List of The Rockford Files episodes

The Rockford Files is an American television drama series starring James Garner that aired on the NBC network between September 13, 1974, and January 10, 1980, and has remained in syndication to the present day. Garner portrays Los Angeles-based private investigator Jim Rockford with Noah Beery, Jr., in the supporting role of his father, a retired truck driver nicknamed "Rocky".

The series debuted with a made-for-TV movie simply titled The Rockford Files. During the series run, there were a number of two-part episodes, as well as long (90 or 120 minutes) episodes that were split into two parts for syndication (and on later DVD releases). Filming stopped in the middle of the sixth season (1979–80), on the advice of star James Garner's doctor. Garner, who had filmed many of his own stunts, injured his back and knees.

In the 1990s, Rockford returned to the air in a series of eight TV movies on CBS.

Series overview[]

Season		Episodes		Originally aired
				First aired	Last aired
	1	23		September 13, 1974	March 7, 1975
	2	22		September 12, 1975	March 19, 1976
	3	22		September 24, 1976	April 1, 1977
	4	22		September 16, 1977	February 24, 1978
	5	22		September 22, 1978	April 13, 1979
	6	12		September 28, 1979	January 10, 1980

Episodes[]

TV movie pilot (1974)[]

"Backlash of the Hunter", starring James Garner (as Jim Rockford), Joe Santos (as Dennis Becker), and Stuart Margolin (as Angel Martin) all debut in their series roles. Also featured is Robert Donley as Joseph "Rocky" Rockford, a role that would be recast in the subsequent series.

Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
"The Rockford Files" syndicated version retitled "Backlash of the Hunter"	Richard T. Heffron	Story by : Roy Huggins Teleplay by : Stephen J. Cannell	March 27, 1974 (1974-03-27)

Season 1 (1974–75)[]

James Garner stars as Jim Rockford, and Noah Berry as his father Rocky. Joe Santos is a frequent recurring guest as Dennis Becker. Gretchen Corbett appears on a recurring basis as Beth. Stuart Margolin appears only twice as Angel, but his appearances will become more frequent as the series continues. Tom Atkins is seen on a recurring basis as Lt. Diehl.

