James Garner

James Garner Garner as Maverick (1959) Background information Born as: James Scott Bumgarner Born Apr 7, 1928 Denver, Oklahoma, now part of Norman, Oklahoma, U.S. Died Jul 19, 2014 - at age 85 Los Angeles, California, U.S. coronary artery disease / stroke Spouse(s): Lois Josephine Fleischman Clarke (1956 - ) Occupation: Actor & producer (1954–2014) Nationality: American Editor's note about articles in this category Military Service Allegiance  : United States Branch: US Merchant Marine (1944–1946) US Army National Guard (1950–1952) Rank/Rate: Corporal Unit: California Army National Guard 5th Regimental Combat Team 24th Infantry Division Battles: World War II, Korean War Awards/Medals: Combat Infantryman Badge, Purple Heart (2), National Defense Service Medal,Korean Service Medal, Merchant Marine Combat Medal, Merchant Marine Atlantic War Zone Medal, Merchant Marine World War II Victory Medal, United Nations Service Medal for Korea, United States Army Presidential Unit Citation, Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation

James Scott Garner (née Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor who played leading roles in over 50 theatrical films. His notable films include The Great Escape (1963) alongside Steve McQueen; Paddy Chayefsky's The Americanization of Emily (1964) with Julie Andrews; Cash McCall (1960) featuring Natalie Wood; The Wheeler Dealers (1963) with Lee Remick; Darby's Rangers (1958) alongside Stuart Whitman; Roald Dahl's 36 Hours (1965) with Eva Marie Saint; the Formula 1 racing drama Grand Prix (1966); Raymond Chandler's Marlowe (1969) featuring Bruce Lee; Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969) with Walter Brennan; Blake Edwards's Victor/Victoria (1982) alongside Julie Andrews; and Murphy's Romance (1985) with Sally Field, for which he received an Academy Award nomination. Additionally, he starred in several television series, including his popular roles as Bret Maverick in the ABC 1950s Western series Maverick and Jim Rockford in the NBC 1970s private detective show The Rockford Files.

Early life

Garner was born James Scott Bumgarner on April 7, 1928, in Denver, Oklahoma (now submerged under Lake Thunderbird). His parents were Weldon Warren Bumgarner (1901–1986), a widower, and Mildred Scott (née Meek; 1907–1933), who passed away five years after his birth. His father had part German ancestry, and he claimed his mother was half Cherokee. His older brothers were Jack Garner, also an actor, and Charles Warren Bumgarner (1924–1984), a school administrator. The family practiced Methodism. The family operated a general store at Denver Corner on the east side of Norman. After their mother's death, Garner and his brothers went to live with relatives.

Garner attended Wilson Elementary School, Norman Junior High, and Norman High School (Norman Public Schools).

Garner was reunited with his family in 1934 when his father remarried, marking the first of several occasions. He had a tumultuous relationship with one of his stepmothers, Wilma, who was abusive towards all three boys. He said that his stepmother also punished him by forcing him to wear a dress in public. When he was 14 years old, he fought with her, knocking her down and choking her to prevent her from retaliating against him physically. She left the family and never returned. His brother Jack later commented, "She was a damn no-good woman. "

"I managed to steer pretty clear of it... I was doing all of it, but I never really got caught. I was a bad boy, but I just, you know, they never caught me at it." — James Garner

Garner's last stepmother was Grace, whom he said he loved and called "Mama Grace", and he felt that she was more of a mother to him than anyone else had been.

Shortly after Garner's father divorced Wilma, he moved to Los Angeles, leaving Garner and his brothers in Norman. After working various jobs he disliked, Garner joined the U.S. Merchant Marine at age 16 towards the end of World War II. He enjoyed the work and his shipmates, but he suffered from chronic seasickness and only lasted a year.

Garner followed his father to Los Angeles in 1945 and attended Hollywood High while helping his dad lay carpet. The next five years consisted of back-and-forth trips between California and Oklahoma, during which Garner worked in chick hatcheries and oil fields, as a truck driver, grocery clerk, and even as a swim trunks model for Jantzen...

After World War II, Garner joined his father in Los Angeles and enrolled at Hollywood High School, where he was voted the most popular student. A high school gym teacher recommended him for a modeling job with Jantzen bathing suits. It paid well ($25 an hour); however, in his first interview for the Archives of American Television, he stated that he hated modeling. He soon quit and returned to Norman.

