teufelhunde.ret Posted July 20, 2014 Share #1 Posted July 20, 2014 James passed away last evening, a great character actor. He was a vet of WW2 Merchant Marine and KW with the National Guard and Army, rec'd 2 PH's for service in Korea. Thx for many great memories, RIP! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David D Posted July 20, 2014 Share #2 Posted July 20, 2014 Rest in Peace -Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patchcollector Posted July 20, 2014 Share #3 Posted July 20, 2014 A real hero has passed.His full name is this:James Garner. Here is some info I found online.I have highlighted references to his military service. HOLLYWOOD star James Garner – best remembered for his role as private detective Jim Rockford in the Rockford Files – has died aged 86. The actor – who also starred in The Great Escape – was found dead at his home in Los Angeles on Saturday evening. No immediate cause of death is available. A dashing, dark-haired and dark-eyed figure with a sly sense of humor, Garner played private investigator Jim Rockford from 1974 to 1980. He came back to play the character in several TV movies in the 1990s. He had already achieved stardom as the gun-slinging Bret Maverick from 1957-1960, and reprised that cowboy character in the 1980s. In a movie version of the show in 1994, Garner had a cameo role with Mel Gibson playing the title character. Garner was unusual for being successful in both film and television. He starred in more than 50 films, including The Great Escape and Murphy's Romance in 1985, for which he received an Academy Award nomination. More recently he appeared in the cult hit The Notebook in 2004 as the older version of Ryan Gosling's Duke. The youngest of three children, Garner was born in Norman, Oklahoma. He moved to Los Angeles as a teenager with his family, and at age 16 joined the Merchant Marine, later joining the National Guard. He served for seven months, then joined the Army and went to Korea for 14 months during the war. He was wounded twice and awarded the purple heart in Korea for the first injury. For the second wound, he received a second purple heart. After landing a few roles in movies, Garner got his big break playing the role of professional gambler Bret Maverick in the comedy Western series Maverick from 1957 to 1960, a series that made him a household name. But Garner quit the series in the third season because of a dispute with Warner Brothers and turned to make numerous films instead. Producer Roy Huggins brought Garner back to television in the 1970s as private investigator Jim Rockford in The Rockford Files. He appeared for six seasons, and won an Emmy for Best Actor in 1977. He was nominated for a Best Actor award at the Oscars for his role in Murphy's Romance opposite Sally Field. Garner was married to Lois Clarke in 1956. They have a daughter Greta Garner, as well as a daughter Kim from Clarke's previous marriage. I don't watch alot of TV shows,but I did enjoy seeing him in movies,especially "The Great Escape".A laid back,humble man,James never tried to use his extensive military service to bolster his image. Here is a photo of him from the "Great Escape" Rest in Peace James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry K. Posted July 20, 2014 Share #4 Posted July 20, 2014 Goodbye James, you are missed. RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garandomatic Posted July 20, 2014 Share #5 Posted July 20, 2014 His movie TANK is literally what got me interested in military stuff at the age of 4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattS Posted July 20, 2014 Share #6 Posted July 20, 2014 He played a UDT frogman in "Up Periscope" with Edmond O'Brien too, great actor. RIP Jim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sigsaye Posted July 20, 2014 Share #7 Posted July 20, 2014 This man was a true star. Loved watching him in just about everything he was in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobgee Posted July 20, 2014 Share #8 Posted July 20, 2014 Helluva guy! Great actor. Thanks for the many entertaining hours you provided. R.I.P. Sir. Bobgee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tarbridge Posted July 20, 2014 Share #9 Posted July 20, 2014 A Class Act...Thanks Jim Garner...RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor996 Posted July 20, 2014 Share #10 Posted July 20, 2014 and a huge raider fan: RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeeper704 Posted July 20, 2014 Share #11 Posted July 20, 2014 Another icon gone. I loved him in the movie "Tank" and the "Rockford Files". Rest in Peace. Erwin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manayunkman Posted July 20, 2014 Share #12 Posted July 20, 2014 He played the American F-1 driver in Grand Prix one of my favorite movies. I remember an interview he did where he stated that he did his own stunts and had the damage to prove it. A full life right there and I'm glad I was able to enjoy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1SG_1st_Cav Posted July 20, 2014 Share #13 Posted July 20, 2014 RIP James. You were one of my favorites! Danny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teufelhunde.ret Posted July 20, 2014 Author Share #14 Posted July 20, 2014 He played the American F-1 driver in Grand Prix one of my favorite movies. it. Long forgotten that role, it was good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1canpara Posted July 21, 2014 Share #15 Posted July 21, 2014 A very tough day for me. One of my favorite actors, but also a big influence in my life! Of course I had my favorite James Garner movies, Gran Prix was one of my favorites along with The Great Escape. Before I became a cop I was pursuing an acting career, influenced by James Garner and other actors of his day. I was lucky enough to work on a movie with him in the early 80's. It was a cop movie called The Glitter Dome and I played an LAPD officer alongside Mr. Garner and John Lithgow. He was gracious enough to spend many hours chatting with me between takes and share his viewpoint and wisdom on acting and Hollywood in general. He was very supportive, but he said it would be tough. He kidded with me that maybe I should try being a real cop instead of a movie cop! I guess I have him to thank for a very successful 30 year career in policing. We stayed in touch for awhile after the movie wrapped but eventually lost touch. A great actor and a great guy! I'm honored to have known him. Here's a photo of him and I from the back of the video box. RIP Jim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uniformcollector Posted