James Garner, Rockford Files star, dies aged 86 - BBC News BBC News James Garner, Rockford Files star, dies aged 86 20 July 2014 Close share panel Image copyright Getty Images Image caption James Garner had huge success with long-running TV series The Rockford Files and Maverick James Garner, the US star of hit TV series The Rockford Files and Maverick and films including The Great Escape, has died aged 86. Garner had suffered ill health since a severe stroke in 2008. "Mr Garner died of natural causes," the West LA Division of the Los Angeles Police Department told the BBC, adding he died on Saturday and his body has been released to his family. His publicist confirmed to the BBC that he died at home. Garner famously played the laconic private investigator Jim Rockford. He won an Emmy for the role in 1977 and starred in 122 episodes of the hugely successful show from 1974 to 1980. He returned to it in the 1990s with eight Rockford Files TV movies.

Media captionWatch James Garner as private investigator Jim Rockford in a scene from the hit 70s US TV show, The Rockford Files Another role, as the poker-playing Bret Maverick in the Western comedy, was also a hit with TV viewers, running for 60 episodes from 1957 to 1962. It ran again for another 18 episodes from 1981 to 1982. Image copyright AP Image caption This photo of Garner as Maverick was taken in 1982 Richard Natale of Variety said that the role of the laid-back, work-shy Maverick fitted "his wry personality like a glove" . However he left the show following a legal dispute over his salary with Warner Bros, which he won. The TV show was later made into a film in 1992 starring Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster, but also starred Garner - this time on the right side of the law, as Marshal Zane Cooper. In 1963's iconic World War Two film The Great Escape, Garner played flight lieutenant Robert Hendley, an American in the RAF, alongside Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough and Donald Pleasence.

Image copyright Rex Features Image caption Garner [R] was in The Great Escape with Gordon Jackson, Donald Pleasance and Richard Attenborough The film depicted the daring escape by prisoners of war from the German Stalag Luft III camp through a 336ft (102m) long tunnel. Only three reached safety and of the 73 recaptured, 50 were shot. Hendley's role in the film was as the "scrounger" who managed to get hold of identity cards, clothes and a camera. Garner later said that he had based this role on his real-life experiences - also as a "scrounger" - during the Korean War with the US Army. He also had success with films including Grand Prix in 1966, a fictional account of the Formula One season featuring actual racing footage. The actor went on to be Oscar-nominated for best actor in 1986 for the romantic comedy Murphy's Romance, co-starring Sally Field, in which he played a small town pharmacist.

Other leading ladies included Doris Day, who he starred with in the 1963 screwball comedy Move over Darling, and Julie Andrews, his co-star in gender-bending comedy Victor Victoria in 1982. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Garner received a lifetime achievement award from the Screen Actors Guild in 2005 In an interview on US TV in 2002 , he told Charlie Rose: "John [Sturges, Great Escape's director] was a great director and editor and he got the most out of his actors. I don't know how he did that, I think it was just a pat on the back and that sort of thing." He also admitted that he was "always nervous" when acting, adding: "Keeps me on my toes. I've never been that confident, I don't have the background in acting. "Some people do, they went to all these classes. A lot of people say you have to have this foundation, you have to have all the great teachers and all the great theory. I don't think so. "When I was 25 when I first started acting I'd been around the world a little bit. I'd travelled in a lot of different societies.

I felt I knew as much as any of these actors who'd been to acting school." Garner, who was born in Oklahoma and brought up by relatives after the death of his mother and the subsequent absence of his father, left home after trying various jobs before fighting for the United States Army in Korea. He was injured in 1951 but he had to wait until 1983 to receive his medal, the Purple Heart. Image copyright AP Image caption Lois Clarke and James Garner married in 1957 Acting began for Garner when he landed a nonspeaking role in the 1954 Broadway production of The Caine Mutiny Court Martial. It starred the eminent Henry Fonda, who was closely studied by his young cast-member. He went on to win a role in the 1956 film Towards the Unknown, about early supersonic flight experiments. Garner went on to be nominated for nine Golden Globes for shows including The Rockford Files in 1980 and Maverick in 1982, having won in 1958 for most promising newcomer.

