About Ben Jones (American actor and politician)
Benjamin Lewis Jones (August 30, 1941 – August 9, 2026) was an American actor, writer, politician, and businessman best known for his role as Cooter Davenport in The Dukes of Hazzard. Jones also served for four years in the United States House of Representatives from January 3, 1989, to January 3, 1993. Jones also served as the International Chief of Heritage Operations for the Sons of Confederate Veterans from July 2014 to late 2018, having been a member for over 15 years. == Early life and career == Jones was born in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, near McNair's Railroad Crossing, on August 30, 1941. His father was Hubert C. "Buck" Jones, a railroad section foreman and his mother was Ila Virginia Stephens, the daughter of a railroad section foreman. Within two weeks of his birth, his family moved to Portsmouth, Virginia. The Joneses lived in a "section house", a railroad company shack without indoor plumbing and electricity. That house was next to the Pinners Point Railyard that led to the shipping piers there. He graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1959 and worked at a number of odd jobs to save money for college. In 1960, he entered East Carolina College (now East Carolina University) and in 1961, he was accepted into the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, based upon his promise as a writer.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.