There, he played football and basketball at Norman High School and competed on the track and golf teams. However, he dropped out in his senior year. In a 1976 interview with Good Housekeeping magazine, he admitted, "I was a terrible student and I never actually graduated from high school, but I got my diploma in the Army."

Military service

Garner enlisted in the California Army National Guard, where he served his first seven months in California. He was deployed to Korea during the Korean War and spent fourteen months as a rifleman in the 5th Regimental Combat Team, which was part of the 24th Infantry Division. He was wounded twice: in the face and hand from fragmentation caused by a mortar round, and in the buttocks from friendly fire by U.S. fighter jets as he dove into a foxhole. Garner would later joke, "There was a lot of room involving my rear end. How could they miss?"

Garner received the Purple Heart in Korea for his initial wounding. He also qualified for a second Purple Heart (for which he was eligible since he was hit by friendly fire that "was released with the full intent of inflicting damage or destroying enemy troops or equipment"), but did not actually receive it until 1983, 32 years after the event. This was apparently the result of an error that was not rectified until Garner appeared on Good Morning America in November 1982, with presenter David Hartman making inquiries "after he learned of the case on his television show. " At the ceremony where he received his second Purple Heart, Garner understated, "After 32 years, it's better to receive this now than posthumously. " Reflecting on his military service, Garner recalled, "Do I have fond memories? I guess if you get together with some buddies, it's fond. But it really wasn't. It was cold and hard. I was one of the lucky ones."

Personal life

Marriage and family

Despite his popularity and sociable nature, Garner was seen by others as a down-to-earth man who kept his family life private.

Garner was married once to Lois Josephine Fleischman Clarke, whom he met at a party in 1956. They wed only 16 days later, on August 17, 1956. "We went to dinner every night for 14 nights. I was just absolutely nuts about her. I spent $77 on our honeymoon, which nearly broke me." According to Garner, "Marriage is like the Army; everyone complains, but you'd be surprised by the large number of people who re-enlist." His wife practiced Judaism.

When Garner and Clarke married, Lois's daughter from a previous marriage was nine years old and recovering from polio. Garner had one daughter, formally named Greta but affectionately called "Gigi," with Lois, born on January 4, 1958.

Garner and his wife, Lois, were still married at his death in 2014, despite having undergone two periods of separation: the first, lasting three months in 1970, and the second, in 1979. The couple reunited two years later, in September 1981.

Garner stated that during this second period apart, he split his time between Canada and "a rented house in the Valley." In each case, Garner said the stress of his acting career caused the separations and was not due to marital problems. In the case of The Rockford Files, he appeared in almost every scene while enduring constant pain from his arthritic knees, and facing tremendous stress from the studio. Garner stated that when he departed from the series in 1979, he simply needed to spend time alone to recover.

Garner's death in 2014 was less than a month before their 58th wedding anniversary. His wife died seven years later, on October 21, 2021.

Racing

In his youth, Garner had raced in "hot cars" during "chases," but his interest in auto racing intensified while preparing for the filming of Grand Prix. John Frankenheimer, the director and driving force behind the project, was determined to make the film as realistic as possible. He was trying to decide which actor could handle high-speed takes. He had Bob Bondurant, a Formula 1 racer, serving as the film's technical consultant at his disposal. The first step involved placing the actors in a two-seater version of a Formula 1 car to see how they would handle the high speeds. Bondurant noted that all the actors became quite frightened when exceeding 240 kph (149 mph), except for Garner, who returned to the pit laughing like an excited child. Bondurant said, "This is your man. " From then on, all the actors entered a race driver training program except for Garner, whom Bondurant was assigned to train personally. Garner proved to be a good student, a hard worker, and a talented driver. Compared to the other actors in the movie, Bondurant considered Garner to be 'light years' ahead. By the film's end, Bondurant asserted that Garner could compete on a Formula 1 team and outperform some of the drivers currently in the field.

After the completion of Grand Prix, Garner became involved in auto racing. From 1967 to 1969, Garner was the owner of the "American International Racers" (AIR) auto racing team. Motorsports writer William Edgar and Hollywood director Andy Sidaris collaborated with Garner on the racing documentary The Racing Scene, filmed in 1969 and released in 1970. The team fielded cars in the Le Mans, Daytona, and Sebring endurance races, but is best known for raising public awareness of early off-road motorsports events, in many of which Garner competed. In 1978, he was one of the inaugural inductees into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame.

