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James Garner (born James Scott Bumgarner on April 7, 1928) is an American film and television actor. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades, including his roles as Bret Maverick in the popular 1950s western-comedy series, Maverick, Jim Rockford in the popular 1970s detective drama, The Rockford Files and the father of Katey Sagal's character on 8 Simple Rules following the death of John Ritter. He has starred in dozens of movies, including The Great Escape (1963) and Paddy Chayefsky's The Americanization of Emily (1964).
The youngest of three children, Garner was born James Scott Bumgarner in Norman, Oklahoma to Weldon Warren Bumgarner and Mildred Meek, and is one quarter Cherokee Indian through his maternal grandfather, Charles Bailey Meek. His father was a carpet layer, and his mother died when James was four years old. After their mother's death, James and his brothers were sent to live with relatives. James was reunited with his family in 1934, when Weldon remarried. Garner grew to hate his stepmother, Wilma, who beat all three boys, but especially young James.
In his book, The Art of the Interview: Lessons from a Master of the Craft, Lawrence Grobel quoted a portion of an interview he had done with Garner:
In 1994 I interviewed James Garner, who told me that when he was four his mother died and a year later his father remarried “a nasty Bitch” who “used to beat the hell out of me” I asked him if she was the one who made him wear a dress and called him Louise if he did anything wrong.
Garner: Yeah, where did you find that out? It was out in the country and we’d be in some little store and I’d just go hide because it would embarrass me terribly. Then my brothers would tease me and call me Louise and a fight would break out.
Q: How often did that happen?
Garner: Oh gosh, a lot. If I did anything wrong I’d have to go put on the dress.
Q: At what point did you fight back?
Garner: At around thirteen. I decked her. I had her on the bed, choking her. My dad and my brother pulled me off of her. I can understand how kids can rebel to the point of murder. I don’t agree with it, but I don’t know what I’d have done – because she was tough. Tough. I’m sure I wouldn’t have let go of her until she quit breathing because she’d have killed me if she got up. Then they held me down so she could ship me. But that’s the night that broke up the marriage with my dad and her.
Shortly after the breakup of the marriage, Weldon Bumgarner moved to Los Angeles while Garner and his brothers remained in Norman. After working at several jobs he disliked, Garner joined the Merchant Marine at sixteen. At seventeen, he joined his father in Los Angeles and enrolled at Hollywood High School, where he was voted the most popular student.
He also modeled Jantzen bathing suits at this time. It paid well, but, in his first interview for the Archives of American Television, he said he hated modeling, and soon quit and returned to Norman There he played football and basketball for Norman High School. Later he joined the National Guard, before serving in the Army in the Korean War, where he received a Purple Heart.
In 1954, a friend, Paul Gregory - whom Garner had met while attending Hollywood High School - convinced Garner to take a non-speaking role in the Broadway production of The Caine Mutiny Court Martial, where he was able to study the actor Henry Fonda at close quarters, night after night. Garner subsequently moved on to television commercials and eventually to television roles. His first movie appearances were in The Girl He Left Behind and Toward the Unknown in 1956.
He changed his last name from Bumgarner to Garner after the studio had credited him as James Garner (without permission). When his first child was born, he decided she had too many names and legally changed his surname to Garner.
One of his two brothers, Jack, has also had an acting career, and similarly changed his surname to Garner. His other brother, Charlie, a non-actor, retained the Bumgarner surname.