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	1	"The Kirkoff Case"	Lou Antonio	Story by : John Thomas James Teleplay by : Stephen J. Cannell	September 13, 1974 (1974-09-13)
2	2	"The Dark and Bloody Ground"	Michael Schultz	Story by : John Thomas James Teleplay by : Juanita Bartlett	September 20, 1974 (1974-09-20)
3	3	"The Countess"	Russ Mayberry	Story by : John Thomas James Teleplay by : Stephen J. Cannell	September 27, 1974 (1974-09-27)
4	4	"Exit Prentiss Carr"	Alex Grasshoff	Story by : John Thomas James Teleplay by : Juanita Bartlett	October 4, 1974 (1974-10-04)
5	5	"Tall Woman in Red Wagon"	Jerry London	Story by : John Thomas James Teleplay by : Stephen J. Cannell	October 11, 1974 (1974-10-11)
6 7	6 7	"This Case Is Closed"	Bernard L. Kowalski	Story by : John Thomas James Teleplay by : Stephen J. Cannell	October 18, 1974 (1974-10-18)
8	8	"The Big Ripoff"	Vincent McEveety	Story by : John Thomas James Teleplay by : Robert Hamner	October 25, 1974 (1974-10-25)
9	9	"Find Me If You Can"	Lawrence Doheny	Story by : John Thomas James Teleplay by : Juanita Bartlett	November 1, 1974 (1974-11-01)
10	10	"In Pursuit of Carol Thorne"	Charles S. Dubin	Story by : John Thomas James Teleplay by : Stephen J. Cannell	November 8, 1974 (1974-11-08)
11	11	"The Dexter Crisis"	Alex Grasshoff	Gloryette Clark	November 15, 1974 (1974-11-15)
12	12	"Caledonia – It's Worth a Fortune"	Stuart Margolin (Angel Martin)	Story by : John Thomas James Teleplay by : Juanita Bartlett	December 6, 1974 (1974-12-06)
13	13	"Profit and Loss: Part 1"	Lawrence Doheny	Story by : John Thomas James Teleplay by : Stephen J. Cannell	December 20, 1974 (1974-12-20)
14	14	"Profit and Loss: Part 2"	Lawrence Doheny	Story by : John Thomas James Teleplay by : Stephen J. Cannell	December 27, 1974 (1974-12-27)
15	15	"Aura Lee, Farewell"	Jackie Cooper	Story by : John Thomas James Teleplay by : Edward J. Lakso	January 3, 1975 (1975-01-03)
16	16	"Sleight of Hand"	William Wiard	Teleplay by : Stephen J. Cannell and Jo Swerling Jr. Based on the novel "Thin Air" by : Howard Browne	January 17, 1975 (1975-01-17)
17	17	"Counter Gambit"	Jackie Cooper	Howard Berk and Juanita Bartlett	January 24, 1975 (1975-01-24)
18	18	"Claire"	William Wiard	Edward J. Lakso and Stephen J. Cannell	January 31, 1975 (1975-01-31)
19	19	"Say Goodbye to Jennifer"	Jackie Cooper	Story by : John Thomas James Teleplay by : Juanita Bartlett and Rudolph Borchert	February 7, 1975 (1975-02-07)
20	20	"Charlie Harris at Large"	Russ Mayberry	Story by : John Thomas James Teleplay by : Zekial Marko	February 14, 1975 (1975-02-14)
21	21	"The Four Pound Brick"	Lawrence Doheny	Story by : Leigh Brackett Teleplay by : Leigh Brackett and Juanita Bartlett	February 21, 1975 (1975-02-21)
22	22	"Just by Accident"	Jerry London	Charles Sailor & Eric Kaldor	February 28, 1975 (1975-02-28)
23	23	"Roundabout"	Lou Antonio	Story by : Mitchell Lindemann Teleplay by : Mitchell Lindemann and Edward J. Lakso	March 7, 1975 (1975-03-07)

Season 2 (1975–76)[]

Garner, Beery and Santos are now all billed as stars. Corbett, Margolin and Atkins are frequently recurring guests.

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
24	1	"The Aaron Ironwood School of Success"	Lou Antonio	Stephen J. Cannell	September 12, 1975 (1975-09-12)
25	2	"The Farnsworth Stratagem"	Lawrence Doheny	Juanita Bartlett	September 19, 1975 (1975-09-19)
26	3	"Gearjammers: Part 1"	William Wiard	Story by : Stephen J. Cannell Teleplay by : Don Carlos Dunaway	September 26, 1975 (1975-09-26)
27	4	"Gearjammers: Part 2"	William Wiard	Story by : Stephen J. Cannell Teleplay by : Don Carlos Dunaway	October 3, 1975 (1975-10-03)
28	5	"The Deep Blue Sleep"	William Wiard	Story by : Chas. Floyd Johnson Teleplay by : Juanita Bartlett	October 10, 1975 (1975-10-10)
29	6	"The Great Blue Lake Land and Development Company"	Lawrence Doheny	Juanita Bartlett	October 17, 1975 (1975-10-17)
30	7	"The Real Easy Red Dog"	Ivan Dixon	Stephen J. Cannell	October 31, 1975 (1975-10-31)
31	8	"Resurrection in Black and White"	Russ Mayberry	Juanita Bartlett and Stephen J. Cannell	November 7, 1975 (1975-11-07)
32	9	"Chicken Little Is a Little Chicken"	Lawrence Doheny	Stephen J. Cannell	November 14, 1975 (1975-11-14)
33	10	"2 Into 5.56 Won't Go"	Jeannot Szwarc	Stephen J. Cannell	November 21, 1975 (1975-11-21)
34	11	"Pastoria Prime Pick"	Lawrence Doheny	Gordon Dawson	November 28, 1975 (1975-11-28)
35	12	"The Reincarnation of Angie"	Jerry London	Stephen J. Cannell	December 5, 1975 (1975-12-05)
36	13	"The Girl in the Bay City Boys Club"	James Garner	Juanita Bartlett	December 19, 1975 (1975-12-19)
37	14	"The Hammer of C Block"	Jerry London	Gordon Dawson	January 9, 1976 (1976-01-09)
38	15	"The No-Cut Contract"	Lou Antonio	Stephen J. Cannell	January 16, 1976 (1976-01-16)
39	16	"A Portrait of Elizabeth"	Meta Rosenberg	Stephen J. Cannell	January 23, 1976 (1976-01-23)
40	17	"Joey Blue Eyes"	Lawrence Doheny	Walter Dallenbach	January 30, 1976 (1976-01-30)
41	18	"In Hazard"	Jackie Cooper	Juanita Bartlett	February 6, 1976 (1976-02-06)
42	19	"The Italian Bird Fiasco"	Jackie Cooper	Edward J. Lakso	February 13, 1976 (1976-02-13)
43	20	"Where's Houston?"	Lawrence Doheny	Don Carlos Dunaway	February 20, 1976 (1976-02-20)
44	21	"Foul on the First Play"	Lou Antonio	Story by : Chas. Floyd Johnson and Dorothy J. Bailey Teleplay by : Stephen J. Cannell	March 12, 1976 (1976-03-12)
45	22	"A Bad Deal in the Valley"	Jerry London	Donald L. Gold & Lester Wm. Berke	March 19, 1976 (1976-03-19)

