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Rosco Purvis Coltrane is a fictional sheriff character who appeared in the 1975 film Moonrunners, which inspired the creation of the American TV series The Dukes of Hazzard (and related spin-off films).
In Moonrunners, he was played by Bruce Atkins. The role of Rosco in the television series (and a much more detailed character than the one in Moonrunners) is the right-hand man of Hazzard County's corrupt county commissioner, Jefferson Davis "J.D." Hogg ("Boss Hogg"); he was played by James Best, who had appeared in many films and TV series before landing the role. He appeared in all but five episodes. He was accompanied on the show by his character's pet/police dog (beginning in season 3), a basset hound named Flash..
Rosco's name is sometimes spelled with an E, which is incorrect; James Best corrected this popular misconception on his website. As in Moonrunners from which The Dukes of Hazzard TV series evolved, in the first season the character's name is given as "Rosco Coltrane". The initial "P." was added from the start of the second season, after Best convinced show producers that it gave him more to play with vocally when pronouncing it. The "P." stands for Purvis.

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