James Best was born on 26 July 1926.
He is best known for his role as Sheriff Rosco P Coltrane, the sidekick of Boss Hogg, in The Dukes of Hazzard. Even though it aired during my prime TV-watching years, I never saw the show. When I was young, I was a pretty bad bigot toward the South. I’ve tried to make amends but none of that has resulted in my watching the show.
I have, however, become a big Ma and Pa Kettle fan. Those films are often shockingly funny. And James Best at 26 years old played the romantic lead in Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair. He was then, and throughout his life, very attractive. And he was a good actor to boot.
But psychotronic fans know James Best for one film in particular: The Killer Shrews. I have tended to dismiss this film. But as is often the case, this was only because I had seen such bad prints. Also, I was probably introduced to it through Mystery Science Theater 3000, which always tends to taint one’s opinions.
Best plays the typical All American Man in the film. But unlike most such characters, he actually comes off as charming. The problem with the film is Ken Curtis’ part. He’s the Cowardly Evil Man. His performance is fine but the screenplay makes him a one-note character who doesn’t even get a heroic death with redemption.
James Best had a huge career. He has 188 credits on IMDB, one of those is 141 episodes of The Dukes of Hazzard. One of his last roles was playing the same character (Thorne Sherman) in Return of the Killer Shrews, which I haven’t managed to see yet. People seem to hate it so I’m keen to check it out!
Until then, you can watch the original for free via Archive!
Image of James Best via Wikimedia. It is in the public domain.