Season 3 (1976–77)[]

Garner, Beery and Santos are the series stars. Corbett and Margolin are frequently recurring guests. James Luisi begins his recurring role as Lt. Chapman.

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
46	1	"The Fourth Man"	William Wiard	Juanita Bartlett	September 24, 1976 (1976-09-24)
47	2	"The Oracle Wore a Cashmere Suit"	Russ Mayberry	David Chase	October 1, 1976 (1976-10-01)
48	3	"The Family Hour"	William Wiard	Gordon Dawson	October 8, 1976 (1976-10-08)
49	4	"Feeding Frenzy"	Russ Mayberry	Story by : Lester Wm. Berke & Donald L. Gold Teleplay by : Stephen J. Cannell	October 15, 1976 (1976-10-15)
50	5	"Drought at Indianhead River"	Lawrence Doheny	Stephen J. Cannell	November 5, 1976 (1976-11-05)
51	6	"Coulter City Wildcat"	Russ Mayberry	Don Carlos Dunaway	November 12, 1976 (1976-11-12)
52	7	"So Help Me God"	Jeannot Szwarc	Juanita Bartlett	November 19, 1976 (1976-11-19)
53	8	"Rattlers' Class of '63"	Meta Rosenberg	David Chase	November 26, 1976 (1976-11-26)
54	9	"Return to the Thirty-Eighth Parallel"	Bruce Kessler	Walter Dallenbach	December 10, 1976 (1976-12-10)
55	10	"Piece Work"	Lawrence Doheny	Juanita Bartlett	December 17, 1976 (1976-12-17)
56	11	"The Trouble with Warren"	Christian I. Nyby II	Juanita Bartlett	December 24, 1976 (1976-12-24)
57	12	"There's One in Every Port"	Meta Rosenberg	Stephen J. Cannell	January 7, 1977 (1977-01-07)
58	13	"Sticks and Stones May Break Your Bones, but Waterbury Will Bury You"	Jerry London	David Chase	January 14, 1977 (1977-01-14)
59	14	"The Trees, the Bees and T.T. Flowers: Part 1"	Jerry London	Gordon Dawson	January 21, 1977 (1977-01-21)
60	15	"The Trees, the Bees and T.T. Flowers: Part 2"	Jerry London	Gordon Dawson	January 28, 1977 (1977-01-28)
61	16	"The Becker Connection"	Reza Badiyi	Story by : Chas. Floyd Johnson and Ted Harris Teleplay by : Juanita Bartlett	February 11, 1977 (1977-02-11)
62	17	"Just Another Polish Wedding"	William Wiard	Stephen J. Cannell	February 18, 1977 (1977-02-18)
63	18	"New Life, Old Dragons"	Jeannot Szwarc	Story by : Bernard Rollins & Leroy Robinson Teleplay by : David C. Taylor	February 25, 1977 (1977-02-25)
64	19	"To Protect and Serve: Part 1"	William Wiard	David Chase	March 11, 1977 (1977-03-11)
65	20	"To Protect and Serve: Part 2"	William Wiard	David Chase	March 18, 1977 (1977-03-18)
66	21	"Crack Back"	Reza Badiyi	Juanita Bartlett	March 25, 1977 (1977-03-25)
67	22	"Dirty Money, Black Light"	Stuart Margolin	David C. Taylor	April 1, 1977 (1977-04-01)