He also won a further two for TV series Decoration Day [1991] and Barbarians at the Gate [1994]. He also starred with Sandra Bullock and Ellen Burstyn in mother-daughter drama Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, in 2002. From 2003 to 2005 he was in 45 episodes of US comedy 8 Simple Rules. In 2005 the veteran star was given a Screen Actor's Guild lifetime achievement award. Garner married his wife, the TV actress Lois Clarke, in 1957. They had two daughters, Kimberly from her previous marriage, and their daughter Greta.

James Garner Dead: Star of ‘Maverick,’ ‘Rockford Files’ Dies at 86 | Variety APPRECIATION: James Garner Gracefully Bore the Weight of Stardom Garner found his way to showbiz through a friend, theater producer Paul Gregory: He was employed cueing actor Lloyd Nolan during rehearsals of the Broadway-bound “The Caine Mutiny Court Martial.” Garner eventually copped a nonspeaking role in the 1954 production, where, he said, he closely studied the play’s star, Henry Fonda. After studying with Herbert Berghof, Garner landed a role in the touring production of “Caine.” Back in Los Angeles in 1955, he secured bit parts in the TV series “Cheyenne.” Impressed, Warner Bros. gave him a screen test and a contract at $200 a week. He paid his dues in supporting roles in “Towards the Unknown,” “The Girl He Left Behind” and “Shootout at Medicine Bend” as well as some TV assignments.

He was first really noticeable in a role as Marlon Brando’s pal in “Sayonara,” after which he was assigned a supporting role in “Darby’s Rangers.” When “Darby’s” lead Charlton Heston walked off the film, Garner inherited his first starring role, but reviews were mixed. The real boost to his career came in a role now indelibly associated with him, that of Bret Maverick in the comedic Western that ABC debuted in 1957; the role and the series fit his wry personality like a glove. Originally the story was to alternate between the Maverick brothers played by Garner and Jack Kelly, but “Maverick” quickly became all about Garner’s character, who used his wits to get out of trouble. Other actors revolved in and out including Clint Eastwood as a vicious gunfighter. “Maverick” led to a long relationship between Garner and its creator, Roy Huggins. The actor stayed with the series until 1960, when he quit over a dispute with Warners. “I’m playing me,” Garner said about the role. “Bret Maverick is lazy: I’m lazy.

And I like being lazy.” Lazy or not, the actor shared the Golden Globe for most promising male newcomer in 1958 and earned his first Emmy nomination in 1959 for “Maverick.” In the meantime, Warners was serving him frustrating fare like “Up Periscope” and “Cash McCall.” Taking advantage of a suspension during the Writers Guild strike of 1960, Garner sued Warners for breach of contract — and won — allowing him to be a free agent and demand more for his services. He appeared in specials before landing a supporting role in “The Children’s Hour” with Shirley MacLaine and Audrey Hepburn. His roles in films got better: “Boys’ Night Out” and, especially, “The Great Escape” brought him his best notices. He said that he drew on his experience in the Korean War, during which he was the company scrounger, for the latter role.

For a time he seemed ready to inherit the aging Cary Grant’s romantic comedy leading man mantle with such films as “The Thrill of It All” (1963), “The Wheeler Dealers” and “Move Over Darling.” Arthur Hiller gave him a meatier assignment, in the satire “The Americanization of Emily,” opposite the then-red-hot Julie Andrews. He then nabbed the thriller “36 Hours” and a couple of indifferent comedies, “The Art of Love” and “A Man Could Get Killed.” The films were now A-budget, but “Duel at Diablo,” “Mr. Buddwing” and “Grand Prix,” which gave him a yen for car racing, weren’t particularly memorable.

During this period he appeared in Westerns including “Hour of the Gun” (in which he played Wyatt Earp), comedy Western “Support Your Local Sheriff,” “They Only Kill Their Masters,” “Marlowe” and “Skin Game.” But he really scored on TV, where, after the brief NBC Western series “Nichols” in 1971, he hit paydirt with comedic detective skein “The Rockford Files,” which ran from 1974-80 and won him an Emmy in 1977 and another four nominations. Huggins teamed with Stephen J. Cannell for the detective series recycling many of the plots from “Maverick.” Many of Garner’s friends had recurring roles in the series, including Joe Santos and Stuart Margolin as his buddies. Margolin said at the time that Garner worked long shifts, did his own stunts and stayed to do off-camera lines for the other cast members. But his old injuries and pay disputes led Garner to call it quits even though the show drew high ratings on NBC. He again essayed “Bret Maverick” for one season in 1981.

