# RIP James Garner **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 20, 2014, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-james-garner/693591 "2014-07-20T07:42:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2014, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-james-garner/693591/41 "2014-07-20T16:55:53Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Tom Selleck said he [learned something](http://variety.com/2014/tv/columns/james-garner-gracefully-bore-the-weight-of-stardom-1201265377/) from James Garner Garner was included in a PBS series on different television genre shows. His interview was classic. He gave all the credit to the writers. He said without good writers your show isn’t going anywhere. He did his own stunts in Rockford Files which eventually caught up with him and is the reason he ended the series. Thank you Mr Garner. You done good. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2014, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-james-garner/693591/42 "2014-07-20T17:18:16Z")
Isn’t that back up the car, brake and spin it 180, shift and zoom forward maneuver named after him (or Rockford)? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2014, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-james-garner/693591/43 "2014-07-20T17:33:05Z")
A very pleasant man. Considered running for governor of California before Feinstein entered the race. A lifelong Democrat who refused to play a Republican, sat in the third row for King’s “I have a dream” speech. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2014, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-james-garner/693591/44 "2014-07-20T17:33:18Z")
My aunt was the head of housekeeping at a very swanky hotel in Detroit (back when Detroit did swanky). She had Mr. Garner has a guest several times and said he was the nicest celebrity by far. Always as polite and gentlemanly to the lowest maids and other people normally invisible in a large hotel as he was to the rich folks in the hotel. StG ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2014, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-james-garner/693591/45 "2014-07-20T17:35:10Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > [Driving a gold Firebird somewhere…](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tHUW_3FMkY) Always felt sorry for him, stuck in that pig and him being a damned good driver. But as he said, “I liked the looks of the Firebird, and I thought it was the kind of blue-collar car that Jim Rockford would drive. I’m sure he would have liked a Trans Am (I drove one in real life at the time) but couldn’t afford it. The only modification we made was to stouten up the suspension to handle all the stunts. The sticker price of the 1970 Firebird Esprit was about $3000, and Pontiac didn’t give us cars—we bought three new ones every season. We had two backups in case of damage or breakdowns because we couldn’t afford to stop production for repairs.” [http://www.caranddriver.com/features/what-irsquod-do-differently-james-garner-feature-i-could-do-anything-in-a-mini-cooper-page-2](http://www.caranddriver.com/features/what-irsquod-do-differently-james-garner-feature-i-could-do-anything-in-a-mini-cooper-page-2) ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2014, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-james-garner/693591/46 "2014-07-20T18:08:48Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Also loved _Rockford Files_: it was genius to set him up as living in a trailer, keeping his gun in a cookie jar, Coulda swore he kept it in a jar of instant coffee. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2014, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-james-garner/693591/47 "2014-07-20T18:17:55Z")
What everyone else said, plus, since no one else has mentioned it yet, _Victor/Victoria_. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2014, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-james-garner/693591/48 "2014-07-20T18:22:45Z")
I liked his funny Westerns. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2014, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-james-garner/693591/49 "2014-07-20T18:28:23Z")
One of my favorite of his roles was as F. Ross Johnson, the CEO of RJR/Nabisco and his attempt to buy the company in _[Barbarians at the Gate](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106356/reference)_. His character commenting on his companies disastrous attempt to make a smokeless cigarette: \* Tastes like shit and smells like a fart! Got ourselves one hell of a product on our hands! It’s one unique advertising strategy I’ll tell ya that. I can see the billboards now!\* His delivery of that line was wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2014, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-james-garner/693591/50 "2014-07-20T18:40:33Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > James Garner has died: [James Garner Dead -- Legendary Actor Dies at 86](http://www.tmz.com/2014/07/19/james-garner-dead-dies-maverick-rockford-files/) > > I always really liked him. One of my favorite actors from that generation. That is very, very sad news. I loved his acting and I am so sad that he has passed. He was a great guy and a lot of fun to watch. Lots of people took advantage of him during his lifetime. So sad that he died. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2014, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-james-garner/693591/51 "2014-07-20T19:03:19Z")
RIP Rockfish. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2014, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-james-garner/693591/52 "2014-07-20T19:13:38Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > One of my favorite of his roles was as F. Ross Johnson, the CEO of RJR/Nabisco and his attempt to buy the company in _[Barbarians at the Gate](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106356/reference)_. Glad you mentioned _Barbarians_–it’s a good movie and Garner is great in it. One of my favorite roles of his. ---
**Author:** ![Lorene89095](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@Lorene89095](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lorene89095)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2014, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-james-garner/693591/53 "2014-07-20T19:22:48Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > There’s a thread already over here Lorene: > > [RIP James Garner - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=728958) > > But I agree, he was such a likeable actor 🙂 Sorry 'bout that,don’t know my way around here yet. Then again,there may have been tears ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2014, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-james-garner/693591/54 "2014-07-20T19:34:31Z")
I was a fan of First Monday, the very short-lived series where he was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. It worked! I thought it was a darn fine show. He had the gravitas for the role. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2014, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-james-garner/693591/55 "2014-07-20T19:53:33Z")
Apparently the threads have been merged ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2014, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-james-garner/693591/56 "2014-07-20T20:00:30Z")
Loved both him and James Coburn in the Maverick movie. Their scene at the end where they meet up to split up the money was hilarious. Both gone now. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2014, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-james-garner/693591/57 "2014-07-20T20:08:12Z")
Jim Rockford was a great character and Jim Garner’s best work. RIP Jim. ---
**Author:** ![Absinthe\_Anecdote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f6c823/32.png) [@Absinthe\_Anecdote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absinthe_Anecdote)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2014, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-james-garner/693591/58 "2014-07-20T20:08:22Z")
Wasn’t he known for being mean to fans, punching people out at golf tournaments, punching out stuntmen, and getting into fist fights because of road rage? He sort of seemed like a bully to me, but ok, rest in peace. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2014, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-james-garner/693591/59 "2014-07-20T20:22:34Z")
> [@Absinthe\_Anecdote](#): > > Wasn’t he known for being mean to fans, punching people out at golf tournaments, punching out stuntmen, and getting into fist fights because of road rage? > > He sort of seemed like a bully to me, but ok, rest in peace. Post #40 and #44 would seem to belie that notion. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2014, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-james-garner/693591/60 "2014-07-20T20:29:45Z")
I remember him fondly from all those Polaroid commercials. He and Mariette Hartley just seemed like such warm and pleasant people to hang out with. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-james-garner/693591.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-james-garner/693591.md?page=4)