Season 4 (1977–78)[]

Garner, Beery and Santos are the series stars. Corbett, Luisi and Margolin are frequently recurring guests, though Corbett leaves the show halfway through the season. Atkins returns for one episode.

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
68	1	"Beamer's Last Case"	Stephen J. Cannell	Story by : Booker Bradshaw & Calvin Kelly Teleplay by : Stephen J. Cannell	September 16, 1977 (1977-09-16)
69	2	"Trouble in Chapter 17"	William Wiard	Juanita Bartlett	September 23, 1977 (1977-09-23)
70	3	"The Battle of Canoga Park"	Ivan Dixon	Juanita Bartlett	September 30, 1977 (1977-09-30)
71	4	"Second Chance"	Reza Badiyi	Gordon Dawson	October 14, 1977 (1977-10-14)
72	5	"The Dog and Pony Show"	Reza Badiyi	David Chase	October 21, 1977 (1977-10-21)
73	6	"Requiem for a Funny Box"	William Wiard	Story by : Burt Prelutsky Teleplay by : James Crocker	November 4, 1977 (1977-11-04)
74	7	"Quickie Nirvana"	Meta Rosenberg	David Chase	November 11, 1977 (1977-11-11)
75	8	"Irving the Explainer"	James Coburn	David Chase	November 18, 1977 (1977-11-18)
76	9	"The Mayor's Committee from Deer Lick Falls"	Ivan Dixon	William R. Stratton	November 25, 1977 (1977-11-25)
77	10	"Hotel of Fear"	Russ Mayberry	Juanita Bartlett	December 2, 1977 (1977-12-02)
78	11	"Forced Retirement"	Alexander Singer	William R. Stratton	December 9, 1977 (1977-12-09)
79	12	"The Queen of Peru"	Meta Rosenberg	David Chase	December 16, 1977 (1977-12-16)
80	13	"A Deadly Maze"	William Wiard	Juanita Bartlett	December 23, 1977 (1977-12-23)
81	14	"The Attractive Nuisance"	Dana Elcar	Stephen J. Cannell	January 6, 1978 (1978-01-06)
82	15	"The Gang at Don's Drive-In"	Harry Falk	James Crocker	January 13, 1978 (1978-01-13)
83	16	"The Paper Palace"	Richard Crenna	Juanita Bartlett	January 20, 1978 (1978-01-20)
84	17	"Dwarf in a Helium Hat"	Reza Badiyi	Stephen J. Cannell and David Chase	January 27, 1978 (1978-01-27)
85	18	"South by Southeast"	William Wiard	Juanita Bartlett	February 3, 1978 (1978-02-03)
86	19	"The Competitive Edge"	Harry Falk	Gordon Dawson	February 10, 1978 (1978-02-10)
87	20	"The Prisoner of Rosemont Hall"	Ivan Dixon	Story by : Chas. Floyd Johnson and Maryann Rea Teleplay by : Stephen J. Cannell and David Chase	February 17, 1978 (1978-02-17)
88 89	21 22	"The House on Willis Avenue"	Hy Averback	Stephen J. Cannell	February 24, 1978 (1978-02-24)

Season 5 (1978–79)[]

Garner, Beery and Santos star. Luisi and Margolin are frequently recurring guests. Bo Hopkins is a recurring guest as John Cooper for this season only.