But a bad back, lawsuits with MCA TV over “Rockford” syndication payments (he eventually settled, reportedly for several million dollars) and, eventually, heart surgery curtailed his ability to endure the rigors of a TV series. He reteamed with Andrews in the Blake Edwards musical “Victor/Victoria” in 1982, and he landed a plum role opposite Sally Field in the comedy/romance “Murphy’s Romance” in 1985. He essayed an older Wyatt Earp in Edwards’ “Sunset” opposite Bruce Willis as Tom Mix and did the underwhelming “Fire in the Sky” in 1983. In 1994 he took a small role in the bigscreen version of “Maverick,” with Mel Gibson in the lead, giving the star a run for his money in the likability department.

In 1996 he starred as an ex-president opposite Jack Lemmon in “My Fellow Americans.” The best of his later work, however, came in television in such TV movie dramas as “Heartsounds” with Mary Tyler Moore in 1984, directed by Glen Jordan, who also guided him through “Promise” in 1986. In 1989 he was acclaimed for “My Name Is Bill W.” with James Woods. In the 1992 HBO film “Barbarians at the Gate,” the actor offered up a standout chewy performance. Quieter, but no less effective, was “Breathing Lessons” opposite Joanne Woodward. His bigscreen career continued in the 2000s with the Clint Eastwood-helmed veteran astronaut comedy “Space Cowboys,” chick pic “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood” and 2004 hit tearjerker “The Notebook,” in which Garner and Gena Rowlands played the older versions of a couple portrayed by Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. On the smallscreen, Garner recurred on the ABC comedy “8 Simple Rules for Dating My Daughter” from 2003-05.

He also voiced God for the short-lived NBC series “God, the Devil and Bob,” played the chief justice in CBS’ Supreme Court drama “First Monday” and portrayed Mark Twain in a 2002 Hallmark adaptation of Twain’s novel “Roughing It.” Born James Bumgarner in Norman, Okla., he left high school to become a merchant seaman before moving to Los Angeles, enrolling at Hollywood High and then returning to Norman, where he joined the Oklahoma State National Guard. He briefly went to work in his father’s carpeting business in Los Angeles until being called for duty in the Korean War. He served more than a year in the Korean peninsula and was awarded the Purple Heart before his discharge in 1952. He studied business administration at the U. of Oklahoma but left after a semester, ready to move towards acting. Garner starred with Mariette Hartley in a series of noted commercials for Polaroid in the 1970s. He won the Screen Actors Guild’s Life Achievement Award in 2005.

Garner is survived by his wife, the former Lois Clarke, to whom he was married since 1956; daughter Greta “Gigi” Garner; and an adopted daughter, Kimberly, from Clarke’s first marriage. James Garner, Iconic Actor and 'Rockford Files' Star, Dead at 86 - Rolling Stone James Garner, Iconic Actor and 'Rockford Files' Star, Dead at 86 James Garner, Iconic Actor and 'Rockford Files' Star, Dead at 86 Longtime leading man from 'The Great Escape' and 'The Notebook' passes away from natural causes James Garner as Jim Rockford in The Rockford Files on May 1st, 1974. Credit: Fred Sabine/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty All Stories James Garner, a legendary actor of both the small and silver screens for nearly six decades, passed away Saturday in Los Angeles. He was 86. LAPD confirmed reports that the actor was found dead at his home, and while Garner suffered from various ailments in recent years – including a minor stroke in 2008 – it appears he died from natural causes, the Los Angeles Times reports .

More News All Stories A towering, charismatic presence with a slight Oklahoma accent from his childhood, Garner's long filmography is filled with dozens of unforgettable roles, from long TV stints as cardsharp Bret Maverick on Maverick and private eye Jim Rockford on The Rockford Files (for which Garner won a Best Actor Emmy in 1977) to marquee roles in Hour of the Gun, The Americanization of Emily, and most recently, The Notebook. In total, Garner appeared in nearly 100 TV shows and movies. What made Garner unique was that he seemed to land a career-defining role nearly every decade: In the Fifties, he starred in the hit TV western Maverick. In the 1960s, he scored roles in classics like The Great Escape and Grand Prix. The Rockford Files — arguably Garner's most enduring role — arrived in the 1970s. The Eighties brought Garner his first Oscar nomination — Best Actor for Murphy's Romance — while the following decade saw Garner grab the attention of new audiences thanks to appearances in My Fellow Americans, Barbarians at the Gate and Mel Gibson's Maverick reboot.

