Ben Jones, Cooter On ‘Dukes Of Hazzard’ And Former U.S. Rep, Dies At 84
American actors (left to right) John Schneider, Tom Wopat and Ben Jones as Bo Duke, Luke Duke and Cooter, respectively, in the TV series ‘The Dukes of Hazzard’, circa 1983. They are posing with the General Lee, a 1969 Dodge Charger prominently featured in the series. (Photo by Fotos International/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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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.”
UNITED STATES – MARCH 23: Former Rep. Ben “Cooter” Jones, D-Ga., speaks with reporters outside of the U.S. Supreme Court following arguments in the Walker v. Sons of Confederate Veterans case in Washington on Monday, March 23, 2015. Jones, a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, came to the court to support the Texas division of the group suing to allow the Confederate battle flag on license plates. Jones starred as Cooter in the “Dukes of Hazzard” television show, and ran against Newt Gingrich in 1994. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
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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 for 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 for CBS.
Jones first ran for Congress in 1986, but he lost his bid for a U.S. Congressional seat to Republican Rep. Pat Swindell. In 1997, Jones appeared in the CBS special The Dukes of Hazzard: A Reunion! and went on to play a supporting role as Arlen Sporken in Mike Nicholson’s political comedy drama, Primary Colors, in 1998.
A year later, Jones defeated Swindell to serve in the first of his two terms of the U.S. House of Representitives.
Jones’ film credits included They Went That-A-Way & That-A-Way, The Lincoln Conspiracy, Deep in My Heart, Dakota and Smokey and the Bandit, in which appeared in an uncredited role.
On television, Jones appeared in the TV movie The Million Dollar Dixie Deliverance, and made guest turns in the series Dallas, Benji, Zax & the Alien Prince, Sliders and As the World Turns.
In 2000, Jones reprised Cooter Davenport in the TV movie The Dukes of Hazzard: Hazzard in Hollywood. He also voice Cooter for two video games based on The Dukes of Hazzard.
