Sunday, 20 July 2014

'Maverick' star James Garner dies

VERY sad. He was one of my all time favourite actors and had a great sense of humour.

By AFP | AFP – 2 hours 1 minute ago
James Garner, 86, star of the hit TV series "Maverick" and "The Rockford Files," has died, Los Angeles police told AFP on Sunday.

Police and fire department personnel responded to a call at Garner's home at 8 pm Saturday (0400 GMT Sunday), said officer Alonzo Iniguez at the West Los Angeles police station.

Garner "died of natural causes and the body was released to the family," Iniguez said, giving no further detail.
Garner had a stroke in 2008 and was confined to a wheelchair. In 1988 he had quadruple bypass surgery, US media reported.

The actor made his name on television as the wry, laid-back professional gambler and gun slinger Bret Maverick in the 1957-1960 cowboy series that included guest appearances by Hollywood stars such as Clint Eastwood and Roger Moore.

In the 1970s Garner starred as James Rockford, a witty and resourceful private detective in the 1974-1980 series "The Rockford Files." In 1977 Garner won an Emmy for his work in the series.

Garner also appeared on the big screen in movies like "The Great Escape" (1963) with Steve McQueen; "The Americanization of Emily" (1964) and "Victor Victoria" (1982), both with Julie Andrews; and the romantic comedy "Murphy's Romance" (1985), for which he was nominated for an Oscar.

He also co-starred in the 1994 movie version of "Maverick" along with Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster.
More recently Garner appeared in Eastwood's "Space Cowboys" in 2000 and "The Notebook" in 2004, and had a recurring role in the ABC television comedy "Eight Simple Rules for Dating My Daughter" which ran from 2003-2005.

Born James Scott Bumgarner in Norman, Oklahoma, Garner dropped out of school and joined the merchant marine at the end of World War II but saw no action.

He later joined the army and served during the Korean war, where he was twice wounded. He became an actor with encouragement from a high school friend, working his way up from TV commercials.

People magazine has described Garner as "one of Hollywood's most likable leading men on the big screen and on TV."


Tempus fugit
at

4 comments:

  1. Kid20 July 2014 at 08:19

    Alas, the template for Troy Tempest - gone. Another part of my childhood succumbed to the ravages of time. Always enjoyed Mr. Garner's performances in just about everything he was ever in. R.I.P.

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  2. Terry Hooper-Scharf20 July 2014 at 09:21

    He was a great in-joker. There was this time when anyone in Hollywood claimed Native American heritage and people started a false rumour that Garner had Cherokee indian blood in him. In a Rockford Files episode he quipped "I have Cherokee blood". Yeah, Troy Tempest. Another great gone....I never mentioned Elaine Stritch dying last week as it was all getting too depressing.

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  3. Stransky21 July 2014 at 06:30

    Depressed beyond all comment. I watched the movie 'Sunset' the other month - Garner and Willis. I was reminded of one of my childhood favourite movies - I only ever saw it once ; "Support your Local Sherrif" , yet it's stayed with me all this time. An actor who was under appreciated; who could do it all. RIP James Garner.

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  4. Terry Hooper-Scharf22 July 2014 at 02:29

    "Support Your Local Sheriff" and "Support Your Local Gun-Fighter" -all the same characters but Garner's wasn't...though he still never got to Australia in it! I did love his quote about doing his own stunts: "I got a full medical check-up. The doctor says I'm fit and healthy with the knees of a 90 year old!"

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