However, it was Garner's role in The Notebook that this generation of moviegoers most likely will remember. In an industry where there's a definite line between actors capable of being box office draws and actors who just score good Nielsen ratings, Garner was among a rare breed whose popularity and acting chops allowed him to carry leading roles on both television and film, sometimes interchangeably. Among his many accomplishments, Garner was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and was given the Screen Actors Guild's Lifetime Achievement Award. A statue honoring Garner resides in the actor's native Norman, Oklahoma. Don’t Miss a Story Sign up for our newsletter to receive breaking news directly in your inbox. We may use your e-mail address to send you the newsletter and offers that may interest you, on behalf of Rolling Stone and its partners. For more information please read our Privacy Policy How we use your email address Trending Ranked on a scale from 1 to 10, the trending score reflects the number of users reading a story in real time. What is this?

James Garner death: The Notebook, Maverick and Rockford Files actor dies aged 86 | The Independent James Garner death: The Notebook, Maverick and Rockford Files actor dies aged 86 The actor featured in over 50 films during his six-decade career Sunday 20 July 2014 10:06 BST Click to follow Garner and Gena Rowland in The Notebook, 2004 James Garner, who starred in The Rockford Files and The Notebook, has died, aged 86. The actor died in his Los Angeles home yesterday, Saturday 19 July. His cause of death is not yet known. Garner had a career both in television and in cinema, although is best known for his role as Jim Rockford in Seventies television series The Rockford Files, for which he won an Emmy. He also played the original gambling Bret Maverick in Fifties comedy Western Maverick, before starring in the big-screen version with Mel Gibson in 1994. Read: James Garner obituary Born in Oklahoma in 1928, he changed his name to Garner from Bumgarner after a Hollywood studio credited him as “James Garner” without his consent.

He started acting by playing small parts in television series Cheyenne and soon went on to assume the role of Marlon Brando’s friend in 1957 film Sayonara. Garner on stage at the 2005 Screen Actors Guild Awards His six-decade career saw him act in over 50 films including The Children’s Hour, The Great Escape, The Thrill Of It All, Murphy’s Romance, Space Cowboys and more recently The Notebook, in which he plays the older version of Ryan Gosling . In February 2005, he received the Screen Actors Guild's Lifetime Achievement Award and also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In his hometown, Norman in Oklahoma stands a 10-foot bronze statue of Garner as Bret Maverick. He is survived by his wife, Lois Clarke, whom he married 14 days after meeting, and his two children, Gigi and Kimberly, Clarke’s daughter from her first marriage.

James Garner - IMDb IMDb Actor | Producer | Soundtrack Amiable and handsome James Garner had obtained success in both films and television, often playing variations of the charming anti-hero/con-man persona he first developed in Maverick, the offbeat western TV series that shot him to stardom in the late 1950s. James Garner was born James Scott Bumgarner in Norman, Oklahoma, to Mildred Scott (Meek) and... See full bio » Born: a list of 49 people created 29 Jul 2012 a list of 34 people created 18 Aug 2012 a list of 47 people created 26 Jul 2013 a list of 35 people created 02 Mar 2014 a list of 34 people created 18 May 2015 Do you have a demo reel? Add it to your IMDbPage How much of James Garner's work have you seen? User Polls Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 17 wins & 36 nominations.

See more awards » Known For The Great Escape Hendley 'The Scrounger' (1963) Atlantis: The Lost Empire Commander Lyle Tiberius Rourke (2001) 2000 The Last Debate (TV Movie) Mike Howley 1999 One Special Night (TV Movie) Robert Woodward 1997 Dead Silence (TV Movie) John Potter 1994 Breathing Lessons (TV Movie) Ira Moran 1990 Decoration Day (TV Movie) Albert Sidney Finch 1984 The Glitter Dome (TV Movie) Sgt. Aloysius Mackey - Mountain Fortress (1955) ... Lt. Brad Forsythe 1956-1957 Conflict (TV Series) 1989 My Name Is Bill W.

