James Best passed away today at the age of 88. The actor was best known for his portrayal of Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane on the beloved 1980s TV series The Dukes of Hazzard.
Best passed away in hospice care following a brief illness and complications from pneumonia.
In addition to his iconic Dukes of Hazzard role, Coltrane appeared on a number of classic TV series throughout the ’70s and ’80s, including The Mod Squad, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Perry Mason and Rawhide.
Best’s legacy will live on through the many famous faces that passed through his acting school. The actor personally mentored the likes of Burt Reynolds, Clint Eastwood, Quentin Tarantino and Farrah Fawcett long before Hollywood knew there names.
Best remained active as a writer, painter, recording artist and college professor long after he stepped away from regular work on television.
Acting remained his first love, however, and he continued to take roles in small projects up until 2014, when his health forced him to finally retire.
By the end of his career, Best had tallied up 83 film roles and worked on more than 600 TV shows.
In his final years, Best wrote a book in which he briefly addressed the topic of his failing health:
"Only thing that makes me sad about having so little time left is leaving the people I love and those who love me," Best wrote. "There are also films and other projects that I want to get done, and there are always fish that need catching."
Click through the gallery below for a full list of celebrities that we’ve lost in 2015.