Who’s James Best: James Ideal was an American actor who had starred in a number of formats of performing like stage, television, tone of voice, character and film. He was subsequently used by the very best family, and was raised in Indiana. He’s most more popular for his are Sheriff Rosco P. He was created in Powderly, Kentucky, USA and he was also elevated there. Interesting Details: During his loss of life, his net well worth was approximated to be all around us $500 thousand dollars. He previously a towering elevation as he steps six ft and one inch high. James Best net well worth: James Best can be an American actor who includes a net well worth of $500 thousand dollars. This marriage lasted for about 2 decades plus they got divorced in 1977. Personal Existence: He got wedded to his 1st wife Jobee Ayers by the end of 1950s. James Greatest was created in Powderly, Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, and was set up for adoption after his mom passed on when he was three. He was also a musician. He began his performing career in 1950, showing up in a small part in the film, “One Way Street”. He continued to a steady profession in both film and tv projects, including “Winchester ’73”, “Kansas Raiders”, “The Fight at Apache Move”, “The Caine Mutiny”, “Forbidden World”, “The Naked and the Dead”, “Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Loss of life Sentence”, “The Andy Griffith Show”, “The Mountain Street”, “Shock Corridor”, “Shenandoah”, “The Virginian”, “The Guns of Will Sonnett”, “Sounder”, “Ode to Billy Joe”, “Rolling Thunder”, “Centennial”, “In heat of the night time”, and most lately, “The Sweeter Part of Life”. Early Existence (Childhood): He was created on the laps of Lark and Lena Man on 26th of July 1926. Coltrane on “The Dukes of Hazzard”.
| Full Name | James Best |
| Net Worth | $500 Thousand |
| Date Of Birth | July 26, 1926 |
| Died | April 6, 2015, Hickory, North Carolina, United States |
| Height | 1.85 m |
| Profession | Screenwriter, Singer-songwriter, Actor |
| Education | Juilliard School |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse | Dorothy Best, Jobee Ayers |
| Children | Janeen Damian, Jojami Best, Gary Best |
| Parents | Essa Best, Armen Best |
| Movies | The Killer Shrews, The Left Handed Gun, Ride Lonesome, Return of the Killer Shrews, Three on a Couch, Shock Corridor, Winchester '73, Ode to Billy Joe, Sounder, Shenandoah, Rolling Thunder, Firecreek, The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion!, The Battle at Apache Pass, The Dukes of Hazzard: Hazzard in Hollywood!, The Quick Gun, The Cimarron Kid, Moondance Alexander, Hooper, Cole Younger, Gunfighter, Verboten!, Seven Angry Men, Apache Drums, The Naked and the Dead, Cast a Long Shadow, Last of the Badmen, Death Mask, Black Spurs, Man on the Prowl, Gator, Run, Simon, Run, The Brain Machine, Hot Tamale, Black Gold, The Yellow Tomahawk, Gaby, The Raid, Savages |
| TV Shows | The Dukes of Hazzard, The Dukes, Temple Houston |
| # | Fact |
|---|
| 1 |
James Best passed away on April 6, 2015, at age 88, only five days after Cynthia Lennon, and within two months of four television legends, also born in 1926, aged 88: Roger Mayer, Robert H. Schuller, Stan Freberg and Betsy Palmer. |
| 2 |
Ex-boyfriend of Jeanne Cooper - his son-in-law Michael Damian's acting mentor. |
| 3 |
Best formed the first school to teach actors Motion Picture Camera Technique. |
| 4 |
The James Best Theatre Center was located in Toluca Lake on Riverside Drive (at the southwest corner of Mariota) in the upstairs rear portion of the Honey Baked Ham building. The primary purpose of the James Best Theatre Center was to teach actors how to act for motion pictures and television and to provide an understanding of what the camera "sees". |
| 5 |
According to his Face Book page James has moved from Charlotte to Hickory, NC... [April 2010] |
| 6 |
It was Best's idea to bring his real-life dog on The Dukes of Hazzard (1979), with him. He named her 'Flash'. |
| 7 |
His hobbies: sailing, painting, fishing, writing plays, traveling, and playing guitars. |
