James Garner filmography

James Garner in 1958

James Garner (birth name Bumgarner 1928 – 2014) was an American actor, producer, race car driver^[1] and two-time recipient of the Purple Heart medal for his United States Army service during the Korean War.^[2] His paternal grandfather was a full-blooded Cherokee, making Garner one-quarter Cherokee.^[3] As a teenager living in Los Angeles, he became acquainted with future producer Paul Gregory, who was building a clientele base for his own talent agency at the time Garner was deployed to Korea. When Garner returned to civilian life, Gregory was producing a theatrical version of The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, directed by Charles Laughton, with Henry Fonda in the starring role. Gregory cast Garner in a non-speaking role as a member of the court.^[4] Afterwards, Garner began making the rounds of casting calls.^[5]

He rose to prominence as a contract player for Warner Bros. in the 1957 television show Maverick as the series initial lead character Bret Maverick. He would continue to be associated with the Maverick brand several times in his career, as his original character Bret Maverick in The New Maverick 1978 television film, briefly in the Young Maverick 1979 television series, and the Bret Maverick 1981–1982 television series. He appeared in the role of Marshal Zane Cooper in the Maverick 1994 feature-length film, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design.

During the same period that Garner was appearing in the Maverick 1957 television series, he branched out into feature-length Warner Bros. films. Eventually becoming dissatisfied with his financial situation in the original television series, he sued Warner Bros for breach of contract after they refused to pay him during a writer's strike. The court ruled in his favor, which freed him to build a new career as an independent performer.^[6] He formed Cherokee Productions in the 1960s with his talent agent and business partner Meta Rosenberg. As an independent producer, he was able to expand his entertainment goals irrespective of any one studio or distributor. Cherokee Productions created and produced the 1971–1972 television series Nichols and The Rockford Files 1974–1980.^[7] Numerous feature-length releases were generated by Cherokee Productions, including the 1969 Support Your Local Sheriff!^[8] and in 1971 Support Your Local Gunfighter,^[9] both of which were parodies of the Western hero genre film.

Garner was nominated 12 times for Golden Globe Awards, with four wins. His performance as US Marine Capt. Mike Bailey in the 1956 drama Sayonara earned him the Most Promising Newcomer award (aka New Star of the Year) at the 15th Golden Globe Awards.^[10] His other three Golden Globe wins were in 1987 for Promise, in 1991 for Decoration Day and in 1994 for Barbarians at the Gate. He was unsuccessfully nominated for Golden Globe Awards three times for his performance as Jim Rockford in The Rockford Files, in 1978, 1979 and 1980 . His other unsuccessful nominations were for his performances in The Wheeler Dealers in 1964, Bret Maverick in 1982, Heartsounds in 1985, Murphy's Romance in 1986, and Breathing Lessons in 1995.^[11]

For his portrayal of Jim Rockford in The Rockford Files, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences awarded him the 1977 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.^[12] As Executive Producer of Promise for the Hallmark Hall of Fame, Garner won the 1987 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special.^[13] Promise also received the 1987 Peabody Award.^[14] In 1991, the academy inducted him into the Television Hall of Fame.^[15] He was the recipient of the 41st Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2004.^[16] At the 26th Television Critics Awards in 2010, Garner was presented with the Career Achievement Award.^[17] His star was unveiled on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1959.^[18]

His theatrical feature film work, playing the leading role in more than fifty motion pictures, was as noteworthy as his work in television. Garner was known for prominent roles in films such as Sayonara (1957) with Marlon Brando, leading roles in Darby's Rangers (1958) with Stuart Whitman and Cash McCall (1960) with Natalie Wood, a supporting role in The Children's Hour (1961) with Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine, leading roles in Boys' Night Out (1962) with Kim Novak and Tony Randall, The Great Escape (1963) with Steve McQueen, The Thrill of It All (1963) with Doris Day, Move Over, Darling (1963) with Doris Day, The Wheeler Dealers (1963) with Lee Remick (four films released in 1963), Paddy Chayevsky's The Americanization of Emily (1964) with Julie Andrews, Roald Dahl's 36 Hours (1965) with Eva Marie Saint, The Art of Love (1965) with Dick Van Dyke and Elke Sommer, as Wyatt Earp in Hour of the Gun (1967) with Jason Robards as Doc Holliday, How Sweet It Is! (1968) with Debbie Reynolds, Marlowe (1969) with Bruce Lee, Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969) with Walter Brennan and Jack Elam, Murphy's Romance (1985) with Sally Field, as Wyatt Earp again in Sunset (1988) with Bruce Willis as Tom Mix, Maverick (1994) with Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster, My Fellow Americans (1996) with Jack Lemmon, a rare supporting role in Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002) with Sandra Bullock, a leading role in The Notebook (2004) with Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams and Gena Rowlands, and intermittent appearances in The Ultimate Gift (2007) with Brian Dennehy.

Film[]

Television[]

Bibliography[]

• Abbott, Jon (2009). Stephen J. Cannell Television Productions: A History of All Series and Pilots. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-5401-3.
• Garner, James; Winokur, Jon (2011). The Garner files. Waterville, Me. : Thorndike Press ; Detroit : Gale, Cengage Learning. ISBN 978-1-4104-4337-3.
• Strait, Raymond (1985). James Garner. New York, NY : St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-43967-5.

References[]

External links[]

• James Garner at IMDb