James Garner — the wisecracking son of an Oklahoma country store owner who became a film and TV legend portraying a gambler in the Western series “Maverick” and a private eye in “The Rockford Files” — has died. He was 86.
Garner, who died of natural causes at his Los Angeles home on Saturday, enjoyed a Hollywood career that spanned five decades and more than 80 movies.
“My heart just broke. There are few people on this planet I have adored as much as Jimmy Garner,” said actress Sally Field, who co-starred with Garner in the 1985 film “Murphy’s Romance.” It was the only role for which Garner was nominated for an Oscar.
“I cherish every moment I spent with him and relive them over and over in my head,” Field said. “He was a diamond.”
Ken Howard, president of the Screen Actors Guild, said the handsome leading man’s talents were “so much more than skin deep.”
“He was a hard worker who dedicated himself wholly to whatever he set out to accomplish, whether it was serving his country or performing for the camera,” Howard said in a statement.
Born James Scott Bumgarner in Norman, Okla., Garner enlisted in the Army during the Korean War and was twice wounded in action, earning two Purple Hearts.
After the war, he was working as a gas station attendant in Los Angeles when he drove by the office of agent Paul Gregory and, on a whim, decided to stop.
Garner signed on in the mid-1950s as a contract player for Warner Brothers studio and began his acting career with nonspeaking roles in films and a guest appearance on the TV show “Cheyenne.”
In 1957, he was shooting the movie “Sayonara” with Marlon Brando, when Warner Brother’s brass picked him for the role of Bret Maverick, a roving gambler, in the Western series “Maverick.” Garner, who received an Emmy nomination for his role, left the show in 1960 after a salary dispute.
From 1961 to 1971, he starred in 21 movies, including “The Great Escape,” “The Americanization of Emily” and “Support Your Local Sheriff.”
He was drawn back to the small screen in 1974, landing the part of down-and-out private investigator Jim Rockford in NBC’s “The Rockford Files,” a role that won him an Emmy award.
Before suffering a stroke in 2008, Garner worked steadily, filming “Space Cowboys” in 2000, “The Notebook” in 2004 and “The Ultimate Gift” in 2007.
“Jim was a mentor to me and a friend, and I will miss him,” said actor Tom Selleck, who first worked with Garner in “The Rockford Files.”
