Rest In Peace, Rosco

James Best from "The Dukes of Hazzard" has passed away at 88.

Actor James Best passed away Monday after a brief illness and complications from pneumonia. He was 88.

After graduating high school in 1944, James enlisted and served his country, according to WBKO.com. The television station's website has an extensive list of roles and accomplishments, including "The Twilight Zone," "Alfred Hitchcock," and "The Andy Griffith Show."

To me and millions of others, he will always be Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane. Bumbling Rosco, aided by Deputy Enos and Flash the wonder dog, did his best to serve and protect in Hazzard County and was always chasing them Duke boys.

Remember the time he caught Buck Owens in a speed trap?

While ideas for future creative works percolated, Jimmie, fresh out of high school in 1944, enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps with dreams of being a pilot. But the Air Corps at that point needed gunners and radio operators more than pilots, so Jimmie trained for those duties instead. Once most of the enemy’s aircraft were out of commission and there was less need for him to be fighting in the sky, Jimmie was transferred to the military police to help handle dangerous problems on the ground in Germany. Many of Jimmie’s experiences as an MP contending with the Werwolf resistance in Germany during the war were incorporated into Samuel Fuller’s acclaimed 1959 film Verboten! in which Jimmie starred as Sergeant David Brent.

Statement from Sonny Shroyer, costar as Enos Strate on “The Dukes of Hazzard”:

 "I will always miss him calling me 'dipstick.' I know he loved me and I loved him.”

Statement from Corey Eubanks, stuntman on “The Dukes of Hazzard”: