Ben Jones, Cooter On ‘Dukes Of Hazzard’ And Former U.S. Rep, Dies At 84
Ben Jones, who starred as Cooter Davenport on the TV series “The Dukes of Hazzard” and later served two terms as a U.S. Representative from Geogia, died Sunday.
By Cyrus Team ·
Ben Jones, who starred as Cooter Davenport on the TV series The Dukes of Hazzard and later served two terms as a U.S. Representative from Geogia, died Sunday.
Jones’ death was announced by his wife, Alma Viator, on Sunday. He was 84.
“I lost the love of my life today. Ben passed from a massive heart attack,” Viator wrote in a Facebook post. He was home resting in his favorite chair waiting for the Braves to come on and whoop the Yankees. Ben had the most amazing rich full life. He loved and was loved by so many. He will be missed. I loved him so so much."
On The Dukes of Hazzard, Cooter (Jones) was the cousin of Bo (John Schneider) and Luke Duke (Tom Wopat). Jones played Cooter over the show’s seven seasons from 1979 to 1985.
“The Dukes of Hazzard lost another integral part of their cast today,” Wopat wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday. “Ben Jones was a fine friend and a fierce advocate of all the best things we can offer in the entertainment business. He will be sorely missed … Denver Pyle frequently said to Ben, ‘I’m not your Uncle Jesse!’ But I feel like we lost a Duke cousin today.”
Four years after the series, Jones, was elected to U.S. Congress as a Democrat and served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia’s 4th District from 1989 to 1993. In addition to being a Democratic whip while serving in Congress, Jones was a member of the Committee on Public Works and Transportation and Committee on Veteran’s Affairs.
After losing his seat in re-districting, Jones lost out in a bid for a third term against Republican Newt Gingrich. Seven years after the defeat, Jones, who had relocated to Virginia, ran but lost in his bid to unseat incumbent Republican Eric Cantor for a seat to serve the 7th District of the state.
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Ben Jones Appeared In More Than 30 Screen Roles
Born Benjamin Lewis Jones on Aug. 30, 1941, in Tarboro, N.C., Jones’ first credited screen role as in the Clifton Davis and Lois Chiles drama Together for Days in 1972.
A small role in the 1975 action comedy Moonrunners, from writer-director Guy Waldron, eventually led to Jones’ audition for The Dukes of Hazzard, which was created by the filmmaker. According to TMZ, Moonrunners served as the basis for The Dukes of Hazzard, which became a ratings hit on CBS.