Ben Jones, who played the mechanical expert Cooter Davenport on the hit television series “The Dukes of Hazzard” before serving two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, died on Sunday at the age of 84, according to statements from his family and local officials. Jones suffered a heart attack at his home in Washington, Virginia, as he waited to watch an Atlanta Braves baseball game, according to social media posts by his wife, Alma Viator, and confirmation from Rappahannock County Sheriff Connie Compton.
### Television Stardom and Cooter’s Garage
Jones achieved widespread fame portraying Cooter Davenport, the friendly mechanic who frequently helped the Duke cousins evade the corrupt county leadership in the fictional Hazzard County, Georgia. According to the Associated Press, Jones appeared in all seven seasons of the CBS series from 1979 to 1985. The show centered on cousins Bo and Luke Duke, who drove a modified 1969 Dodge Charger known as the General Lee while on probation for running moonshine. Cooter operated Cooter’s Garage on the town square, communicating via CB radio with his signature catchphrase, “Breaker one, Breaker one. I might be crazy but I ain’t dumb. Crazy Cooter coming at you.”
In his memoir, “Redneck Boy in the Promised Land: The Confessions of ‘Crazy Cooter,'” Jones wrote that acting rescued him from a self-destructive lifestyle marked by heavy drinking and failed marriages. Co-star Tom Wopat, who played Luke Duke, paid tribute to Jones on Instagram, calling him an integral part of the cast and a “fine friend and a fierce advocate of all the best things we can offer in the entertainment business.”
### Transition to Federal Politics
Following the conclusion of “The Dukes of Hazzard,” Jones transitioned into a career in electoral politics. Running as a Democrat, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1988, representing a district near Atlanta. During his four years in Washington, D.C., Jones established a reputation for independent voting habits, holding liberal views on social issues alongside conservative stances on economic policy, according to the Associated Press. He ran again in 1994, losing to Republican Newt Gingrich during the election cycle that elevated Gingrich to the position of Speaker of the House. Jones subsequently filed an ethics complaint alleging Gingrich used tax-deductible donations for a partisan college course, resulting in a House reprimand.
### Later Ventures and Preservation of the Franchise
After leaving Capitol Hill, Jones returned to acting with minor roles in films such as “Primary Colors” (1998) and “Joe Gould’s Secret” (2000), alongside various television reunion specials. In 1999, Jones and his wife moved to Virginia, where they established several “Cooter’s” retail locations and museums in Nashville and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, as well as near their Virginia home. These establishments featured memorabilia from the television series, including one of the original General Lee vehicles. In 2015, Jones publicly defended the display of the Confederate flag featured on the roof of the General Lee after Warner Bros. announced it would cease manufacturing merchandise containing the symbol. Jones authored an opinion essay in The New York Times explaining his connection to the imagery and the cultural legacy of the program.
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