| 8 |
Graduated from Corydon Central High School in Corydon, Indiana, in 1944. |
| 9 |
Is also a fan of Ron Howard's movies. |
| 10 |
Is a fan of the following shows: Sanford and Son (1972), The Golden Girls (1985), Two and a Half Men (2003), Boston Legal (2004), Diagnosis Murder (1993), Matlock (1986) (which featured his best friend Andy Griffith), Barnaby Jones (1973), Quincy M.E. (1976), The Untouchables (1959), Murder, She Wrote (1984), Kojak (1973) and The Rockford Files (1974). |
| 11 |
Began his career as a contract player for Universal in 1949. |
| 12 |
Before he was a successful actor and teacher, he was once a bagger at Kroger Supermarket. |
| 13 |
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. |
| 14 |
Met James Drury on an episode of The Virginian (1962), where they became best friends. |
| 15 |
Was a lifelong friend with Andy Griffith, until his death on July 3, 2012. Obviously, Best met him on an episode of The Andy Griffith Show (1960), who would later attend Mayberry Days with him. |
| 16 |
With Denver Pyle's death on Christmas Day 1997, Best along with Sonny Shroyer, became the last 2 mature surviving cast members of The Dukes of Hazzard (1979). |
| 17 |
His adoptive father, Armen Neely Best, died on June 1, 1984. He lived to be age 87. |
| 18 |
Best friends with Denver Pyle from 1958, until his passing on Christmas Day, 1997. |
| 19 |
Close friend of Sorrell Booke. |
| 20 |
Met Denver Pyle in the movie The Left Handed Gun (1958). Some 21 years later, he would later co-star, opposite him on The Dukes of Hazzard (1979), as the patriarch of the family. |
| 21 |
His adoptive mother, Essa Knowland Best, died on March 30, 1988. She lived to be age 92. |
| 22 |
Friends with: Denver Pyle, Denny Miller, Brian Keith, Ann Doran, Robert Fuller, John Smith, James Drury, Doug McClure, Adam West, Sorrell Booke, James Arness, Ken Curtis, Alex Cord, Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Robert Horton, Claude Akins, Eric Fleming, Lee Marvin, Burt Reynolds, Clint Eastwood, Alfred Hitchcock, James Garner, Andy Griffith, Nancy Stafford, Robert Conrad and Dabbs Greer. |
| 23 |
Acting mentor and friends of Tom Wopat, John Schneider and Catherine Bach. |
| 24 |
Best known by the public for his starring role as Sheriff P. Coltrane on The Dukes of Hazzard (1979). |
| 25 |
In a 1984 episode of The Dukes of Hazzard (1979), The Dukes of Hazzard: 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 The Dukes of Hazzard (2005). |
| 26 |
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. |
| 27 |
He formed the first school to teach actors Motion Picture Technique in the 1970s. He taught in Hollywood for 25 years and worked with such prominent stars as Burt Reynolds, Clint Eastwood, Gary Busey, Teri Garr, Lindsay Wagner, Farrah Fawcett, and Quentin Tarantino. |
| 28 |
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. |
| 29 |
He and his wife Dorothy Best, along with Kevin Lang, have formed their own Production Company. Called "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. |
| 30 |
In the mid 1970s 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. |
| 31 |
The sixth of seven children, his mother died when he was 3 and he was taken to an orphanage when his Kentucky-born coal-mining father, an alcoholic, could no longer keep the family together. He was adopted at age 5 by Armen and Essa Best of Indiana. |
| 32 |
The son of a coal miner. |
| 33 |
A former military policeman, served in Germany after the end of WWII. |
| 34 |
Has a black belt in karate. |
| 35 |
Brother-in-law of John Collier. |
| 36 |
Father-in-law of Michael Damian. |
| 37 |
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. |
| 38 |
Father of Janeen Damian. |
| 39 |
Cousin of singers Don Everly and Phil Everly. |
| 40 |
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. |
| # | Quote |
|---|
| 1 |
I started painting when I was in high school. |
| 2 |
[on his feelings towards aging and death] The only thing that makes me sad about having so little time left is leaving the people I love and those who love me. There are also films and other projects that I want to get done, and there are always fish that need catching. |
