ACTOR

James Best

1926 - 2015

Photo of James Best

Icon of person James Best

Jewel Franklin Guy (July 26, 1926 – April 6, 2015), known professionally as James Best, was an American television, film, stage, and voice actor, as well as a writer, director, acting coach, artist, college professor, and musician. During a career that spanned more than 60 years, Best was known for his high-pitched, exasperated voice, who performed not only in feature films, but also in scores of television series, his appearances were almost all on Western programs, as well as appearing on various country music programs and talk shows. He played Captain Thorne Sherman in both films: The Killer Shrews (1959) and its spin-off, Return of the Killer Shrews (2012). Television audiences, however, perhaps most closely associate Best with his starring role as the bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of James Best has received more than 3,631,858 page views. Her biography is available in 21 different languages on Wikipedia. James Best is the 4,755th most popular actor (down from 3,984th in 2019), the 6,955th most popular biography from United States (down from 6,045th in 2019) and the 2,130th most popular American Actor.

Memorability Metrics

  • 3.6M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 47.62

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 21

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 1.79

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.90

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among ACTORS

Among actors, James Best ranks 4,755 out of 13,578Before her are Merab Ninidze, Reinhold Schünzel, Terence Bayler, Verna Bloom, Jason Sudeikis, and Doris Eaton Travis. After her are Heather Thomas, Nancy Kovack, Sydney Greenstreet, Jennifer Ehle, Slava Polunin, and Gloria Trevi.

Most Popular Actors in Wikipedia

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1926, James Best ranks 352Before her are Bob Benny, Egisto Pandolfini, Rafael Azcona, Brita Borg, Joe Slovo, and Anneliese Rothenberger. After her are Dietmar Schönherr, Carlos Roberto Reina, Julius Katchen, Frank O'Hara, Víctor Ugarte, and Charlotte Rae. Among people deceased in 2015, James Best ranks 319Before her are Dick Van Patten, Amparo Baró, Grace Lee Whitney, Nina Companeez, Eric Arturo Delvalle, and Jihadi John. After her are Hellmuth Karasek, Ángel Atienza, Friedrich L. Bauer, Mwepu Ilunga, Gregory Walcott, and Marília Pêra.

Others Born in 1926

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Others Deceased in 2015

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In United States

Among people born in United States, James Best ranks 6,955 out of 20,380Before her are Jason Sudeikis (1975), Doris Eaton Travis (1904), Jimmy Ellis (1940), Jess McMahon (1882), William Dean Howells (1837), and James C. Adamson (1946). After her are Gladys West (1930), Frank Schlesinger (1871), Roger B. Taney (1777), Heather Thomas (1957), Nancy Kovack (1935), and Bruce Johnston (1942).

Among ACTORS In United States

Among actors born in United States, James Best ranks 2,130Before her are Seth Gilliam (1968), Mariel Hemingway (1961), Drea de Matteo (1972), Verna Bloom (1938), Jason Sudeikis (1975), and Doris Eaton Travis (1904). After her are Heather Thomas (1957), Nancy Kovack (1935), Jennifer Ehle (1969), Louie Anderson (1953), Maggie Wheeler (1961), and Dylan O'Brien (1991).

Television and Movie Roles