(TV Movie) (executive producer) 1986 Promise (TV Movie) (executive producer) 1980 Off the Minnesota Strip (TV Movie) (executive producer - uncredited) 1976 Scott Free (TV Movie) (executive producer - uncredited) 1974 Sidekicks (TV Movie) (executive producer - uncredited) 1973 Cops (TV Movie) (executive producer - uncredited) 1969 The Racing Scene (Documentary) (producer) 1969 Marlowe (executive producer - uncredited) 1964 36 Hours (executive producer - uncredited) Hide 1994 Maverick (performer: "Amazing Grace") 1981 Bret Maverick (TV Series) (performer - 1 episode) - The Lazy Ace: Part 1 (1981) ...

(performer: "Maverick Didn't Come Here to Lose") 1963 Move Over, Darling (music: "Beautiful Dreamer (1862)" - uncredited) / (performer: "Bridal Chorus (Here Comes The Bride)" (1850), "Beautiful Dreamer (1862)" - uncredited) Maverick (TV Series) (1 episode, 1957) (performer - 2 episodes, 1958) - Island in the Swamp (1958) ... (performer: "Greensleeves" - uncredited) - The Belcastle Brand (1958) ... (performer: "Streets of Laredo (Cowboy's Lament)") - Point Blank (1957) ...

("Sweet Betsy from Pike", uncredited) Hide 2000-2012 American Masters (TV Series documentary) Himself / Himself - Actor 2011 Pioneers of Television (TV Mini-Series documentary) Himself 2009 TV Land Moguls (TV Mini-Series documentary) Himself 2007 Legends (TV Series documentary) Himself 2006 Hollywood Greats (TV Series documentary) Himself 2004 Jimmy Kimmel Live!

(TV Series) Himself - Guest 2004 Larry King Live (TV Series) Himself - Guest 2003 Entertainment Tonight (TV Series) Himself 2002 Intimate Portrait (TV Series documentary) Himself 1994-2002 HBO First Look (TV Series documentary) Himself 2001 Private Screenings (TV Series) Himself 2001 Bravo Profiles (TV Series documentary) Himself 2000 The Making of 'Space Cowboys' (TV Movie documentary) Himself 1998-2000 Biography (TV Series documentary) Himself 2000 2000 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards (TV Special documentary) Himself 1999 Century of Country (TV Mini-Series) Himself - Host 1998 Spirit of American (Documentary short) Narrator (voice) 1997 The Hidden Dimension (Documentary short) Grandfather's Voice (voice) 1995 Great Performances (TV Series) Himself 1995 1995 VH1 Honors (TV Movie) Himself 1993 Return to 'The Great Escape' (Video documentary short) Himself 198

9 Good Morning America (TV Series) Himself - Guest 1984 Sunday Night Live (TV Movie) Himself - Host 1981 Sixty Years of Seduction (TV Movie documentary) Himself - Host 1970 Changing Scene (TV Special) Himself 1968-1970 Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (TV Series) Himself 1964 What's My Line?

(TV Series) Himself - Mystery Guest #2 1964 Juke Box Jury (TV Series) Himself - Panellist 1962 Here's Hollywood (TV Series) Himself 1962 The Tonight Show (TV Series) Himself 1960 Celebrity Golf (TV Series) Himself 1959 77 Sunset Strip (TV Series) Himself 1958 Wide Wide World (TV Series documentary) Himself 2015 A Football Life (TV Series) Himself 2014 Entertainment Tonight (TV Series) Himself 2014 Inside Edition (TV Series documentary) Himself 2014 Omg!

Insider (TV Series) Himself 2014 Tavis Smiley (TV Series) Himself - Guest 2013 The March (TV Movie documentary) Himself 2012 I Am Bruce Lee (TV Movie documentary) Himself - Training with Bruce Lee 2007 Brando (TV Movie documentary) Himself (uncredited) 1995-1999 Biography (TV Series documentary) Himself 1982 Hollywood: The Gift of Laughter (TV Movie documentary) Actor - 'The Thrill of It All' (uncredited) - One Little Indian: Part 1 (1976) ... Corporal Clint Keyes Related Videos Series of TV commercials for Mazda 929 automobiles. See more » Publicity Listings: 3 Print Biographies | 3 Interviews | 3 Articles | 1 Pictorial | 4 Magazine Cover Photos | See more » Official Sites: Did You Know? Personal Quote: [Asked if he would ever do a nude scene] I don't do horror films. See more » Trivia: His brother Jack Garner was a week older than Julie London . His brother guest-starred with her on an episode of Emergency!

