Who Was Rosco P. Coltrane’s Best Friend on ‘The Dukes of Hazzard’?
Way back in the late ’70s and early ’80s, if it was a Friday night, millions of Americans could be found watching The Dukes of Hazzard on CBS. The show wasn’t just popular because of the antics of the entire Duke clan; viewers also tuned in for actor James Best and his canine pal, Sandy, better known to viewers as Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane and his faithful dog, Flash.
Prior to The Dukes of Hazzard, Best was best known as a reliable character actor; one of his more memorable roles was in The Andy Griffith Show, where he played a musician named Jim Lindsey.
As The Dukes of Hazzard grew into something of a cultural phenomenon here in the U.S., Best’s role in the show seemed to continue to grow. While he didn’t have the youthful appeal of the lead actors, he played Sheriff Rosco in such a way that you knew that this was a guy who was way more than just a bumbling lawman for the Duke boys to outwit.
Credit: Gene Trindl/TV Guide/courtesy Everett Collection
And Flash? Well, he showed up around Season 3 to keep bachelor Rosco company. He was also there to bark angrily at Boss Hogg (played by Sorrell Booke), just in case we didn’t know who the real scallywag was.
Everett Collection
The addition of Flash came at Best’s request; he didn’t want his character to be so alone. He’d asked the creative team to give Rosco a bride, and when that didn’t happen, he settled upon the idea of a canine companion. Sandy, the dog who played Flash, was rescued by trainer Alvin Mears from an animal shelter just a few days before she was scheduled to be put down.
© Warner Bros. Television / Courtesy: Everett Collection
And the two became a TV team for the ages. Right up there with Batman and Robin and Holmes and Watson, you’ve got the crime fighting duo of Coltrane and Flash. Over the course of the next few seasons, Best became incredibly attached to this lovable basset hound — so much so, in fact, that he requested that the show’s producers provide a private dressing room for Sandy.
Everett Collection
Sandy had genuine star quality. In fact, for a brief period during the early ’80s, you could run down to your nearest Sears or K-Mart and pick up a genuine Flash stuffed animal. The doll was very accurate and moved at the exact same speed as the real Flash … which is to say, not at all.
When The Dukes of Hazzard finally ended, Best made sure that Sandy would be taken care of for the remainder of her days; just the type of thing that you would expect him to do. He was a kind and caring person who was universally admired by the show’s cast and crew. Upon his passing in 2015, Dukes costar John Schneider said this to Billboard: “I’m forever thankful to have cut my teeth in the company of such a fine man.”
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November/December 2024
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