Ben Jones, the actor best known for playing mechanic Cooter Davenport on the long-running CBS series The Dukes of Hazzard, has died at age 84.
His wife, Alma Viator, announced the news on social media Sunday, stating that Jones died of a massive heart attack at home. She wrote that he was resting in his favorite chair waiting for an Atlanta Braves game when it occurred and described him as having lived “the most amazing rich full life.”
Jones appeared as Cooter across all seven seasons of The Dukes of Hazzard, which aired from 1979 to 1985. The character ran the local garage and was a close ally of the Duke family.
After the series, Jones entered politics and served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat representing Georgia from 1989 to 1993. He later co-owned Cooter’s Place, a group of Dukes of Hazzard-themed museums and stores with locations in Tennessee and Virginia, where he often greeted fans and performed with his band.
Fellow cast member Tom Wopat, who played Luke Duke, paid tribute by calling Jones a fine friend and noting that the show had lost another integral part of its cast.
Jones would have turned 85 later this month.
