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!
Other 26 July Anniversaries
Filmmakers
- Aldous Huxley (1894-1963): Social commentator known to psychotronic fans mostly for the novel Brave New World.
- Jean Shepherd (1921-1999): Writer known for A Christmas Story.
- Blake Edwards (1922-2010): Director known especially for the Pink Pather films but other delights like SOB.
- Jason Robards (1922-2000): Iconic actor who appeared in A Boy and His Dog and Something Wicked This Way Comes.
- Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999): Over-praised director who nonetheless made a number of great films like The Killing and The Shining.
- Peter Hyams (1943-): Director of Capricorn One, Timecop, End of Days, and more.
- Celeste Yarnall (1944-2018): The Velvet Vampire herself!
- Susan George (1950-): Actor known for a lot of genre films like Fright and Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry.
- Kevin Spacey (1959-): Actor known for many things including Seven and LA Confidential.
- Sandra Bullock (1964-): Actor known for Demolition Man, The Net, and much more.
Films
- The Maze (1953): A man breaks off his engagement to bask in his family curse, which is so bizarre that you would think I was joking.
- Mad Monster Party? (1967): Rankin-Bass animated feature where all the monsters try to steal Dr Frankenstein’s newest invention.
- Mission Mars (1968): Americans land on Mars only to find the Commies beat us. They must work together to defeat a greater threat.
- Enter the Dragon (1973): Drug lord holds a martial arts competition.
- Bikini Girls On Dinosaur Planet (2005): Female space aliens travel back to Earth’s past to study lesbian sex.
- The Hazing (2005): College pledges are hunted by a crazed professor.
- Project: Threshold (2009): Six people are taken to an underground facility because of a virus they supposedly have.
- Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood (2019): Alternate reality surrounding the events of the Sharon Tate murders. Way more fun than you’d think.
Image of James Best via Wikimedia. It is in the public domain.