(1972). See more » Trademark: His voice was heard at the beginning of every episode of The Rockford Files (1974) on the outgoing message for Jim Rockford's answering machine. See more » Nickname: Actor James Garner of "The Rockford Files" dead at 86 Actor James Garner of "The Rockford Files" dead at 86 By Steve Gorman Share By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor James Garner, best known for his prime-time television roles as the wisecracking frontier gambler on "“Maverick" and as an ex-con turned private eye on "“The Rockford Files," has died at age 86, Los Angeles police confirmed early on Sunday. Garner, who built a six-decade career playing ruggedly charming, good-natured anti-heroes and received the highest honor of the Screen Actors Guild in 2004, was found dead from natural causes on Saturday night at his Los Angeles home, according to police. There were no further details immediately available on the circumstances of his death.

Garner underwent surgery for a stroke in 2008, two years after appearing in his last big-screen role as a wealthy grandfather for a film adaptation of the best-selling book "The Ultimate Gift". An Oklahoma native, Garner entered show business in the 1950s after serving in the Korean War and first rose to fame on the TV western "“Maverick," a sardonic alternative to the more serious frontier shows then popular on American prime time. He was Bret Maverick, a cardsharp and ladies man who got by on his wits instead of a six-gun and would just as soon duck a fight as face a showdown. Co-star Jack Kelly played his more straight-laced brother, Bart. Garner left the ABC show in 1960 in a contract dispute with producers but brought his "“Maverick"-like alter ego to a series of films, including "“Thrill of It All," "“Move Over, Darling," “"The Great Escape" and “"Support Your Local Sheriff!" Garner once said his screen persona as an easy-going guy smart enough to steer clear of a fight actually ran only so deep.

"At times it's like me, but I used to have this temper," he told Reuters in a 2004 interview. “"I used to get in a fight in a heartbeat. But that was many years ago." With his wry, low-key presence, good looks and thick dark hair, Garner was hailed by some as Hollywood's next Clark Gable or Cary Grant. But he ended up scoring his next big hit on the small screen in the 1970s, starring as canny private detective Jim Rockford, a wrongly accused ex-convict starting life over in a beachfront trailer home, on “"The Rockford Files." The show ran on NBC from 1974 until Garner abruptly quit the series in 1980. He reprised Rockford for several TV movies in the late 1990s. BACK TO THE BIG SCREEN The role earned Garner an Emmy Award in 1977. He received his sole Oscar nomination for his work opposite Sally Field in the 1985 feature comedy “"Murphy's Romance." Garner said his favorite role was as the cowardly U.S.

soldier who falls for Julie Andrews before being sent on a dangerous wartime mission in the 1964 film "“The Americanization of Emily." He teamed up with Andrews again in the 1982 film “"Victor/Victoria." He returned to the big screen in 2000 in Clint Eastwood's astronaut adventure "“Space Cowboys" and two years later in “"Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood."In a spate of late-career TV work, Garner played a recurring role as a hospital chief executive on "“Chicago Hope" in 2000 and starred as a conservative Supreme Court chief justice in the short-lived 2002 series “"First Monday." In 2003, he joined the cast of the ABC sitcom “"8 Simple Rules," playing a grandfather after the untimely death of series star John Ritter.

The following year, Garner showed off his big-screen acting chops again, starring opposite Gena Rowlands as the devoted elderly husband of an Alzheimer's disease sufferer in Nick Cassavetes' adaptation of the bestseller "“The Notebook." (Reporting by Steve Gorman; Editing by Rosalind Russell and Raissa Kasolowsky) Reblog James Garner Dead: 'Rockford Files' Star Was 86 | Hollywood Reporter AP Photo/Nick Ut James Garner UPDATED: The amiable actor also starred on TV in "Maverick," in such films as "Victor Victoria," "Murphy's Romance" and "Space Cowboys" and in popular Polaroid commercials. James Garner, the charming leading man from Oklahoma who made it look easy on NBC's The Rockford Files and in films opposite Doris Day, Julie Andrews and Sally Field during more than a half-century in show business, has died. He was 86. The actor died at his Brentwood home on Saturday night, Los Angeles police officer Alonzo Iniquez confirmed to The Associated Press. TMZ first reported the news on Saturday.

