R.I.P. JAMES GARNER: A hero to those of us growing up in the 70s watching the definition of manly cool on THE ROCKFORD FILES...who years later was the definition of marital love on THE NOTEBOOK. James Garner died last night at the age of 86. The ruggedly handsome actor will be remembered always for the 1950s western Maverick and for playing Jim Rockford in the 1970s series The Rockford Files. No cause of death was given but he had suffered from a stroke in 2008 after having open heart surgery. A war hero before he turned to acting, Garner received two Purple Hearts for serving in the Korean War. Image1Garner’s last screen appearance came in 2006′s The Ultimate Gift, but his last major role in a studio film came opposite Gena Rowlands in the love story The Notebook. He appeared in over 50 films in a career that spanned 54 years. Among the highlights: garnering an Academy Award nomination in 1985 for the romantic comedy Murphy’s Romance opposite Sally Field in 1985; starring alongside Mel Gibson in the movie transfer of his signature series Maverick; starring opposite Julie Andrews and Robert Preston in the 1982 Blake Edwards comedy Victor Victoria; and starring in the 1990 HBO telepic Barbarians at the Gate, the HBO telefilm about corporate greed. He also stepped up to take the lead in 8 Simple Rules For Dating My Daughter, after the death of the show’s star, John Ritter. Garner was a devoted fan of the football Raiders, as identifiable on the sidelines for many years as Jack Nicholson was at Lakers games. Somehow all this added to his image as the cool man’s man, who did as well in comedy as he did in dramatic roles and found great success on both the big and small screens. Garner began his career in this industry in 1956 after dabbling as a stage actor. After starring in a few films, Warner Bros. hired him for Maverick and his career as an actor took off. Audiences will remember him in The Great Escape, The Americanization of Emily, and Support Your Local Sheriff! and Move Over, Darling. But he would go back to the small screen and soon take on a role that most everyone remembers him for — the smart, sarcastic and cranky Jim Rockford in The Rockford Files which earned him an Emmy. The show ran for six years. His long career also included turns as a fictional president in the comedy My Fellow Americans opposite the late Jack Lemmon and as an astronaut in Space Cowboys opposite Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones and Donald Sutherland. https://youtube/watch?v=ielkiD8w-M8 actorsfoundry
Posted on: Sun, 20 Jul 2014 15:41:11 +0000