RIP James Garner

[ABNAK]

I used to love the Rockford Files when I was a kid.

RIP Mr. Garner.

[williejc]

He's the last true gentleman.

[Failure2Stop]

RIP, Mr. Garner, you are missed sir.

[Moose-Knuckle]

Combat Vet, actor, race car driver, father, husband, a man's man . . . RIP James!

I have no doubt he is drag race'n his good friend Steve McQueen in the great beyond . . .


While many in Hollywood protested the war in Vietnam James hopped on a plane and went to visit troops in theatre! He also performed many USO shows for troops showing his support.

08 May 1967



"James Garner , also known as Bret Maverick, jokes
with a patient at the 12th Evac. Hosp. Garner spoke to almost every
patient in Tropic Lightning medical facilities during his 36-hour stay
at the Cu Chi base camp."

In Honor Of James Garner, Here's How To Pull A J-Turn
http://jalopnik.com/5737615/how-to-d...42121/+pgeorge



For anyone interested;

The Garner Files: A Memoir
http://www.amazon.com/Garner-Files-M...e+garner+files

[darr3239]

Definitely a good guy, and he was also a very capable driver, much like Steve McQueen. He came out ahead of him though, since the movie Gran Prix is still considered the best car racing film ever produced.

[ptmccain]

I fondly remember watching the "Rockford Files" as a kid and Garner was the ultimate of cool.

[SeriousStudent]

Rest in peace, Mr. Garner. Thank you for your service to our nation.

[3 AE]

I enjoyed many of his acting roles in television and movies. Still, as usual in the Hollywood scene, the man on the screen, is different than the man off the screen. I would have had some serious discussions with his political and social agenda. From Wikipedia,

Garner was a strong Democratic Party supporter. From 1982, Garner gave at least $29,000 to Federal campaigns, of which over $24,000 was to Democratic Party candidates, including Dennis Kucinich (for Congress in 2002), Richard Gephardt, John Kerry, Barbara Boxer, and various Democratic committees and groups.[55]

On August 28, 1963, Garner was one of several celebrities to join Martin Luther King Jr. in the "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom." In his autobiography, Garner recalled sitting in third row listening to King's "I Have a Dream" speech.

For his role in the 1985 CBS miniseries Space, the character's party affiliation was changed from Republican as in the book to reflect Garner's personal views. Garner said, "My wife would leave me if I played a Republican."[56]

Prior to the entry of ex-San Francisco Mayor (later U.S. Senator) Dianne Feinstein, there was an effort by Democratic party leaders, led by state Senator Herschel Rosenthal, to persuade James Garner to seek the 1990 Democratic nomination for Governor of California. Later and still serving U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein became the gubernatorial nominee but lost to Republican Pete Wilson.[57][58]

His take on mind altering substances.

The most "explosive revelation" in the book was that Garner smoked marijuana for much of his adult life. “I started smoking it in my late teens," Garner wrote. "I drank to get drunk but ultimately didn’t like the effect. Not so with grass. It had the opposite effect from alcohol: it made me more tolerant and forgiving. I did a little bit of cocaine in the Eighties, courtesy of John Belushi, but fortunately I didn’t like it. But I smoked marijuana for 50 years and I don’t know where I’d be without it. It opened my mind and now it eases my arthritis. After decades of research I’ve concluded that marijuana should be legal and alcohol illegal.”[37]

To each his own.

[BIGUGLY]

I loved watching the reruns of the Rockford Files. Growing up it was fun to watch and at 10 I really enjoyed it.

[Doc Safari]

Back when the Rockford Files was in its first run, I was having a lot of conflict with my dad (I was a kid in the 1970's).

Later, when I saw Rockford reruns and the interaction between Rockford and his screen father, it made me lose some of my hatred for my dad and start to respect him again.

Can't beat that for a legacy, considering it's a mere TV show.