Ben Jones, aka Cooter, to highlight BCCC car show | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

    Actor Ben Jones, who played Cooter on the television show Dukes of Hazzard, will highlight the Beaufort County Community College Automotive Car Club Automobile Show to be held Saturday, April 5, on the BCCC campus.

    Jones will be available to sign autographs and pose for photographs, free of charge, along with a replica of the General Lee, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. near the automotive technology shop in Building 2 at BCCC.

    The car show will be held outside of Building 2 as part of BCCC's spring festival, Gullfest, a new event to benefit the Student Government Association and campus-based clubs at the community college.

    Dukes of Hazzard related items will be available for purchase during the show.

    Jones, who served for years in the U.S. House of Representatives, is best known for his role as Cooter Davenport, the mechanic in the fictional Hazzard County, Ga.

    In the television show, which aired on CBS from 1979 to 1985, Cooter owned the Hazzard County Garage in Hazzard County Square across from the police station and the county bank.

    Cooter was the best friend of the Duke family and he regularly helped the Duke boys foil corrupt county commissioner Jefferson Davis "Boss" Hogg and Sheriff Rosco P. Coltraine.

    The General Lee is the Dodge Charger driven by the Duke boys in the television show. It is known for its signature horn, its chases and stunts. Each time it was wrecked by the Dukes, it was Cooter who helped repair it.

    A native of Tarboro, Jones is a 1959 graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School in Portsmouth, Va., and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for four years. His wife, Alma Viator, is a native of Aurora, N.C.

    After the Dukes of Hazzard ended its television run, Jones entered the political arena as a Democrat and won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia in 1988 and in 1990. In 1992, following redistricting, which moved his home into another district, he was defeated in the Democratic primary election.

    Jones has since returned to acting, and is a well-known writer of many political essays and a one-man play about Dizzy Dean in which he plays the famous pitcher and baseball announcer.

    In addition to the appearance by Ben Jones, the car show will feature prizes for the Best in Show for a car, truck or motorcycle; Best Engine, Best Paint, Best Interior and Students Choice. The Automotive Car Club will also hold a 50/50 Raffle to help fund club events.

    For more information about the car show, contact Richie Alligood, BCCC automotive technology instructor, at (252) 402-2434.


    Beaufort County Community College is a public comprehensive community college committed to accessible and affordable quality education, effective teaching, relevant training, and lifelong learning opportunities for the people served by the College.