Ben Jones spent seven seasons as Cooter Davenport, the good-natured mechanic of The Dukes of Hazzard, but his own life story ran far deeper than Hazzard County. Here are five things worth knowing about the man behind the character.
1. He grew up without electricity or running water. Born in Tarboro, North Carolina, in 1941, Jones was raised in a railroad section house near the docks of Portsmouth, Virginia, where his father worked for the railroad. The family went years without basic utilities - a humble start for a man who would later stand on the floor of the U.S. Capitol.
2. He marched for civil rights as a college student. While studying radio, television, and film at the University of North Carolina, Jones took part in civil rights sit-ins during the 1960s, years before Hollywood or Washington ever knew his name.
3. His sobriety came first - and it changed everything. By his own account, Jones hit bottom in September 1977 after years of heavy drinking, calling a recovering-alcoholic friend for help. He got sober that day and never drank again. About a year later, he landed the role of Cooter. He later put it simply in his memoir: "I got sober the day before I died."
4. Congress moved him to tears. Jones, a self-described Christian, served two terms representing Georgia's 4th District starting in 1989. Reflecting on his swearing-in years later, he said the weight of the moment overwhelmed him: "That's when it hit me, what a blessing I had been given, and I just started crying."
5. Art eventually imitated his real life. In a strange twist, the 1997 TV movie The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion! depicted Cooter as having become a congressman - years after Jones himself actually had.
Jones spent his later years running the Cooter's Place museums with his wife, Alma Viator, and recording music with his band. He died August 9 at his Virginia home from a heart attack, leaving behind, as his memoir put it, a life reborn from the bottom up.
Related Article: 'Dukes of Hazzard' Star and Former Congressman Ben Jones Dies at 84: "I Got Sober the Day Before I Died" Faith-Filled Redemption Story
