Actor-turned-politician Ben Jones has died. He was 84 years old.
Jones was best known for his role as Cooter Davenport on “The Dukes of Hazzard,” The New York Times reported.
His wife, Alma Viator, said Jones died of a heart attack on Aug. 9 at his home in Washington, Virginia.
She wrote on Facebook, “I lost the love of my life today. Ben passed from a massive heart attack,” adding, “He was home resting in his favorite chair waiting for the Braves to come on and whoop the Yankees,” People magazine reported.
Jones was born Benjamin Lewis Jones on Aug. 30, 1941, in Tarboro, North Carolina. He was the third of four brothers, all nicknamed Buck, Bubba, and Butch, with Jones called Buster.
He called himself a Southern “redneck” . He said he overcame two decades of alcoholism, three divorces, several arrests and spent time in jail.
“There was a lot of alcoholism on both sides of my family and I inherited that genetic disposition,” Jones said, adding he started drinking at 15. He said he drank Country Club Malt Liquor; “the pain and shame I had been carrying seemed to be lifted,” he wrote in his memoir. “I was the dynamite and booze was the match.”
He enrolled at the University of North Carolina, where he studied writing and started acting. He appeared in several student productions despite being drunk and showed a natural talent onstage, he said.
He said he woke on the floor of his Atlanta apartment after five weeks of heavy drinking in 1977, suffering from delirium tremens, a severe form of alcohol withdrawal and alcohol poisoning.
“I prayed, ‘Please, God, help me,” he recalled. He then checked into rehab and stopped drinking, never touching alcohol again, the Times reported.
That was before being cast in the CBS Show that aired from 1979 to 1985. He also appeared in a 1997 reunion movie, according to his IMDb profile.
As Cooter, he was tasked with repairing the General Lee, the iconic 1969 Dodge Charger, owned by Bo and Luke Duke.
The Times said the role was originally minor, but he changed the character from a one-dimensional Southern caricature to one of the show’s most popular characters.
“He had the only garage and the only tow truck in a place where all they did was wreck cars, so every time you saw him, he was working, and people can relate to that,” Jones told Georgia Public Broadcasting in 2008.
His costar Tom Wopat, who was Luke Duke, called Jones “a fine friend and a fierce advocate of all the best things we can offer in the entertainment business.”
But he didn’t only have fame on television. Jones also appeared on stage, in more than 100 productions, including shows with James Earl Jones, Anthony Hopkins, Eva Marie Saint and John Travolta, the Times reported.
After “The Dukes of Hazzard” came to an end, Jones ran Georgia’s 4th Congressional District in 1986 on the Democratic ticket, challenging Republican incumbent Pat Swindall.
During the race, Jones spoke about his past, using it to show how someone can change.
He lost the first race against Swindall, but challenged him a second time, two years later, after Swindall was indicted, winning the seat.
Jones was the Democratic whip and served on the Veterans’ Affairs and Public Works and Transportation committees, according to People.
He served his district for two terms until it was redistricted and lost his reelection in 1994 to Newt Gingrich.
Jones eventually moved to Virginia, opening a cafe, museum, and store called Cooter’s, banking on the popularity of “The Dukes of Hazzard.” There are three locations: Nashville, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and Luray, Virginia. He also started a band called Cooter’s Garage Band" that played the fair circuit and other venues.
Jones leaves behind his fifth wife, Viator, three children, three stepchildren, and 10 grandchildren.
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