PHOTOS Hollywood's Notable Deaths of 2014 The amiable actor was best known for playing the Los Angeles private eye in Rockford, which ran from 1974 to 1980, before knee and back injuries — many sustained because he did his own stunts — forced him to quit. "I couldn't take that many beatings anymore," he once said. "Every hiatus, I had a knee operation for five straight years, and sometimes for both knees." Garner was nominated for the Emmy for best actor in a drama series for five consecutive years, winning in 1977. Rockford, produced by Roy Huggins and writer Stephen J. Cannell, racked up three best drama nominations from 1978 to 1980 and took the trophy in 1978. PHOTOS: Hollywood's 100 Favorite Films Garner also toplined the ABC Western-comedy hybrid Maverick (1957 to 1962), also produced by Huggins, in which he starred as a dapper cardsharp who would just as soon slip out the back door than face down a gunman. "Bravery gets you nothing but hurt," he once said.

Both TV series showcased Garner's sense of humor and expertise in playing the reluctant hero. The dark-haired star also appeared in dozens of films, including two light romantic comedies from 1963 with Day, The Thrill of It All and Move Over, Darling; two with Andrews (1964's The Americanization of Emily and 1982's Victor Victoria); and one with Field, the 1985 romantic comedy Murphy's Romance, for which he received his lone Oscar nomination. Whatever his roles, Garner's acting appeared effortless. Los Angeles Times critic Charles Champlin wrote in 1986 that "James Garner is to the American character what David Niven was to the English character: a lover in preference to a fighter (but capable of heroics), worldly and charming with elements of the vagabond and the debonair rascal, a sort of innocent rogue with an easy way with urbane dialogue." Garner was fastidious about the kind of roles and movies in which he performed. "I don't want to do movies with a lot of profanity, and I don’t want to take my clothes off," he once said. "I don't do horror pictures, or I would take my clothes off.

Seriously, I'm simply not an exhibitionist." His guy-next-door demeanor also vaulted him to stardom in TV commercials. Teamed with Mariette Hartley as a bantering couple, Garner appeared in a series of Polaroid spots in the '80s that were invariably more entertaining than the shows they sponsored. At the time, people would walk into a store and ask for a "James Garner camera." His pairing with Hartley was so endearing that folks used to regularly ask him, "How's your wife?" meaning Hartley. Garner's real wife, Lois, survives him. They dated for two weeks and were married for 56 years. James Scott Bumgarner was born of European and Cherokee ancestry on April 7, 1928, in Norman, Oklahoma. When his mother died, Garner, then 4, and his two brothers went to live with relatives. At 16, he joined the Merchant Marine Academy for a stint that would be shortened because of seasickness, then followed his father to Los Angeles. He briefly attended Hollywood High School but left when he got a job modeling Jantzen bathing suits for ads.

"I wasn't interested until I heard they were paying $25 an hour," Garner wrote in his 2011 autobiography The Garner Files. "That was more than the principal made!" STORY James Garner's Actor Brother Dies at 84 Garner was drafted into the Army, served in combat for 14 months during the Korean War and received two Purple Hearts. After his discharge ("first time I ever got kicked out of anything honorably," he quipped), he returned to Norman and attended the University of Oklahoma on the GI Bill. The introverted Garner said he never really wanted to act, nor did he train for it. He came to show business haphazardly: A pal, Paul Gregory, had become an agent-producer and offered him a nonspeaking part as a judge in the 1954 Broadway production of The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, directed by Charles Laughton and starring Henry Fonda and Lloyd Nolan. "I learned to listen," he told the Archive of American Television in a 1999 interview . "The trouble with a lot of actors is they are waiting for their line, waiting for themselves to speak. If you listen, you become involved. … I learned to never anticipate.

