BOOK REVIEW | ARTS | ENTERTAINMENT

The Good Old Boy from Oklahoma Who Made It (Very) Good

Except when he was on a golf course…

The late James Garner (1928–2014) and I go back to the late 70s. I never met him in person but every Friday night I used to glue my butt onto a chair to watch The Rockford Files on my small black-and-white TV set (a used one from the consignment shop) with a rabbit antenna on top.

The world stopped when it was time to watch detective Jim Rockford and his father solve crimes without any blood, with good humor, by insinuating that all will be well in the world with a little patience, courage, humor, and good luck. He was a detective who never had to fire his gun.

I now realize I was not the only The Rockford Files fan during those Jimmy Carter years. His memoir titled (what else?) “Garner Files,” ghost written by Jon Winokur, has ample material to prove that there was a good reason why Garner endeared himself to millions of film lovers: he was a good man to be around. Even though he was a pessimist and a self-admitted curmudgeon, I have a feeling we’d get along just fine had I met him in real life, perhaps because at times I’m a perfectionist and a curmudgeon as well.

Early Years

He was born in Norman, Oklahoma in 1928, right before the Great Depression kicked in. His father owned a small gas station in the middle of nowhere.

He hated to be called an “Okie” but was always proud of his OK roots. His hometown returned the love by erecting his 10-foot statue in downtown Norman.

As you’d expect, the young James had to cut his teeth in many small unrelated jobs before he stumbled on acting as the venue that propelled him to international fame.

In his early years he worked as… a dishwasher, a janitor, a dockworker, an oil field roughneck, a carpet layer, “hod carrier” on a construction site, chicken cleaner at a factory, a door-to-door insurance salesman, etc. The list is a long one. I think all that early job experience has helped him as an actor in his latter years.

Maverick

Before my time was another smashing TV series, Maverick, an unusual Western in which Garner played a laidback poker player who made a living by using his brains rather than brawn in the American Old West.

Why Important

In my judgement, both Maverick and The Rockford Files are important in American entertainment history for the same reason: both series represent a groundbreaking departure from the earlier genre and character stereotypes.

Before Maverick, John Wayne represented the typical cowboy in American Westerns. He was a rugged taciturn type without a sense of humor, a lone wolf for whom independence and justice meant more than anything else. He frequently got into fist and gun fights, he killed and sometimes got killed as well.

Maverick was a relaxed kick-back sort of guy with a good sense of humor, who would rarely if ever use his gun to defend himself or others. Technically he was a coward but did not hesitate to defend himself or others in need.

Similarly, before The Rockford Files, the film-noir private investigator type from Humphrey Bogart (Maltese Falcon) to Jack Nicholson (Chinatown) was a tough guy (and always a guy) who usually had a drinking problem (okay, was an alcoholic), did not live on the sunny side of life, and could become dangerous at the flip of a switch when the situation demanded it.

Jim Rockford character was a courageous departure from that mold. For one thing, he lived with his father in a mobile home by the beach! He loved fishing. He never fired his gun and never killed anyone. He was a pleasant man with a great sense of humor. He solved problems by using his wits and personal charm. Those were all new in the private investigator genre.

James Garner changed the landscape of both Western and detective genres in a way that no one dared to attempt before.

Acting

Garner’s approach to acting had no room in it for pomposity and self-importance that might be expected from a genuine A-List Hollywood star with famous celebrity friends from all walks of life.

It was a job for him that he did well by always trying to create a film set where everybody was taken care of, and all were respected.

Above all, he was a good listener. That made it possible for him to act through reacting to the input of other actors which kept his acting fresh, immediate, and convincing.

Here is a bit more on the importance of listening in performing arts. It’s rare to shoot a movie scene in a single take. It’s not unusual to have five, ten, or fifteen takes for a scene. After the first few takes the mind starts to wander of course and the actors start to think what they will say next when it’s their return rather than following what the others are doing. As a result, the additional takes become mechanical and less authentic unless you can keep a mindful focus on the here-and-now like Garner could, even in the tenth or fifteenth take. That’s when listening becomes a crucial skill and an valuable tool of acting.

Garner knew fame was a trap and he did his best not to fall into it.

