition production, featuring the Panasonic Varicam, with a Pro 35 lens adapter, which enables them to use Panavision 35mm film lenses on a digital camera. They also feature an HD online edit suite, making them a "one-stop shop in HD production" for the independent producer.

Best's adoptive father, Armen Neely Best, died on June 1, 1984, at age 87. His adoptive mother, Essa Knowland Best, died on March 30, 1988, at age 92.

Moved to Florida in 1987 and taught on campus at the University of Central Florida. He was also appointed to the Advisory Council for the Motion Picture, Television, and Recording Industry of Florida. In 1992 he was the recipient of Florida's "Crystal Reel Award" for Best Actor in a Dramatic Series, for an episode of In the Heat of the Night (1988) with Carroll O'Connor.

Best known by the public for his starring role as Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane on The Dukes of Hazzard (1979).

Began his career as a contract player for Universal in 1949.

Every Friday for the first initial season, he commuted from his house in Conyers, Georgia to shoot The Dukes of Hazzard (1979), by the time the show relocated to Burbank, California, by the entire second season, he'd have to fly to and from the set, every week.

He established The James Best Theatre Center, located in Toluca Lake, California, on Riverside Drive (at the southwest corner of Mariota) in the upstairs rear portion of the Honey Baked Ham building.

Best appeared in each and every episode of The Dukes of Hazzard (1979), with the exception of five, in the second season, due to a dispute regarding the dressing rooms.

His billing for Three on a Couch (1966) read: "Introducing James Best", despite the fact that he had been in movies for 16 years and had appeared in over 30 films.

When he guest-starred on one of the three episodes of Laramie (1959), the writers jokingly created the name of Johnny Best, whose character was named after him.

Father-in-law of Michael Damian.

At 23, Best moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1949, to pursue an acting career. He would live there, until around 1976, when he decided to move to Oxford, Mississippi, to become an acting coach, in college.

Met a rising Western character actor, Robert Fuller, when Best was guest-starring on the 6th episode of Laramie (1959). They were very good friends for 56 years, until Best's own passing in 2015.

Graduated from Corydon Central High School in Corydon, Indiana, in 1944.

Had a son, Gary, from his first marriage and two daughters, JoJami and Janeen, from his second marriage. He had three grandchildren.

Was friends with Jerry Lewis. He introduced Best to comedy.

Over his long life, he had 11 hobbies: fishing, boating, painting, petkeeping, writing (scripts, plays and poetry), riding horses, social media, spending time with his family, playing guitar, traveling and karate.

Went fishing with Robert Fuller and Paul Newman.

His former The Dukes of Hazzard (1979) co-star, John Schneider, worked with him on two different shows: CMT Cribs (2009), in 2010, and Return of the Killer Shrews (2012) in 2012, where Best reprised his role from a half-century ago.

His autobiography, "Best in Hollywood: The Good, the Bad, and The Beautiful," was released, only 3 days, after his 83rd birthday. [29 July 2009].

On The Dukes of Hazzard (1979), his character carried a pearl-handled Smith & Wesson Model 15, with which he is an expert shot, although when he has to use it in the line of duty, in real-life, when Best was in World War II, he served in the United States Army Air Forces in World War II, training, in 1944, in Biloxi, Mississippi, as a gunner on a B-17 bomber.

He was a Boy Scout, once winning a lifesaving award for rescuing a fellow Scout at a Scout camp.

Father of Janeen Damian.

Director Quentin Tarantino has said that the work of Best "taught me how to act". Ironically, when Tarantino appeared in a 1990s Broadway revival of the play "Wait Until Dark", he received some of his worst acting reviews ever.

Had learned each and every one of his comedy skills that he used on The Dukes of Hazzard (1979) - from Jerry Lewis.

When he was 35, he attended his first karate class, making Best the oldest student in the classroom.

Had been taught a lot of boxing skills, marksmanship with assorted firearms and a lifelong passion for fishing and the outdoors, by his father.

Has a street named James Best Way in Powderly, Kentucky.

Had starred in the movie, Rio (1961), with his ex-roommate Adam West. It was also supposed to be a TV series, when it wasn't picked up.

Brother-in-law of John Collier.

Had worked with James Arness, in episode of both series. He worked on 3 episodes of Gunsmoke (1955) and 1 other episode of How the West Was Won (1976).

Met an unknown Western actor, James Drury, when the two were on the movie, Forbidden Planet (1956), in 1956, though the two neither didn't participate in the movie, nor had a speaking line in it. 9 years later, they would later work alongside each other on an episode of The Virginian (1962), and became friends, until Best's death in 2015.

Best relocated from Charlotte, North Carolina to Hickory, North Carolina in 2010.

His parents were Lena Mae (née Everly) Guy, who was the sister of Ike (who himself was the father of musical legends of both singing boys - The Everly Brothers) and Larkin Jasper Guy, a househusband.

Was looking forward to making several movies with Audie Murphy, when the plans did not come to fruition, all because Murphy had died in a tragic plane crash.

Met Audie Murphy, when the two were under contract at Universal Studios, and they starred in 5 films, together. They were good friends, until Murphy's untimely death in 1971.

Met his wife, Dorothy Best on the set of The Dukes of Hazzard (1979). They would be married, 7 years later, and stayed together for 29 years.