That helped me a lot as an actor." After signing with Warner Bros., appearing in several films in 1956 and playing bit parts on ABC's Cheyenne, Garner got the role of wisecracking ladies man Bret Maverick, starting at $500 a week. The series, airing on Sunday nights, often bested The Ed Sullivan Show in the ratings. When he was laid off as a consequence of a writers strike that shut down production, he sued Warners (his lawyer was future Disney president Frank Wells) and got out of his contract.

(TV's Maverick, by the way, was a member of the original ownership group of the Dallas Mavericks, the NBA expansion team that began play in 1980.) PHOTOS 35 of 2014's Most Anticipated Movies The movie business came calling, and Garner soon made such films as the POW classic The Great Escape (1963); the 1964 military comedy-drama The Americanization of Emily (he played what he described as a "downright coward" in what he called his favorite film); Grand Prix (1966), which got him hooked on auto racing; Mister Buddwing (1966), in which he played an amnesiac wandering the streets of New York; Hour of the Gun (1967) as Wyatt Earp; Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969) and a 1971 sequel; Marlowe (1969) as the fabled L.A. gumshoe; and Skin Game (1971), another Western. Some were produced by his company, Cherokee Productions.

After starring as a turn-of-the-century sheriff in the series Nichols (1971 to 1972), Garner hit his stride in 1974, when he was signed to star as Jim Rockford, who lived in a trailer in a Malibu beach parking lot after serving a stint in San Quentin for a crime he didn't commit. Rockford had a penchant for reopening and cracking cold cases, often riling the police. Garner's insouciant style made the Friday night show from Universal TV a fan favorite. "I would get beat up at least twice per show," he once said. "I don't know about people; they like to see me get whipped. I guess it's because they know I'm going to come back later and get my licks in." Garner said he had to quit the show under doctors' orders, and Universal sued. He later battled the studio in court over syndication profits, and it took years to resolve that dispute. Because of the conflict, the Rockford character would not reemerge until 1994. Garner then reprised the role in eight 1990s telefilms.

In Murphy's Romance, Garner played a freethinking, small-town pharmacist who gallantly offers a struggling young woman (Field) a helping hand and friendly shoulder. Field once said that her onscreen kiss with Garner was the best one she had ever experienced on film. A year earlier, he earned a Golden Globe nomination for his compelling performance as a terminally ill physician opposite Mary Tyler Moore in the 1984 telefilm Heartsounds. Memorable credits later in his career include an Emmy for the telefilm Promise (1986), playing a man who takes care of his schizophrenic brother; My Name Is Bill W (1989), a TV drama of the life of the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous; the HBO movie Barbarians at the Gate, based on the book detailing the viciousness of corporate acquisitions and mergers; the sitcom 8 Simple Rules, which he joined following the death of John Ritter; and Space Cowboys (2000) opposite Clint Eastwood. He also had a role in the 1994 movie Maverick, starring Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster.

And in 2004, Garner played the older version of Ryan Gosling in the Nicholas Sparks-adapted The Notebook opposite Gena Rowlands. In addition to Lois, survivors include a daughter and stepdaughter. One of his older brothers, Jack, also an actor, died in September 2011 . During the Archive of American Television interview, Garner was asked about becoming a star. "It's not something I wanted to achieve, being famous," he said. "I was just trying to make a living." Rockford Files US actor James Garner dies aged 86 - ITV News 20 July 2014 at 6:24pm Rockford Files US actor James Garner dies aged 86 US actor James Garner - best known for his roles in Maverick, The Rockford Files and the Great Escape, has died aged 86 US actor James Garner, who died aged 86, had been in ill health since suffering a stroke four years ago. No further details of the circumstances of the Emmy winning star's death have emerged. Garner was best known for his roles in Maverick, The Rockford Files and the Great Escape, and more recently alongside Ryan Gosling in The Notebook.

Garner's final role was in 2007's The Ultimate Gift. Credit: DPA US actor James Garner - best known for his roles in Maverick, The Rockford Files and the Great Escape, has died aged 86, Los Angeles Police say. Garner received an Oscar nomination for Murphy's Romance but is perhaps better remembered as ex-con turned private eye Jim Rockford. He won an Emmy for his role in the TV series, and was also awarded highest honour of the Screen Actors Guild in 2004. There were no further details immediately available about the circumstances of his death.

Question: Name the actor who died in 2014, star of The Rockford Files and The Great Escape?
Answer: James Garner