James Garner Dies at 86

[Njaco]

James Garner, Witty, Handsome Leading Man, Dies at 86

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/21/movies/james-garner-actor-dies-at-86.html?_r=0

James Garner, the wry and handsome leading man who slid seamlessly between television and the movies but was best known as the amiable gambler Bret Maverick in the 1950s western "Maverick" and the cranky sleuth Jim Rockford in the 1970s series "The Rockford Files," was found dead in his California home on Saturday night, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed on Sunday. He was 86.

Mr. Garner, who smoked for most of his life, even after open-heart surgery in 1988, had suffered a stroke in 2008.

 

[Vassili Zaitzev]

Damn.

 

[vikingBerserker]

I agree

 

[Airframes]

A sad loss. I always liked him in all the movies and TV shows.

 

[at6]

I liked him in Maverick. Really couldn't get into the Rockford file series. Sad loss. He came from an age when stars were stars unlike the cretins of today.

 

[Lucky13]

Yip, remember those!

R. I. P. Mr Garner!

 

[GrauGeist]

I liked him in Maverick and I admit to liking "The Rockford Files" when I was a kid, but I recall him being in quite a few Westerns.

He was in several war movies, too.

Up Periscope (1959) - IMDb

The Great Escape (1963) - IMDb

36 Hours (1965) - IMDb

 

[parsifal]

I wonder what his real name was.

He was part of a generation that is fading fast. I always had a soft spot for James Garner.

 

[davparlr]

I wonder what his real name was.

He was part of a generation that is fading fast. I always had a soft spot for James Garner.

James Bumgarner

 

[Wildcat]

Damn, what a shame. He was a fine actor and seemed like a nice guy. The Rockford files was a great series that seemed to fit him to a T.

 

[T Bolt]

Sad loss. I saw him talking about the Rockford files a few years ago and was surprised to hear that he did most of the stunt driving himself including that trick you saw a lot where he's speeding backwards in the Firebird, puts it into a skid, shifts into drive, and races forward without slowing down. In the stuntman world that move is known as "The Rockford"

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pruex3pgX1g

 

[Glider]

In some ways I think his life was like his acting. He won two purple hearts in Korea, the second time when he was hit in the buttocks by friendly fire. Knowing his sense of humour on film I cannot help but think that would have seen the funny side of it.

 

[T Bolt]

Didn't know that was friendly fire. He did see the humor in it. Years ago I saw an interview where he said he was wounded in Korea and the interviewer asked him where we was hit and he said he was fighting north Korea and was headed south at the time.

 

[Airframes]

He did his own driving in the movie 'Grand Prix' too which, even though it's now nearly 50 years old, still looks good today.

 

[Glider]

Didn't know that was friendly fire. He did see the humor in it. Years ago I saw an interview where he said he was wounded in Korea and the interviewer asked him where we was hit and he said he was fighting north Korea and was headed south at the time.

Onle one was, the first was a grenade fragment so he was involved in some close combat fighting. Huge respect for him.

 

[Njaco]

He was my second favorite living actor - just behind Clint Eastwood. I'm currently working on getting all the "Rockford Files" on DVD. It was a very good TV show, even for its age. Smart acting, writing and storylines.

And his turn as the "Scrounger" on The Great Escape matched the performance by Steve. Don't forget his bit with Clint and Donald and Tommy Lee in "Space Cowboys"! He will be missed.

 

[Wayne Little]

R.I.P James Garner...

Rockford Files was a great show, always made time to watch it...amongst some of his great movies...

 

[grampi]

He always seemed so cool...nothing rattled him...great actor and he seemed like the type of person you'd wanna hang out with...he will be missed!