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
90	1	"Heartaches of a Fool"	William Wiard	Stephen J. Cannell	September 22, 1978 (1978-09-22)
91	2	"Rosendahl and Gilda Stern Are Dead"	William Wiard	Juanita Bartlett	September 29, 1978 (1978-09-29)
92	3	"The Jersey Bounce"	William Wiard	Story by : Stephen J. Cannell, David Chase and Juanita Bartlett Teleplay by : David Chase	October 6, 1978 (1978-10-06)
93	4	"White on White and Nearly Perfect"	Stephen J. Cannell	Stephen J. Cannell	October 20, 1978 (1978-10-20)
94	5	"Kill the Messenger"	Ivan Dixon	Juanita Bartlett	October 27, 1978 (1978-10-27)
95	6	"A Good Clean Bust with Sequel Rights"	William Wiard	Rudolph Borchert	November 3, 1978 (1978-11-03)
96	7	"A Three-Day Affair with a Thirty-Day Escrow"	Ivan Dixon	David Chase	November 10, 1978 (1978-11-10)
97	8	"The Empty Frame"	Corey Allen	Stephen J. Cannell	November 17, 1978 (1978-11-17)
98 99	9 10	"Black Mirror"	Arnold Laven	David Chase	November 24, 1978 (1978-11-24)
100	11	"A Fast Count"	Reza Badiyi	Gordon Dawson	December 1, 1978 (1978-12-01)
101	12	"Local Man Eaten by Newspaper"	Meta Rosenberg	Juanita Bartlett	December 8, 1978 (1978-12-08)
102	13	"If the French Heel is Back, Can the Nehru Jacket Be Far Behind?"	Ivan Dixon	Rudolph Borchert	January 5, 1979 (1979-01-05)
103	14	"The Battle-Ax and the Exploding Cigar"	Ivan Dixon	Story by : Mann Rubin and Michael Wagner Teleplay by : Rogers Turrentine	January 12, 1979 (1979-01-12)
104	15	"Guilt"	William Wiard	Juanita Bartlett	January 19, 1979 (1979-01-19)
105	16	"The Deuce"	Bernard McEveety	Gordon Dawson	January 26, 1979 (1979-01-26)
106	17	"The Man Who Saw the Alligators"	Corey Allen	David Chase	February 10, 1979 (1979-02-10)
107	18	"The Return of the Black Shadow"	William Wiard	Stephen J. Cannell	February 17, 1979 (1979-02-17)
108	19	"A Material Difference"	William Wiard	Rogers Turrentine	February 24, 1979 (1979-02-24)
109 110	20 21	"Never Send a Boy King to Do a Man's Job"	William Wiard	Juanita Bartlett	March 3, 1979 (1979-03-03)
111	22	"A Different Drummer"	Reza Badiyi	Rudolph Borchert	April 13, 1979 (1979-04-13)

Season 6 (1979–80)[]

Garner, Beery and Santos star. Luisi and Margolin are frequently recurring guests.

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
112	1	"Paradise Cove"	Stephen J. Cannell	Stephen J. Cannell	September 28, 1979 (1979-09-28)
113 114	2 3	"Lions, Tigers, Monkeys and Dogs"	William Wiard	Juanita Bartlett	October 12, 1979 (1979-10-12)
115	4	"Only Rock 'n' Roll Will Never Die: Part 1"	William Wiard	David Chase	October 19, 1979 (1979-10-19)
116	5	"Only Rock 'n' Roll Will Never Die: Part 2"	William Wiard	David Chase	October 26, 1979 (1979-10-26)
117	6	"Love Is the Word" "Some Things You Can Tell Yourself"	John Patterson	David Chase	November 9, 1979 (1979-11-09)
118	7	"Nice Guys Finish Dead"	John Patterson	Stephen J. Cannell	November 16, 1979 (1979-11-16)
119	8	"The Hawaiian Headache"	William Wiard	Stephen J. Cannell	November 23, 1979 (1979-11-23)
120	9	"No Fault Affair"	Corey Allen	Juanita Bartlett	November 30, 1979 (1979-11-30)
121	10	"The Big Cheese"	Joseph Pevney	Shel Willens	December 7, 1979 (1979-12-07)
122	11	"Just a Coupla Guys"	Ivan Dixon	David Chase	December 14, 1979 (1979-12-14)
123	12	"Deadlock in Parma"	Winrich Kolbe	Story by : Donald L. Gold & Lester Wm. Berke Teleplay by : Donald L. Gold & Lester Wm. Berke and Rudolph Borchert	January 10, 1980 (1980-01-10)

Unproduced[]

The following four episodes were scripted and slated for production during season six. However, when Garner was forced to leave the series due to medical issues, the series was shut down and these episodes were never filmed.

