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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

'Rockford Files': Tom Selleck says Dermot Mulroney 'has an uphill ... He was so anxious for it to be released and has every season available on DVD. The great thing about James Garner is that he did all his own driving, fight scenes and other stunts. I wonder if Dermot Mulroney will do that. ... Continue reading CANNELL OPENS THE BOOK ABOUT HIS LATEST NOVEL AND BUDDY, JAMES ... And he still makes time for his friends, which include his Rockford Files star, James Garner, who suffered a stroke in May 2008. Garner is doing better Cannell tells HollywoodOutbreak.com – aside from a major challenge with arthritis. ... Continue reading James Garner - Archive Interview Part 1 of 6 for @stevesaragossi and everyone else who loves James Garner, this is the first part of an in-depth interview. for the rest just go to YouTube and type in james garner- archive interview part 2 etc. Permalink | Leave a comment » Continue reading James Garner - James Garner is an American actor whose career has... James Garner is an American actor whose career has lasted over 56 years. He is best known for his work on the TV shows Maverick, The Rockford Files, 8 Simple Rules, and a number of others. He is also very much into politics and is a ... Continue reading Tom Selleck cops to CBS pilot - From Inside the Box - Zap2it Selleck has been right about the upcoming bit on Rockford...no James Garner, NO Rockford. I'll watch Tom Selleck read a phone book, NOW if some network will just start showing Magnum PI reruns I'll be happy! (smile) ... Continue reading Fire in the Sky | UFO World News Look for supporting role with James Garner. I know this movie is based on the book,which I have not read, but definitely will buy now. As far as pure escapism entertainment it is great. Never (outside of Alien) has there been a more ... Continue reading His older brother was James Arness, who shot to fame as Marshall ... Pros: James Garner. mediaworks movie fame -- His early elder stoppage come to him in 2004 when he was sign by the line-up of is tied with 'James Arness' (qv) for "Marshall Matt Dillon" on _"Gunsmoke" (1955) . ... Continue reading CHICK FLICKS: WESTERNS: Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969) Even though James Garner is funny he's still the straight man to to all the town's quirky characters.. Bruce Dern and Jack Elam are also hilarious. Harry Morgan is as funny as he's ever been. Walter Brennan is wonderful as the grumpy ... Continue reading CHICK FLICKS: WESTERNS: Joan Hackett (1969), with James Garner, and the 1973 murder mystery The Last of Sheila. Hackett won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her ... Continue reading Dermot Mulroney Steps Into James Garner's Shoes as Rockford « Film ... In his first regular role one a television series, actor Dermot Mulroney is stepping into James Garner's iconic shoes as detective Jim Rockford on NBC's update of the classic show The Rockford Files. According to The Hollywood Reporter, ... Continue reading Hollywood Actors Jessica alba James Garner pictures and James Garner biography

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