July 21, 2014 Share #16 Posted July 21, 2014 R.I.P My Fellow Americans is one of my favorite movies. In my opinion, one of his best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garandomatic Posted July 21, 2014 Share #17 Posted July 21, 2014 A very tough day for me. One of my favorite actors, but also a big influence in my life! Of course I had my favorite James Garner movies, Gran Prix was one of my favorites along with The Great Escape. Before I became a cop I was pursuing an acting career, influenced by James Garner and other actors of his day. I was lucky enough to work on a movie with him in the early 80's. It was a cop movie called The Glitter Dome and I played an LAPD officer alongside Mr. Garner and John Lithgow. He was gracious enough to spend many hours chatting with me between takes and share his viewpoint and wisdom on acting and Hollywood in general. He was very supportive, but he said it would be tough. He kidded with me that maybe I should try being a real cop instead of a movie cop! I guess I have him to thank for a very successful 30 year career in policing. We stayed in touch for awhile after the movie wrapped but eventually lost touch. A great actor and a great guy! I'm honored to have known him. Here's a photo of him and I from the back of the video box. RIP Jim. php4gChH4PM.jpg Now that's cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted July 21, 2014 Share #18 Posted July 21, 2014 Sad to see him go. Here he is in Darby's Rangers as Darby. Photo came from this site, lots of great still of Garner and company. http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Darby's_Rangers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEAST Posted July 22, 2014 Share #19 Posted July 22, 2014 He played the American F-1 driver in Grand Prix one of my favorite movies. I remember an interview he did where he stated that he did his own stunts and had the damage to prove it. A full life right there and I'm glad I was able to enjoy it. Garner often came to the Indy 500, driving the pace car in the 1970s. Here is a photo of him and Paul Newman at Indy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patchcollector Posted July 23, 2014 Share #20 Posted July 23, 2014 Here is some info about James and auto racing I found online: Racing Garner was an owner of the "American International Racers" (AIR) auto racing team from 1967 through 1969. Famed motorsports writer William Edgar and Hollywood director Andy Sidaris teamed with Garner for the racing documentary "The Racing Scene", filmed in 1969 and released in 1970. The team fielded cars at Le Mans, Daytona, and Sebring endurance races, but is best known for Garner's celebrity status raising publicity in early off-road motor-sports events. Garner signed a three-year sponsorship contract with American Motors Corporation (AMC). His shops prepared ten 1969 SC/Ramblers for the Baja 500 race. Garner did not drive in this event because of a film commitment in Spain that year. Nevertheless, seven of his cars finished the grueling race, taking three of the top five places in the sedan class. Garner also drove the pace car at the Indianapolis 500 race in 1975, 1977, and 1985. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1canpara Posted July 23, 2014 Share #21 Posted July 23, 2014 Here is some info about James and auto racing I found online: Racing Garner was an owner of the "American International Racers" (AIR) auto racing team from 1967 through 1969. Famed motorsports writer William Edgar and Hollywood director Andy Sidaris teamed with Garner for the racing documentary "The Racing Scene", filmed in 1969 and released in 1970. The team fielded cars at Le Mans, Daytona, and Sebring endurance races, but is best known for Garner's celebrity status raising publicity in early off-road motor-sports events. Garner signed a three-year sponsorship contract with American Motors Corporation (AMC). His shops prepared ten 1969 SC/Ramblers for the Baja 500 race. Garner did not drive in this event because of a film commitment in Spain that year. Nevertheless, seven of his cars finished the grueling race, taking three of the top five places in the sedan class. Garner also drove the pace car at the Indianapolis 500 race in 1975, 1977, and 1985. That's very cool! I was aware of his love of cars and racing and we spoke of him doing his own driving in Grand Prix but I wasn't aware of the AIR involvement. My Dad was seriously into racing, mainly the Trans Am circuit and here in Canada the Can Am circuit in the late 60's and 70's and was always very impressed by the actors like James Garner, Steve McQueen and Paul Newman who were so passionate about racing and did a lot of their own driving. This breed of actor is slowly disappearing. I'm so glad to have enjoyed them and their work while they were here. Thanks for this Patches! Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patchcollector Posted July 23, 2014 Share #22 Posted July 23, 2014 That's very cool! I was aware of his love of cars and racing and we spoke of him doing his own driving in Grand Prix but I wasn't aware of the AIR involvement. My Dad was seriously into racing, mainly the Trans Am circuit and here in Canada the Can Am circuit in the late 60's and 70's and was always very impressed by the actors like James Garner, Steve McQueen and Paul Newman who were so passionate about racing and did a lot of their own driving. This breed of actor is slowly disappearing. I'm so glad to have enjoyed them and their work while they were here. Thanks for this Patches! Rick You are most welcome sir. I agree with you,they don't make 'em like him anymore.You were blessed to get to know him personally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZPhil Posted July 23, 2014 Share #23 Posted July 23, 2014 Truly one of the Great's and one of my Favorites. Rip James! Semper Fi Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted July 23, 2014 Share #24 Posted July 23, 2014 Not forgetting "Space Cowboys"...what a cast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1canpara Posted July 23, 2014 Share #25 Posted July 23, 2014 Not forgetting "Space Cowboys"...what a cast! Absolutely Ian! There's 3 of my my faves right there! Jim Garner, Clint and fellow Canadian Donald Sutherland! Of course I think Tommy Lee Jones is fantastic too, but just ever so slightly from a different era of acting. Who can forget Eastwood and Sutherland in Kelly's Heroes? Too bad James Garner wasn't in that one, he would have been great in that movie! Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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