“Ever heard of the four stages in an actor’s career?” he asked in The Garner Files. Then he listed them: “1. Who is James Garner? 2. Get me James Garner. 3. Get me a James Garner type. 4. Who is James Garner?”

One thing Garner jealously protected throughout his career was his independence. To that end, he did not hesitate to sue big studios to get his due share from the proceedings even though everybody else was worried that he was committing an occupational suicide. But in the end he won and held the torch for others to follow in his path in an age when actors were treated like indentured servants tied down with all-inclusive annual studio contracts.

Oh, BTW, in case you wonder: Gene Hackman was his favorite actor even though he never worked with Hackman. He admired Robert Duvall as well.

Two Passions

Other than his love and loyalty to his wife Lois, Garner had two passions in life: car racing and golf.

Grand Prix (1966) is his film where you can see his passion for the Formula One races and cars in general. Known as a skilled driver also in his private life, Garner loved to participate in Baja 1000 Mexican off-road races as well.

Golf, on the other hand, brought out the worst in him and he knew it. He was easily frustrated when he missed a drive or a putt. That’s when he went on his full curmudgeon mode. He was known to throw his golf clubs around in frustration. His memoir tells about one occasion when his club had to be brought down from a tree on the green.

However, he traveled around the world and made great friends with very famous and wealthy celebrities thanks to golf, as well as his star status.

Beauty and Pain

Even though he was a beautiful man to look at, Garner was not a very healthy one. Throughout his life he suffered from bodily ailments of various types and had a number of surgeries. He was a regular user of pain killers like Percocet and used acupuncture to ease his chronic pains.

He had two open-heart operations (a life-long smoker) and nine others on his knees.

Let’s listen to him in his memoir:

“I’ve had broken ribs, broken knuckles, a cracked coccyx, dislocations, sprains, and torn ligament. I stopped counting the number of stitches I had at two hundred. I broke my right kneecap twice. I’ve had nine knee operations, including three knee replacements (the right one twice). After one knee operation, I got a staph infection that laid me up for three months. I’ve had ulcers, diverticulitis, an aortic aneurysm, a quadruple bypass, and a hemorrhagic stroke. I had surgery to remove an arterial blood clot when my trainer held my leg up too long…”

Had a Good Time

This is how Garner summarizes his life in his memoir:

“For a country boy, I’ve been to a lot of places and done a lot of things. I have a wonderful family and great friends. I’ve had a long career, made some money, and had the greatest gift of all: I found something I liked to do. I don’t feel I’ve left anything on the table. I don’t regret not having done this or that. I’ve had a good time!”

Trivia

• His real name was James Scott Bumgarner.
• Did you know that he broke Doris Day’s ribs by accident on the set of Move Over, Darling (1963)?
• Two actors he didn’t like too much were Steve McQueen (even though they were neighbors in Malibu) and Charles Bronson (whom he called “bitter and belligerent”).
• He fought and was wounded in the Korean War. He was a Purple Heart recipient. He had 8 other military medals and a Combat Infantry Badge.
• He smoked marijuana most of his life and advocated legalization of pot and banning of alcohol
• The character Jim Rockford’s original name was Tom. He objected. “I’m not a Tom,” he said. So they changed the character’s name to Jim.
• He was a life-long Bleeding-Heart Liberal with a big “L”. He was sitting in the third row from the front when Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963.
• On their first date out, he asked his wife-to-be Lois if she would be his wife. He remained loyal to her throughout their 50-years of marriage despite many “Hollywood opportunities” to play on the side.
• Shared his passion for Formula One racing with another great American actor, Paul Newman.
• He drove the pace car at the Indianapolis 500 race in 1975, 1977, and 1985.
• His best films include The Great Escape with Steve McQueen, Sayonara with Marlon Brando, Victor/Victoria with Julie Andrews, and The Americanization of Emily.

With a Smile

When asked how he wanted to be remembered, James Garner said “with a smile.”

“One of the greatest gifts is being able to make people happy. I like to make people happy,” he said. That he certainly did.

With a warm smile I remember him today and thank both Maverick and Jim Rockford for the memories.

Are you a movie fan? Then you might want to have a look at my Movie Lover’s Journal that I created exclusively for movie lovers. Enjoy!