Garner signed a three-year sponsorship contract with American Motors Corporation (AMC). His shops prepared ten 1969 SC/Ramblers for the Baja 500 race. Garner did not drive in this event due to a film commitment in Spain that year. Nevertheless, seven of his cars finished the grueling race, with three taking top five places in the sedan class. Garner also drove the pace car at the Indianapolis 500 race in 1975, 1977, and 1985.

In 1987, Garner announced plans to partner with Larry Cahill to form a racing team to compete in the 1988 Indycar season. The intention was to base the team in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where Cahill operated his businesses. The estimated budget was $3.5 million. Plans for this team never materialized. Cahill later formed his own team to compete in the Indy Racing League. See also [ Race car ]

Golf

Garner was an enthusiastic golfer for many years. Alongside his brother, Jack, he played golf in high school. Jack even pursued a professional golfing career after a brief stint in the Pittsburgh Pirates' baseball farm system. Garner picked it up again in the late 1950s to see if he could outplay Jack. He was a regular participant at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am for years. In February 1990, at the AT&T Golf Tournament, he won the Most Valuable Amateur Trophy. Garner also appeared on Sam Snead's Celebrity Golf TV series, which aired from 1960 to 1963. These matches were 9-hole charity events featuring Snead competing against Hollywood celebrities.

American football

Garner was known as an enthusiastic fan of the Raiders in the NFL; he regularly attended games and interacted with the players. He was also present when the Raiders won Super Bowl XVIII against the Washington Redskins in January 1984 in Tampa, Florida.

University of Oklahoma

Garner was a supporter of the University of Oklahoma, frequently returning to Norman for school events. When he attended Oklahoma Sooners football games, he could often be seen on the sidelines or in the press box. In 1995, he received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from OU.

In 2003, to establish the James Garner Chair in the School of Drama, he donated $500,000 toward a total endowment of $1 million for the first endowed position at the drama school.

Health issues and death

Garner's knees became a chronic issue during the filming of The Rockford Files in the 1970s, with "six or seven knee operations during that period." In 2000, he underwent knee replacement surgery on both knees.

On April 22, 1988, Garner underwent quintuple bypass heart surgery. Although he recovered quickly, he was advised to stop smoking. Garner eventually quit smoking 17 years later, in 2005. "My dad had smoked since he was 12 years old," recalled his daughter, Gigi Garner.

Garner underwent surgery on May 11, 2008, after suffering a severe stroke two days prior. His prognosis was reported to be "very positive. "

On July 19, 2014, police and rescue personnel were summoned to Garner's Brentwood home in Los Angeles, where they found the actor dead at the age of 86. He suffered a heart attack due to coronary artery disease and had been in poor health since his stroke in 2008.

Karen Steele and Garner in Maverick (TV series), 1957

Longtime friends Tom Selleck (who worked with Garner on The Rockford Files), Sally Field (who starred with Garner in Murphy's Romance), and Clint Eastwood (who guest-starred with Garner on Maverick and starred in Space Cowboys) reflected on his death. Selleck said, "Jim was a mentor to me and a friend, and I will miss him." Field expressed, "My heart just broke. I have adored few people on this planet as much as Jimmy Garner. I cherish every moment I spent with him and relive them over and over in my mind. He was a diamond." Eastwood remarked, "Garner opened the door for people like Steve McQueen and myself."

Recognition

In 2004, Garner was given a Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.

In 2006, a James Garner statue was installed at Main Street and Jones Avenue, Norman, Oklahoma.

Filmography

Wikipedia article: James Garner Filmography

Television

Wikipedia article: James Garner Television

External links

More information is available at [ Wikipedia:James_Garner ]

• James Garner at the Turner Classic Movie Database
• James Garner at the Internet Movie Database
• Gigi & James Garner on Twitter
• James Garner Animal Rescue Fund

Jump to: Main Page • Micropedia • Macropedia • Icons • Sexology • Time Line • History • Life Lessons • Links • Help
Chat rooms • What links here • Copyright info • Contact information • Category:Root