The passing of James Garner

[Pat]

Most known for his TV roles on 'Maverick' and 'The Rockford Files,' Garner's acting career spanned more than 50 years and included starring roles in "The Great Escape" and the movie "Grand Prix". The actor died of natural causes at his home near Los Angeles Saturday evening. He was 86.
Garner was also a racer in his own right owning endurance racing teams and personally competing in several event to include a number of off-road Baja races.
From MSN: His "American International Racers" team entered cars at Le Mans, Daytona, and Sebring between 1967 and 1969. He also cut a deal with American Motors Corporation and prepared 10 1969 SC/Ramblers for the Baja 500 race. After his competitive racing career finished, Garner continued his high-performance driving career piloting the pace car at the Indy 500 in 1975, 1977, and 1985.

 

[Jack]

RIP James! Another great one has gone...

 

[Keith]

Agreed, he was kind of special and played some great roles...

Rockford was probably my all time favourite Dick series and I always lusted after living in a trailer by the ocean after that....

 

[Robert S.]

Rockford was probably my all time favourite Dick series and I always lusted after living in a trailer by the ocean after that....

OMG, I wanted to run wild with this one, but circumstances were just not right.
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Thanks Veek, for your summary of some of his accomplishments.

Here's some additional facts:

"At age 16, he lied about his age in order to join the Merchant Marine during the last year of World War II. After that, he decided to try living in California with his father, during which time he briefly attended Hollywood High School. But Garner didn't finish school there, either, abandoning his classes to take a job as a model for Janzen bathing suits. "I made 25 bucks an hour!" he remembered. "That's why I quit school. I was making more money than the teachers."

"It didn't last long, though. In 1950, Garner became the first Oklahoman drafted into the United States Army during the Korean War. Two battlefield injuries and Purple Hearts later, Garner returned to the United States. Although he never finished high school, he did earn his GED."

Like many, I grew-up watching him on the tele and in movies. Even though it was a genuine chick flick, I did enjoy the movie Murphy's Romance in 1985, with Sally Field.

For me, one of his best and most admired attributes was, he was not an ego minded STAR, and stayed clear socially of main stream Hollywood, and was quoted in one interview as saying he never cared about stardom, he only desired to keep a roof over his head and to stay busy.

RIP

 

[Robert S.]

Memorial Video Collage . . . .

Great video with excellent sountrack. Enjoy.

<iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/0jmsIn5rPFQ" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe>
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[marc]

GRAND PRIX, just watched again. What a great movie. Don't drink Don't smoke, what do you do!