Ben Jones, famous for playing Cooter from "The Dukes of Hazzard" television series, passed away on Sunday after suffering a massive heart attack.
Jones, who was also a former U.S. congressman from Georgia, was 84.
“I lost the love of my life today. Ben passed from a massive heart attack. He was home resting in his favorite chair waiting for the Braves to come on and whoop the Yankees,” his wife, Alma Viator, said on Facebook.
“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,” she added.
‘Dukes of Hazzard’ actor Ben Jones dead at 84 https://t.co/88uMSTaOpz pic.twitter.com/9ytbEtCfb1
— New York Post (@nypost) August 10, 2026
NBC News shared further:
Tom Wopat, one of Jones' "The Dukes of Hazzard" co-stars, also shared the news in a post on Instagram.
"The Dukes of Hazzard lost another integral part of their cast today," Wopat said. "Ben Jones was a fine friend and a fierce advocate of all the best things we can offer in the entertainment business. He will be sorely missed…"
Jones was cast in "The Dukes of Hazzard" in the late 1970s and remained a main cast member until the show's conclusion in 1985.
Shortly after, he launched a run for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1985 as a Democrat, challenging Republican Pat Swindall, who narrowly won the election in 1986.
The pair faced off again for Georgia's 4th Congressional District in 1988. This time, Jones was victorious after Swindall was indicted on charges of perjury.
Jones served in Congress from 1989 to 1993.
His seat was later redrawn, and he lost in the 1994 election to Newt Gingrich.
In 1999, Jones and Viator moved to Virginia and opened Cooter's, a museum and shop dedicated to "The Dukes of Hazzard."
The Dukes of Hazzard lost 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. He will be sorely missed…Denver Pyle frequently said to Ben, “I’m not your Uncle Jesse!” pic.twitter.com/RDbei1F67Z
— Tom Wopat (@wopatofficial) August 9, 2026
PEOPLE has more:
While on Capitol Hill, he was the Democratic whip, a member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on Public Works and Transportation, according to the outlets. In 1994, he ran against Newt Gingrich in a neighboring district and lost.
After his brief tenure in Congress, Jones opened a museum dedicated to The Dukes of Hazzard in Virginia, per the New York Times. He opened two more locations with support from his wife and launched DukesFest, an annual weekend gathering of music, car races and food for fans of the action show.
Jones also appeared on cable television talk shows and wrote opinion pieces for newspapers.
"The only secret of life that I have discovered for me is if you turn your life over, get out of yourself and just turn it completely over to a higher power, to the extent I've been able to do that, good things have happened," Jones told Georgia Public Broadcasting while reflecting on his accomplishments, per the New York Times.
Jones is survived by his wife, Alma, and his two children, Rachel and Walker, according to Far Out Magazine.
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