Filmography
* Toward the Unknown (1956)
* The Girl He Left Behind (1956)
* Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend (1957)
* Sayonara (1957)
* Darby's Rangers (1958)
* Up Periscope (1959)
* Alias Jesse James (1959) (Cameo)
* Cash McCall (1960)
* The Children's Hour (1961)
* Boys' Night Out (1962)
* The Great Escape (1963)
* The Thrill of It All (1963)
* The Wheeler Dealers (1963)
* Move Over, Darling (1963)
* Action on the Beach (1964) (short subject)
* The Americanization of Emily (1964)
* 36 Hours (1965)
* The Art of Love (1965)
* Grand Prix: Challenge of the Champions (1966) (short subject)
* A Man Could Get Killed (1966)
* Duel at Diablo (1966)
* Mister Buddwing (1966)
* Grand Prix (1966)
* Hour of the Gun (1967)
* Once Upon a Wheel (1968) (documentary)
* The Man Who Makes the Difference (1968) (short subject)
* How Sweet It Is! (1968)
* The Pink Jungle (1968)
* The Racing Scene (1969) (documentary)
* Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969)
* Marlowe (1969)
* A Man Called Sledge (1970)
* Support Your Local Gunfighter! (1971)
* Skin Game (1971)
* They Only Kill Their Masters (1972)
* One Little Indian (1973)
* The Castaway Cowboy (1974)
* HealtH (1980)
* The Fan (1981)
* Victor/Victoria (1982)
* Tank (1984)
* Murphy's Romance (1985)
* Sunset (1988)
* The Distinguished Gentleman (1992)
* Fire in the Sky (1993)
* Maverick (1994)
* Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick (1996) (documentary)
* My Fellow Americans (1996)
* The Hidden Dimension (1997) (documentary) (narrator)
* Twilight (1998)
* Space Cowboys (2000)
* Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) (voice)
* Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002)
* The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration (2003) (voice) (direct-to-DVD)
* The Notebook (2004)
* Al Roach: Private Investigator (2004) (short subject) (voice)
Upcoming:
* The Ultimate Gift (2007)
* The Magic Shoe (2007)
* Terra (2008) (voice)
| Latest news about James Garner |
STEPHEN J. CANNELL - JAMES GARNER POST-STROKE IS “DOING GOOD ...Stephen J. Cannell has worked with iconic film and TV star James Garner for years producing the classic detective series The Rockford Files, but more importantly, the two have been friends for even longer. ... Continue reading
The Rockford FilesThe show starred James Garner as private eye Jim Rockford. Rockford was a departure from previous television heroes in that he would lose half the fistfights he got into, and was also a self-professed coward. All previous private eyes ... Continue reading
Rob the Autograph Geek: James GarnerMary Tyler Moore · James Garner · Sally Field · Jamie Farr · Tony Curtis · Another Update... Lauren Bacall · Michael Sopkiw - 2019: After the Fall of New York · Michael Shannon - Revolutionary Road · Gena Rowlands · Gail O'Grady - NYPD ... Continue reading
F. Murray Abraham, Stockard Channing, James Garner, Timothy Hutton ...The Goodman Theatre's annual production of "A Christmas Carol" is going to have some star-studded competition this year. It was announced Tuesday that a new version of the Dickensian favorite will play Chicago's Civic Opera House from ... Continue reading
Bret Maverick - The 1981-1982 NBC Series: James Garner Reprises ...Only lasting one season, Bret Maverick is currently airing on Encore Westerns. For this revival of the classic series, Garner was nominated for an Emmy and Golden Globe. Continue reading
james garnerSpacePotato posted a photo: james garner. Hollywood Walk of Fame Star. Continue reading
Best example of night 'people' photos - Steve's Digicams ForumsThe Rockford Files..there are a number of still photographs of the star, James Garner at night...also some during the day. They are excellent and really evoke the mood and set atmoshere of this wonderful detective show. ... Continue reading
Ethan Clements: James Garner's Blog...James Garner's Blog... I've been wondering how to set about this unit after the critical feedback i received for my last project. it seems that my blogging and idea development was the main ause of concern and i have since givne myself ... Continue reading
Vote now in our ComputerWeekly.com IT blog awards (Computer Weekly ...blog awards · blog awards 2009 · vote. Posted by James Garner on November 4, 2009 12:23 PM | Permalink | View blog reactions. TrackBack. TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.computerweekly.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/70770 ... Continue reading
James Garner and AnxietyActor James Garner may have suffered from anxiety throughout his life. Many inventive, influential, and creative people have been said to have suffered from anxiety. These include Anthony Hopkins, David Bowie, and Edie Falco. ... Continue reading
Hollywood Actors Jessica alba James Garner pictures and James Garner biography
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