‘Dukes of Hazzard’ star Ben Jones dies at 84 after heart attack

Ben Jones – the actor best known for playing mechanic Cooter Davenport on the hit television series The Dukes of Hazzard – has passed away at the age of 84.

Jones died Sunday after suffering a massive heart attack, according to a social media post from his wife, Alma Viator.

“I lost the love of my life today. Ben passed from a massive heart attack,” Viator wrote on Facebook alongside a photo of Jones with his dog.

She said Jones was at home, resting in his favorite chair and waiting for a baseball game between the Braves and Yankees to begin.

Ben Jones rose to fame as Cooter Davenport, the friendly mechanic and owner of Cooter’s Garage, on The Dukes of Hazzard. He appeared throughout the show’s seven-season run on CBS from 1979 to 1985.

Beyond The Dukes of Hazzard, Jones also appeared in projects including Smokey and the Bandit, Moonrunners and As the World Turns.

After establishing himself as an actor, Jones turned to politics. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1988 after winning Georgia’s Fourth Congressional District and was reelected in 1990. He later lost his congressional seat to Newt Gingrich in 1994.

News of Jones’ death prompted tributes from his former Dukes of Hazzard co-stars including, Tom Wopat, who played Luke Duke alongside John Schneider’s Bo Duke.