· "Happy Father's Day" by Mark Griffiths

· "Some People Are Trouble" by Shel Willens

· "Never Trust a Boxx Boy" by Stephen J. Cannell

· "What Do You Want From Us?" by Juanita Bartlett

CBS TV movies[]

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	"I Still Love L.A."	James Whitmore Jr.	Juanita Bartlett	November 27, 1994 (1994-11-27)
Jim Rockford investigates a carjacking that led to murder.
2	"A Blessing in Disguise"	Jeannot Szwarc	Stephen J. Cannell	May 14, 1995 (1995-05-14)
Jim Rockford helps an actress whose movie is being boycotted by Angel's church.
3	"If the Frame Fits"	Jeannot Szwarc	Juanita Bartlett	January 14, 1996 (1996-01-14)
Jim Rockford works to clear his name in the murder of a P.I. with a bad reputation.
4	"Godfather Knows Best"		David Chase	February 18, 1996 (1996-02-18)
Lt. Becker's drifter son - whose godfather happens to be Jim Rockford - gets mixed up in the murder of a fashion model.
5	"Friends and Foul Play"	Stuart Margolin	Stephen J. Cannell	April 25, 1996 (1996-04-25)
Jim Rockford investigates the murders of his friend Babs and her son by taking a criminal behavioral class.
6	"Punishment and Crime"	David Chase	David Chase	September 18, 1996 (1996-09-18)
Jim Rockford gets involved with Russian mobsters.
7	"Murder and Misdemeanors"	Tony Wharmby	Juanita Bartlett	November 21, 1997 (1997-11-21)
Jim Rockford struggles to deal with both a prostitute complaining about two Vice cops and his old cellmate's terminal illness.
8	"If It Bleeds, It Leads"	Stuart Margolin	Story by : Stephen J. Cannell & Juanita Bartlett Teleplay by :	April 20, 1999 (1999-04-20)
Jim Rockford helps his old friend Rita Capkovic when her husband is suspected of being the "Westside Rapist".

Writers[]

• Stephen J. Cannell and Roy Huggins a.k.a. John Thomas James

They created the Rockford files together and wrote many episodes together and separately.

• Robert Hamner
• Gloryette Clark
• Edward J. Lakso
• Juanita Bartlett
• Gordon Dawson
• David Chase
• David C. Taylor
• Rudolph Borchert
• Shel Willens
• Rogers Turrentine
• James Crocker
• William R. Stratton
• Charles Sailor
• Eric Kaldor

Directors[]

• William Wiard

directed 26 episodes

• Lawrence Doheny

directed 12 episodes

• Ivan Dixon

Directed 8 episodes

• Jerry London

Directed 8 episodes

• Reza Badiyi

Directed 7 episodes

• Russ Mayberry

Directed 7 episodes

• Meta Rosenberg

Directed 6 episodes

• Jackie Cooper

Directed 5 episodes

• Lou Antonio

Directed 3 episodes

• Corey Allen

Directed 3 episodes

• Stephen J. Cannell

Directed 3 episodes

• John Patterson

Directed 2 episodes

• Jeannot Szwarc

Directed 2 episodes

• Vincent McEveety

Directed 2 episodes

• Stuart Margolin (Angel Martin)

Directed 2 episodes

• Joseph Pevney

Directed 1 episode

• Michael Schultz

Directed 1 episode

• Bernhard Kowalski

Directed 1 episode

• Alex Grasshoff

Directed 1 episode

• Charles S. Dubin

Directed 1 episode

• Winrich Kolbe

Directed 1 episode

• James Coburn

Directed 1 episode

• James Garner

Directed 1 episode

• Richard Crenna

Directed 1 episode