{"id":35921,"date":"2026-08-10T05:56:54","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T00:56:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=35921"},"modified":"2026-08-10T05:56:54","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T00:56:54","slug":"dukes-of-hazzard-actor-ben-jones-dead-at-84","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=35921","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Dukes of Hazzard&#8217; actor Ben Jones dead at 84"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F3%2F2026%2F08%2F136949185.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Ben Jones, who played Cooter Davenport on the classic TV series\u00a0\u201cThe Dukes of Hazzard\u201d\u00a0and also served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, died on Sunday, according to a social media post from his wife. He was 84.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI lost the love of my life today. Ben passed from a massive heart attack,\u201d Alma Viator <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/photo?fbid=10164904834969802&amp;set=a.10151583078464802\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wrote on Facebook<\/a> Sunday, accompanied by a picture of the actor with his dog. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe 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,\u201d she concluded.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Ben Jones (pictured here in 2000) died Sunday, his wife, Alma Viator, announced in a Facebook post. <span class=\"credit\">\u00a9Warner Bros\/courtesy Everett Collection \/ Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The actor, best known for playing Cooter Davenport on\u00a0\u201cThe Dukes of Hazzard,\u201d died of a massive heart attack, according to his wife. <span class=\"credit\">\u00a9Warner Bros\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Jones was best known for his role as the friendly mechanic Davenport on all seven seasons of \u201cThe Dukes of Hazzard\u201d from 1979 to 1985, but he also had roles in other prominent TV and film projects, including \u201cSmokey and the Bandit,\u201d \u201cMoonrunners,\u201d and \u201cAs the World Turns.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, following his acting career, he took a turn into politics.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Jones was 84 years old. <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>He\u2019s pictured here alongside the \u201cDukes of Hazzard\u201d cast (James Best, Rick Hurst, Tom Wopat, Catherine Bach and John Schneider) in 1997 when the co-stars reunited. <span class=\"credit\">Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"single__inline-module inline-module inline-module--newsletter aligncenter inline-module--nypostbusinessunit aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-newsletter\" data-source-unit=\"Inline Newsletter Module Page Six Daily\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__title-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__unsubmitted-title-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"inline-module__title headline headline--combo-sm-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWant more celebrity and pop culture news?\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<p class=\"inline-module__cta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with Page Six Daily.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"inline-module__title headline headline--combo-sm-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In 1988, he ran for Congress in Georgia\u2019s Fourth Congressional District, and won. He was reelected in 1990, but lost his next race four years later against Newt Gingrich.<\/p>\n<p>Tom Wopat, who played who played Luke Duke alongside John Schneider\u2019s Bo Duke on \u201cThe Dukes of Hazzard\u201d was one of the first to post regarding Jones\u2019 death.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Dukes of Hazzard\u00a0lost another integral part of their cast today. Ben Jones was a fine friend and a fierce advocate of all the best things we can offer in the entertainment business,\u201d he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/photo.php?fbid=1605566140936067&amp;set=a.200684588090903&amp;type=3&amp;ref=embed_post\">wrote on Facebook<\/a> Sunday.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>\u201cThe Dukes of Hazzard\u201d lasted seven seasons on CBS. Jones is pictured here with co-star Kim Richards in December 1983. <span class=\"credit\">Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The show ran from 1979 to 1985 and was consistently high in ratings. Jones is pictured here with Schneider, Bach, Wopat and Hurst in 2000. <span class=\"credit\">\u00a9Warner Bros\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p> \u201cHe will be sorely missed\u2026 Denver Pyle frequently said to Ben, \u201cI\u2019m not your Uncle Jesse!\u201d But I feel like we lost a Duke cousin today,\u201d the actor said. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Dukes of Hazzard\u201d lasted seven season on CBS, and was extremely popular.<\/p>\n<p>In 2005, it was rebooted into an action comedy film starring Jessica Simpson, Johnny Knoxville and Seann William Scott.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ben Jones, who played Cooter Davenport on the classic TV series\u00a0\u201cThe Dukes of Hazzard\u201d\u00a0and also served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, died on Sunday, according to a social media post from his wife. He was 84.\u00a0 \u201cI lost the love of my life today. Ben passed from a massive heart attack,\u201d Alma&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35922,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/08\/136949185.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35921"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35921\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/35922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}