James Best was born as Jewel Franklin Guy on the 26 July 1926 in Powderly, Kentucky, USA, and passed away on 6th April 2015 in Hickory, North Carolina, USA. He was best known as an actor, remembered for his roles in Westerns such as “Seven Angry Men” (1955), “The Quick Gun” (1964), “Ride Lonesome” (1959), etc, and as Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in the TV sitcom “The Dukes Of Hazzard” (1979-1985). He was also an acting coach and writer.
Have you ever wondered how rich James Best was? Sources estimated that Best’s net worth was over $500,000, with the main source of this amount of money being, of course, the entertainment industry. Another source was his working as a teacher, and selling his book also added to his net worth.
James Best Net Worth $500,000
James Best was the son of Lark and Lena Guy, but unfortunately after mother’s death, as a three-year-old boy, he was sent to an orphan, and was adopted by Armen and Essa Best, who raised him in Corydon, Indiana. During World War II, he served in the US Army and later he joined the Military Police. At that time he began acting, as he became a member of a special services unit of actors, which performed plays around Europe.
However, his first appearance on screen was in the film “One Way Street” (1950), but his role was uncredited. Nevertheless, he continued his career, and soon earned a role in the film “Comanche Territory” in the same year. During the 1950s he built his career slowly, appearing in films and TV series such as “Seven Angry Man” (1955), “Come Net Spring” (1956), “Crossroads” (1956), “Cavalcade Of America” (1953-1956), “Hot Summer Night” (1957), “The Left Handed Gun” (1958), and others. In the 1960s, he continued at the same pace, adding number of film and TV roles to his name, and by that increasing his overall net worth. Some of the titles include “Rahwide” (1963), “The Green Hornet” (1968), “Firecreeck” (1968), “Gunsmoke” (1963-1969), and other roles which only added to his net worth.
Although he was quite represented in the film industry during the 1950s and 1960s, his first big role came in 1979, when he was chosen for the role of sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in the TV series “The Dukes Of Hazzard” (1979-1985). He reprised his role in several sequels of the TV series “The Dukes” (1983), which was later made into films “The Dukes Of Hazzard: Reunion” (1997), and “The Dukes Of Hazzard: Hazzard In Hollywood” (2000). He also gave voice to his character in the video games “The Dukes of Hazzard: Racing for Home” (1999), and “The Dukes of Hazzard: Return of the General Lee” (2004).
To speak further of his ventures in the entertainment industry, James appeared in such titles as “Hot Tamale” (2006), “Moondance Alexander” (2007), “Return Of The Killer Shrews” (2012), and his last role in the film “The Sweeter Side OF Life” (2013).
Overall, James was a highly respected and successful actor, appearing in over 180 film and TV titles, in a career which lasted seven decades, and making it the main source of his net worth. Thanks to his working on an episode in the series “Sweet, Sweet Blues”, he won the Crystal Reel Award for Best Actor.
Additionally to his successful career as an actor, in 1964 James founded his own acting school in Los Angeles, California, where he has taught students such as Quentin Tarantino, Roger Miller, and Glen Campbell among many others. Later, in 1971, he moved the acting school to Mississippi, where he became an acting coach of drama at the University of Mississippi. His net worth was rising.
Apart from his acting and teaching career, James was known as an artist and painter as well. Besides that, he was also a writer, who published in 2009 his autobiographical book, entitled “Best In Hollywood: The Good, The Bad and The Beautiful”. All these also added a lot to his overall wealth.
Speaking about his personal life, James Best was married thrice, but there is no any information about his first marriage. His second marriage was with Jobee Ayers from 1959 to 1977, and the couple had two daughters. Later, he married Dorothy Collier, with whom remained until his death. He died at the age of 88 from complications of pneumonia.
