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    Jolie Rouge's Avatar
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    James Garner : 1928- 2014



    James Garner, for more than 50 years one of Hollywood's most likable leading men on the big screen and on TV, died at his Los Angeles home Saturday night, reports TMZ. He was 86.

    The star, best known for the Maverick and The Rockford Files TV series, had suffered what had been described as a minor stroke in 2008.

    Besides his popular work on the small screen, Garner also appeared opposite Julie Andrews in two critically acclaimed movies, 1964's The Americanization of Emily and 1982's Victor/Victoria. In addition, he costarred opposite Doris Day in The Thrill of It All and Move Over, Darling (both 1963), and added his own charm to perhaps one of the greatest buddy movies of all time, 1963's The Great Escape, with Steve McQueen.

    Another box-office hit was the 1966 racing film Grand Prix, which put him in widescreen Cinerama.

    Besides appearing as an aged astronaut with Clint Eastwood in 2000's Space Cowboys, Garner had later roles in the 2004 film The Notebook and as Katey Sagal's father on the ABC sitcom 8 Simple Rules.

    Dickensian Childhood

    Born James Scott Bumgarner in Norman, Okla., the future star had a childhood that played like a modern day Oliver Twist. He was only 5 when his mother died, and he and his two brothers were farmed out to various relatives.

    Three years later the family was reunited when their father, Weldon (who subsequently married four times), introduced them to their first stepmother, a mean-spirited woman who regularly beat them. "Mostly me," Garner told PEOPLE in 1985 – the same year he received a Best Actor Oscar nomination for Murphy's Romance, with Sally Field.

    "My dad worked hard as an upholsterer and carpet layer," said Garner, "but he was a rake and he drank a lot. He'd come home bombed and make us sing to him or get a whipping."

    From that experience, Garner developed a lifelong sympathy for the underdog. "I cannot stand to see little people picked on by big people," he said. "If a director starts abusing people, I'll just jump in."

    At 14, he left home and did odd jobs. Two years later he lied about his age and joined the merchant marine, but left in less than a year.

    Drifting to L.A., Garner attended Hollywood High, where he developed into a football hero – only to prove shy off the field. "All the girls liked him," said a childhood friend, "but Jim hardly dated."

    Male Model

    Still, Garner's hunky teen torso won him his first on-camera job: a Jantzen swimsuit ad – something he later regretted. "Ever since I did that darn ad, I've hated having my picture taken," he said.

    The Korean War interrupted his modeling career. He was wounded twice and won two Purple Hearts. "I wasn't a hero," he said modestly. "I just got in the way a lot."

    Everett

    It was also luck, he claimed, that got him into acting. A pal from back home who'd become a producer gave him the small role of a judge in Broadway's The Caine Mutiny Court Martial. The star of the show, Henry Fonda, became his model and mentor.

    Warner Bros. made Garner a contract player, which led, in 1957, to his starring as the shy Western hero on Maverick – at the bargain price of $500 a week. After four years he sued and got out of his contact.

    Litigation also surrounded his departure from Rockford in 1979, after five years on the show. He claimed all the stunts ruined his health – and the studio's bookkeeping cheated him out of millions in profits. (After a 10-year legal battle, Universal and Garner settled their financial dispute out of court.)

    On a happier note, in 1956 he met aspiring actress Lois Clarke at a Democratic rally, and, he said, "She just knocked me out." Two weeks later they were married.

    Already the mother of a daughter, Kim, by a former marriage, Lois had another daughter with Garner, Gigi. All three women survive him.

    http://www.people.com/article/james-garner-dies

    Actor And Car Lover James Garner Is Dead At 86
    Today 4:15am


    It's a sad day for those of us who love being entertained and love cars, because actor and lifelong gearhead James Garner just died. The star of The Rockford Files died at 86 of causes not yet revealed, in his home in Los Angeles.P

    Garner, after starring in the racing movie Grand Prix, found that he had a real aptitude for racing — real F1 drivers consulting on the film told him that had he not been an actor, he could have been a formidable racer. That started his long passion for racing and cars.P

    Garner was so interested in cars and racing that he even sought out novel means to share his love with family and friends, thanks to a bizarre one-off four-seat Indy car he had built. Cars continued to be prominent in his work, with his iconic series The Rockford Files featuring a Firebird that was almost as important a character to the show as Garner himself.

    Garner extolled the virtues of smooth rotary engines to America as spokesperson for Mazda in the 1980s, and even came up with a novel sort of J-turn for his television show that was named "the Rockford turn."

    Garner was a fine actor, a genuine lover of cars, and a surprisingly talented driver. He will be missed.

    http://jalopnik.com/actor-and-car-lo...-86-1607916299
    Laissez les bon temps rouler! Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.** a 4 day work week & sex slaves ~ I say Tyt for PRESIDENT! Not to be taken internally, literally or seriously ....Suki ebaynni IS THAT BETTER ?

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    A tribute to James Garner. This version includes the much needed guitar solos.
    Watch the full nitrous oxide scene here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI80VzZJbm8

    ...

    'The Rockford Files' was the only crime/detective/mystery show on TV I liked in high school, one of the few shows of that era that didn't have simple formula plots and can compete with the much higher standard of TV dramas today. Garner was funny, and his low-key, wisecracking style was unique for his day.


    The Rockford Files was my dad's favorite show at the time .. Gunsmoke before that ... fond memories of watch tv on the couch
    Last edited by Jolie Rouge; 07-20-2014 at 09:01 AM.
    Laissez les bon temps rouler! Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.** a 4 day work week & sex slaves ~ I say Tyt for PRESIDENT! Not to be taken internally, literally or seriously ....Suki ebaynni IS THAT BETTER ?

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    List of Jim Rockford's answering machine gags
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...g_machine_gags

    At the start of every episode of The Rockford Files a message was left on Jim Rockford's answering machine before the beginning of the title sequence. The phone would ring two or three times before Rockford's answering machine began with the following greeting:

    “ This is Jim Rockford. At the tone, leave your name and message. I'll get back to you. [Beep] ”
    The message would then begin. When it had ended, the show's theme music would start.

    Episodes syndicated as James Rockford, Private Investigator used the message from episode 507, “A Three-Day Affair with a Thirty-Day Escrow”, as a standard opening.
    Laissez les bon temps rouler! Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.** a 4 day work week & sex slaves ~ I say Tyt for PRESIDENT! Not to be taken internally, literally or seriously ....Suki ebaynni IS THAT BETTER ?

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