James Garner (Norman, Oklahoma, USA, April 7, 1928 - Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, USA, July 19, 2014)
James Garner, born as James Scott Bumgarner, was an American actor and producer whose career lasted more than six decades and who starred in many roles both on television and the big screen.
At the age of sixteen, before the end of WW II, he joined the marines in spite of his chronic sea sickness. A year later he moved to his father’s to Los Angeles where he attended high school and worked as a model. He soon went back to Oklahoma and spent seven months in the National Guard, and then more than a year as a regular soldier in Korea. During the Korean War he was wounded twice and received two Crimson hearts. In 1954, after his friend’s persuaded him, he accepted a small walk in role in the Broadway play “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial“ directed by Charles Laughton. During that first encounter with acting he had the opportunity to witness first-hand the acting skills of the actor Henry Ford. Soon he began filming television commercials and received several smaller roles in TV series. His first feature film roles were in The Girl He Left Behind (1956) and Toward the Unknown (1956). He starred with Marlon Brando in the romantic drama Sayonara (1957) by Joshua Logan, but became famous for his long-lasting role of the gambler Bret Maverick in the TV series Maverick (1957-1962). He repeated that same role in the 1980’s in the TV series Bret Maverick (1981-1982), which lasted much shorter than the original. He also starred in the feature film Maverick (1994) directed by Richard Donner, this time featuring Mel Gibson as Maverick and Garner as Marshall Zane Cooper. In the 1960’s some of his most important roles were in the feature films The Great Escape (1963) by John Sturges, which was a great success with the audiences, in the war comedy The Americanization of Emily (1964), which he often pointed out as his most favorite film, in the western Duel at Diablo (1966) by Ralph Nelson in which he starred with Sidney Poitier and in the sports film by John Frankenheimer Grand Prix (1966), because of which he personally became interested in sports car racing. He starred in the popular western comedy Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969) and in the somewhat less successful Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971). In the 1970’s he starred in several other feature films, but mostly works on television. His most famous TV role from that period is the role of the detective Jim Rockford in the TV series The Rockford Files (1974 to 1980). Extremely devoted to his work, he always shot all the physical more demanding scenes himself, but unfortunately after some time his health suffered from it. For his role in The Rockford Files he was awarded the Emmy award as Best Actor in 1977, and later he starred in many more TV films featuring the same character from the TV series. Some of his roles in feature films from the 1980’s include the musical Victor, Victoria (1982) by Blake Edwards, in which he portrayed a criminal in love and in the drama by Martin Ritt Murphy's Romance (1985), which earned him an Oscar nomination as Best Actor. He repeated his collaboration with Blake Edwards in the comedy Sunset (1988) in which he portrayed Wyatt Earp. During the 1980’s he made eight TV films about Jim Rockford, but the roles that stand out from that period are those in feature film My Fellow Americans (1996) by Peter Segal starring Jack Lemmon and in Twilight (1998) by Robert Benton starring Paul Newman, Gene Hackman and Susan Sarandon. In 2001, after he had an operation on both of his knees, he starred in the comedy Space Cowboys (2000) starring Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones and Donald Sutherland. Until 2007 he remained extremely active as an actor, but in 2008 he had a stroke and that slowed down his career. Younger audiences remember him as Grandpa in the TV series 8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter (2003-2005), and some of his latest film roles include those in the drama Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002), romantic drama The Notebook (2004) and family drama The Ultimate Gift (2006). In 1960, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and in 2006, a three meters high bronze statue of Bret Maverick was erected in his native town. In autumn of 2011, he published his autobiography "The Garner Files: A Memoir".
Filmography:
DC Showcase: Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam (2010) (voice)
DC Showcase Original Shorts Collection (2010) (V) (voice)
First Night (2007)
Terra (2007) (voice)
The Ultimate Gift (2006)
8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter (2003-2005) (TV series, 45 episodes)
Al Roach: Private Insectigator (2004)
The Notebook (2004)
The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration (2003) (voice)
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002)
First Monday (2002) (TV series, 13 episodes)
Roughing It (2002) (TV)
God, the Devil and Bob (2000-2001) (TV series, 13 episodes)
Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) (voice)
The Last Debate (2000) (TV)
Space Cowboys (2000)
Chicago Hope (2000) (TV series, 4 episodes)
One Special Night (1999) (TV)
Shake, Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story (1999) (TV) (uncredited)
Streets of Laredo (1999) (TV series, 3 episodes)
The Rockford Files: If It Bleeds... It Leads (1999) (TV)
Legalese (1998) (TV)
Twilight (1998)
The Rockford Files: Shoot-Out at the Golden Pagoda (1997) (TV)
Dead Silence (1997) (TV)
My Fellow Americans (1996)
The Rockford Files: Punishment and Crime (1996) (TV)
The Rockford Files: Friends and Foul Play (1996) (TV)
The Rockford Files: Godfather Knows Best (1996) (TV)
If the Frame Fits... (1996) (TV)
The Rockford Files: A Blessing in Disguise (1995) (TV)
The Rockford Files: I Still Love L.A. (1994) (TV)
Maverick (1994)
Breathing Lessons (1994) (TV)
Barbarians at the Gate (1993) (TV)
Fire in the Sky (1993)
The Distinguished Gentleman (1992)
Man of the People (1991-1992) (TV series, 10 episodes)
Decoration Day (1990) (TV)
My Name Is Bill W. (1989) (TV)
Sunset (1988)
Promise (1986) (TV)
Murphy's Romance, 1985)
Space (1985) (TV series, 5 episodes)
The Glitter Dome (1984) (TV)
Heartsounds (1984) (TV)
Tank (1984)
Bret Maverick (1981-1982) (TV series, 18 episodes)
Victor Victoria (1982)
The Long Summer of George Adams (1982) (TV)
The Fan (1981)
HealtH (1980)
The Rockford Files (1974-1980) (TV series, 122 episodes)
Young Maverick (1979) (TV series, 1 episode)
The New Maverick (1978) (TV)
The Castaway Cowboy (1974)
One Little Indian (1973)
They Only Kill Their Masters (1972)
Nichols (1971-1972) (TV series, 24 episodes)
Skin Game (1971)
Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971)
A Man Called Sledge (1970)
Marlowe (1969)
Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969)
How Sweet It Is! (1968)
The Pink Jungle (1968)
Hour of the Gun (1967)
Grand Prix (1966)
Mister Buddwing (1966)
Duel at Diablo (1966)
A Man Could Get Killed (1966)
The Art of Love (1965)
36 Hours (1964)
The Americanization of Emily (1964)
Move Over, Darling (1963)
The Wheeler Dealers (1963)
The Thrill of It All (1963)
The Great Escape (1963)
Boys' Night Out (1962)
Maverick (1957-1962) (TV series, 60 episodes)
The Children's Hour (1961)
Angel (1961) (TV series, 1 episode)
Cash McCall (1960)
Alias Jesse James (1959) (deleted scenes)
Up Periscope (1959)
Darby's Rangers (1958)
Sugarfoot (1957) (TV series, 1 episode)
Sayonara (1957)
Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend (1957)
Cheyenne (1955-1957) (TV serija, 4 episodes)
Conflict (1956-1957) (TV serija, 3 episodes)
Zane Grey Theater (1956) (TV series, 1 episode)
The Girl He Left Behind (1956)
Toward the Unknown (1956)
Warner Brothers Presents (1956) (TV series, 1 episode)