Ben Jones, who represented Georgia for two terms in the U.S. House and was widely known for playing Cooter Davenport on "The Dukes of Hazzard," died Sunday of a massive heart attack at his home. He was 84. His wife, Alma Viator, announced the death.
A Democrat, Jones first ran for Congress in 1986 in Georgia's 4th congressional district, losing a tight race to incumbent Republican Pat Swindall.
Two years later, he won the same seat in a landslide after Swindall faced accusations of lying to a federal grand jury about his dealings with an undercover agent posing as a money launderer.
During the 1988 campaign, Jones acknowledged a past struggle with alcohol, saying he had been sober since September 1977. He told voters he had "more skeletons in my closet than the Smithsonian."
Jones won re-election in 1990. Redistricting ahead of the 1992 election reshaped his district, and he lost his seat.
"The skills I learned on stage and in film are invaluable in politics," Jones said in a 1989 interview. "We're talking about communication and being comfortable around a camera, being in front of an audience, finding that bond, that chemistry."
After leaving the House, Jones filed an ethics complaint against Gingrich. That complaint was among the factors that contributed to Gingrich's resignation as House Speaker in 1998.
Jones made another run for Congress in 2002 while living in Virginia, losing to Republican Eric Cantor.
Before entering politics, Jones played Cooter Davenport, the scruffy mechanic, in all seven seasons of the CBS series "The Dukes of Hazzard," which ran from January 1979 to February 1985. He appeared in 141 episodes.
The show ranked second in the Nielsen ratings in the 1979-80 season, behind "Dallas." Jones also had a supporting role as a federal agent in the 1975 film "Moonrunners," which later served as the basis for the television series.