| 3 |
[on getting into trouble while under contract with Universal]: Well, actually I didn't make a habit of doing that, because I heard, if ... well, you're not supposed to take the girls that are 'under contract.' I made a mistake, she was beautiful, she's been on Look Magazine and I was honored to go out with her, but she was a blabbermouth and she came back to the studio, and everybody said, 'You were out with this and you heard? Well, how did you find out?' I said, 'She was taking everybody, we had six month options and I've been there for 2 years. I had 3 first features unreleased and all of a sudden, they called me ... my option came up and said, 'Well, I want a raise,' and he said, 'No, you stay on the same salary or we're going to dump you.' I said, 'You're kidding, of course!' I got 3 features unreleased and they said, 'We're serious!' |
| 4 |
[in 2013]: I did meet The Everly Brothers once and we talked for awhile. Then we figured out we were first cousins! My late mother was the sister of Don and Phil's father, Ike Everly. |
| 5 |
[on Sorrell Booke]: Scenes with Boss Hogg, were 90 percent ad-libbed. He was such a professional. |
| 6 |
[in 2012 about playing the guitar, for his guest-starring role on The Andy Griffith Show (1960)]: I'm not in the habit of lying, and yes, it's really important and they called me and say, 'Can you play the guitar?' I said, 'Are you kidding? I have 2 guitars and I got over on the set and this is the music and I said, 'I can't play that.' They said, 'You lied, you could play the guitar.' I said, 'No, I didn't lie.' I said, 'I have 2 guitars.' |
| 7 |
[in 2010]: I do mostly Southern landscapes. I do beautiful old barns that are falling down, and beautiful trees reflecting in the water. My lovely wife Dorothy and I travel quite a bit, so I take pictures of different things that inspire me to come home, when I come home here in North Carolina, into my art studio and paint these things. I put them on my web page and I'm proud to say that I'm selling paintings all over the world now. Some of them are commissioned. But I try to price my paintings in such a way that the average person can afford them. They make good Christmas gifts. It's a wonderful pastime for me, and it's been very profitable. |
| 8 |
[in 2009]: I acted the part, as good as I could. Rosco, let's face it, was a charmer. It was a fun thing. |
| 9 |
Well, I was very lucky, because I was under contract with Universal Studios for two years, and after I got out of there, I got up with Gene Autry and his series. So I was working constantly. |
| 10 |
When I was putting the "Best of Hollywood" book together, I sat down and added up just the list of Westerns I've done, and it came to well over 200. |
| 11 |
[on his favorite The Dukes of Hazzard (1979) episode of all]: What I really enjoyed was the episode where Rosco thinks he inherits a million dollars, and makes Boss Hogg his deputy. That was a fun, fun show. And then the other show that I enjoyed, I got to play a dual role, where I play a guy who actually has his face built like Rosco, and he's trying to imitate Rosco. So I actually play Rosco two different ways. That one was fun. But I'll be very honest with you. Almost every show that I worked, it was a blessing. I worked, of course, mostly with Boss Hogg. Sorrell Booke (Boss Hogg) spoke five languages. He was a brilliant actor, and he let me ad lib all over the place, and he would go along with it. |
| 12 |
[on Norman Lloyd turning 100 in 2014]: I had the honor to have been directed by Norman in a Hitchcock episode called "The Jar". Having worked with hundreds of directors in my career, I found very few that had Norman's qualities. He was most kind, gracious and patient with his actors. He is in all respects a complete gentleman in his personal life and I found it a genuine pleasure just to be in the presence of such a talented man. I am also doubly honored to consider him my friend. We are so blessed to have such a man among us for so long. |
$500 Thousand
