Ben Jones, Cooter on ‘The Dukes of Hazzard’ and former congressman, dies at 84
NBC News • • entertainment
Key Points:
- Ben Jones, known for his role as Cooter on “The Dukes of Hazzard” and as a former U.S. congressman from Georgia, died at age 84 from a heart attack at his home in Virginia.
- Jones was a main cast member of “The Dukes of Hazzard” from the late 1970s until the show ended in 1985 and later returned for reunion shows and film roles.
- He served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives after winning the 1988 and 1990 elections, losing his seat in 1994 to Newt Gingrich following redistricting.
- Jones and his wife, Alma Viator, opened Cooter’s, a museum and shop dedicated to the show, in Virginia after moving there in 1999.
- In 2007, Jones published his memoir “Redneck Boy in the Promised Land,” openly discussing his battle with alcoholism.
