James Garner

He married Lois Clarke on August 17, 1956, two weeks after they first met at a rally. He had a step-daughter, Kim, from his wife’s previous marriage and a daughter Greta "Gigi" Garner with Lois.

James Garner died at his home in Los Angeles on July 19, 2014. He was 86.

He was a close friend of Actors Marlon Brando, Doris Day, Julie Andrews and Henry Fonda.

James Garner was born as James Scott Bumgarner to, Weldon Bumgarner and Mildred Bumgarner in Norman, Oklahoma.

He lost his mother when he was five and shortly after her death, he and his elder brothers, Jack Garner and Charles Bumgarner, were sent to stay with their kin.

His father remarried and the family reunited in 1934, however, the brothers were ill-treated by their step-mother, particularly, young James. His step-mother was forced to leave, which eventually, ended the marriage.

When he was 16, he joined the US Merchant Marine, for which he faked his age. A year after that, he returned to Los Angeles and applied to Hollywood High school. After a couple of years, he quit the school, not graduating and went back to his hometown, Norman.

He later enlisted in the Regimental Combat Team and fought in the Korean War, where he earned himself 2 purple hearts, one of which was handed to him 32 years later.

He subsequently began receiving roles in commercials and landed his first motion picture role with the 1956 classics, ‘The Girl He Left Behind’ and ‘Toward the Unknown’. It was around this time that he changed his last name to Garner, from Bumgarner.

From 1957 to 1960, his role as Bret Maverick in the critically acclaimed show, ‘Maverick’ earned him widespread fame for his talent and his on-screen charisma.

In 1969, he appeared in the gumshoe drama, ‘Marlowe’, featuring in a karate scene with Bruce Lee. The same year he worked in the hit comedy, ‘Support your Local Sheriff!’.

From 1970 to 1973, he appeared in numerous films including ‘A Man Called Sledge’, ‘Support Your Local Gunfighter!’, ‘Skin Game’ and ‘One Little Indian’.

The year 1974 marked the beginning of his role as the famous private investigator, ‘Jim Rockford’ in ‘The Rockford Files’ television series, for which he also received great critical acclaim. Although he became extremely popular as ‘Jim’, he ended his run with the show due to health problems.

His portrayal of Jim Rockford in ‘The Rockford Files’ in 1974, earned Garner an Emmy Award. The show was featured at no. 39 in the list of ’50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time’ by TV Guide.

In 1985, he appeared in ‘Murphy’s Romance’, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for ‘Best Actor in a Leading Role’ and collected a total of $30,762,621 at the box-office.