Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane


Rosco Purvis Coltrane is a fictional sheriff character who appeared in the 1975 film Moonrunners, which inspired the creation of the American TV series The Dukes of Hazzard.
In Moonrunners, he was played by Bruce Atkins. The role of Rosco in the television series is the right-hand man of Hazzard County's corrupt county commissioner, Jefferson Davis "J.D." Hogg ; he was played by James Best, who had appeared in many films and TV series before landing the role. He appeared in all but five episodes. He was accompanied on the show by his character's pet/police dog, a basset hound named Flash..
Rosco's name is sometimes spelled with an E, which is incorrect; James Best corrected this popular misconception on his website. As in Moonrunners from which The Dukes of Hazzard TV series evolved, in the first season the character's name is given as "Rosco Coltrane". The initial "P." was added from the start of the second season, after Best convinced show producers that it gave him more to play with vocally when pronouncing it. The "P." stands for Purvis.

Rosco in The Dukes of Hazzard

Early episodes

In early episodes, the character of Rosco was a serious one. He is depicted as a hard-nosed, focused, and aggressive sheriff, and actually shot a criminal in an early episode. He was a willing accomplice to Boss Hogg's schemes, and also appeared to have the ingenuity to arrange such schemes himself. The "One Armed Bandits" episode also explained that Rosco had served Hazzard County for 20 years as "a fairly honest lawman" but became embittered after his pension was wiped out following a failed bond referendum, and with just a few months left in office he was forced to run for re-election instead of retiring. This notion was explored again in a couple of other early episodes, most notably a scene where Deputy Enos asks him why he became so corrupt, in the fourth broadcast episode, "Repo Men". When series creator Gy Waldron realized that the series had become very popular with young children, the character was toned down to the more comedic and more bumbling persona for which he is best known, a characterization that Best himself largely created. He never wanted children viewing to feel afraid to approach a police officer when in need.

General information

Rosco frequently initiates car chases with Bo and Luke Duke, but the Duke boys are usually able to elude Rosco, who frequently wrecks his patrol car in various ways.
Starting with the third season, Rosco got a pet dog—a lazy basset hound he calls "Flash" and nicknames "Velvet Ears"which he dotes on. Flash liked the Dukes but always barked at Boss Hogg. Early on, the dog's gender was male, but this would change in later episodes.
Boss Hogg and Rosco are brothers-in-law because Rosco's older sister, Lulu, is married to Boss Hogg.
Rosco has just more than $43 in his savings account, and often tries to join Boss in indulging in high-calorie dishes. His patrol car which also serves as his daily driver except for a few episodes where he has other cars, such as a 1977 Pontiac Lemans in the 3rd season episode "To Catch a Duke" which he apparently saved his nickels and dimes for, as he claims. This car can routinely be seen parked outside the Police station in stock footage exterior shots for the rest of the series. His personal vehicle in the 5th-season episode "The Revenge of Hughie Hogg" is a 1967–1968 Chevrolet Impala which he kicks apart. Rosco carries a pearl-handled Smith & Wesson Model 15, with which he is an expert shot, although when he has to use it in the line of duty, he gets too nervous to hit anything. His main deputies—whom he often calls "dipstick"—include Enos Strate and Cletus Hogg. Although he often henpecks and belittles his deputies, he also shows great concern when they might be in real danger.
Rosco's mentality is that of a clumsy, somewhat slow-witted buffoon. He speaks often with a childish vernacular and repeats his favorite catchphrases constantly. One that has always been featured when Rosco arrests the Duke boys or anyone else for that matter is "Cuff 'em and stuff 'em!" One aspect of Rosco's personality that was well-loved and became synonymous with him was a choppy and excited chuckle that was produced from the back of the throat and became one of the most recognizable aspects of the character. He is easily excitable and genuinely enjoys law enforcement, especially chasing criminals, which he refers to as "hot pursuit".
Rosco was married briefly in an episode, "Mrs. Rosco P. Coltrane", during the third season, to a woman he purportedly met through a computer dating service, but the marriage was a sham—his "bride" robbed banks with her husband and his associate — and the union was quickly annulled. This episode was also the only episode to feature Rosco's mother, and the only episode to reveal that the initial 'P' stood for Purvis.
Rosco has shown on numerous occasions that he is much more of a caring man than he ordinarily lets on. This is particularly clear when the safety of his best friend Boss Hogg is threatened by somebody.
During the second season of the series, James Best left over a dispute about the changing-room conditions. His gripe was that he did not mind getting soaked or covered in mud when filming Rosco crashing his car into rivers and such, but was unhappy with the poor changing facilities afterwards. During his absence, Rosco was replaced by a number of stand-in sheriffs. Eventually the dispute was settled, and Best returned as Rosco, remaining for the rest of the show's run.
Following the death of actor Sorrell Booke who played Boss Hogg, the first also showed that Boss Hogg had died. Rosco inherited his money and he also became Hazzard County's Commissioner as well as serving as Sheriff.

Rosco P. Coltrane in film