Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane
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On the American TV series The Dukes of Hazzard, Rosco Purvis Coltrane is the bumbling sheriff of Hazzard County and right-hand man of its corrupt county commissioner, Jefferson Davis "J.D." Hogg ("Boss Hogg").
The role of Rosco is played by James Best, who had appeared in numerous movies and TV series before landing the role as top (inept) lawman of Hazzard County.
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[edit] About Rosco
Rosco frequently initiates car chases with Bo and Luke Duke (Hogg's most frequent adversaries), but the Duke boys are often able to easily elude Rosco, who winds up crashing his patrol car in various ways (always escaping uninjured). Why Rosco does not simply arrest the boys at their farm for resisting arrest because of these chases is never explained. Whenever he does try to do this, they always manage to give him the slip, usually either by cuffing him to his own patrol car, cuffing him to Enos (or Cletus), or pushing him on top of either the deputy with him, Boss Hogg, or both. Starting with the 1980-1981 season, Rosco got a pet dog—a lazy basset hound he calls "Flash"—which he mothered and loved dearly (Rosco was a bachelor and childless). Early on, the dog's sex was male, but this would change in later episodes. Flash would be a frequent thorn in Boss's side and always barked at him, but she was friendly with the Dukes—despite Rosco's training. (Flash is never 'introduced' to the series as such, first appearing in the episode "Enos Strate To The Top" with no fanfare.)
Boss Hogg and Rosco are brothers-in-law; Rosco's older sister, Lulu Coltrane, is married to J.D.
Rosco has just more than 43 dollars in his savings account, and often tries to join Boss in indulging in high-calorie dishes (which usually results in him getting his hands slapped). His patrol car (in first season a 1974-5 AMC Matador in later seasons a 1977 or 1978 Dodge Monaco or Plymouth Fury ) also serves as his daily driver. His main deputies—whom he often calls "dipstick"—include Enos Strate and Cletus Hogg.
Rosco's mentality is that of a fun-loving kid. He speaks with a childish vernacular and repeats his favorite catch phrases constantly, one of which was his laugh itself, which was a choppy and excited chuckle that was produced from the back of the throat ("Kew-kew-kew!") 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's favorite story is "Jack and the Beanstalk".
Rosco was married briefly in an episode during the 1980-1981 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 showed that, despite Rosco's often childish, irresponsible and corrupt ways (in large part because of his friendship/relationship to Boss), he was a human being who had feelings and wanted to do the right thing. Rosco has shown on numerous occasions (especially on episodes where characters either were thought to have died or found themselves in serious trouble) that he is truly a tender, caring man. This is clear when the safety of his best friend Boss Hogg is threatened by somebody, and shows a level of depth brought to the character by James Best.
In the early episodes, the character of Rosco was a fairly serious one. He is depicted as a more hard-nosed, focused, and aggressive sheriff, and actually shot a criminal in an early episode. He was a much more willing accomplice to Boss Hogg's vile schemes, fueled by a sense of bitterness and resentment. In another early episode, Rosco explained that he served Hazzard County as an honorable lawman for more than 20 years but became embittered after watching most of his pension get wiped out following a failed bond referendum. It wasn't until creator Gy Waldron realized that he had found an audience with children, that the character was toned down to the more childlike and bumbling persona for which he is best known.
During the second season of the series, James Best left over a dispute about the changing-room conditions. His gripe was that he didn’t mind getting soaked when filming Rosco crashing his car into rivers and suchlike, 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.
Following the death of actor Sorrell Booke who played Boss Hogg, the first reunion in Hazzard movie also showed that Boss Hogg had died rather than trying to replace the actor. Rosco inherited his money and he also became Hazzard County's Commissioner.
[edit] Rosco P. Coltrane in film
The character originated in the 1975 film Moonrunners. This film was the precursor to The Dukes of Hazzard, and it portrayed a more serious version of Rosco, with mention of going crooked because the county took away his pension (something that was mentioned in very early episodes of The Dukes).
M.C. Gainey portrayed Rosco in the 2005 film The Dukes of Hazzard. Gainey's Rosco did not incorporate the childlike qualities of Best's interpretation or the prominent middle initial P; the character is portrayed as a much more serious, wicked sheriff who genuinely detests the Dukes.
Harland Williams plays Rosco in The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning. His portrayal is much more in line with Best's bumbling portrayal from the TV series.
[edit] Trivia
- Sheriff Rosco's name is often misspelled in many sources as Sheriff Roscoe. It was even misspelled in the first episode of the series; at the end of the episode, there is a banner reading 'Welcome Sheriff Roscoe' — presumably this mistake was noticed during filming, as in a close-up shot, the e is hidden behind a balloon. This may have been a coincidence.
- Rosco's middle initial, 'P.', was not added until the second season of the series. Only in one episode is it revealed that it stands for Purvis.
[edit] See also
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