James Best, "The Dukes of Hazzard" sheriff, dies at age 88

James Best, the prolific actor best known for his role as Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane on "The Dukes of Hazzard," has died.

His wife, Dorothy Best, said Tuesday that Best died Monday night in hospice care in Hickory from complications of pneumonia. He was 88.

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

During a wide-ranging career dating several decades, he also acted in movies including "The Cain Mutiny" and "Rolling Thunder," and he appeared on television shows including "Gunsmoke and "The Andy Griffith Show."

"The work he did with Sorrell Booke (Boss Hogg) probably defined our show as much as the car chases," Tom Wopat, who played Luke Duke on "The Dukes of Hazzard," said in a statement included in an obituary posted on Best's website. "He was a fine actor, director and mentor, and an even better friend. He will be greatly missed."

Sonny Shroyer, who played Deputy Sheriff Enos Strate on the series, added, "James Best will go down as one of the greatest actors that ever lived -- a great friend and the only sheriff I ever really loved."

"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 appear more natural 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. He served in the U.S. Army in World War II and began as an actor in a military theater company, according to his website.

Dorothy Best says they'd been married 29 years and that he's survived by children and grandchildren.

She said he was an incredible man and an incredible talent.