It's hard to decide what Garner will be remembered for most: his work on television or his work on the silver screen?
He was, to me, one of the unsung, quintessential, American actors.
While generations always say "the next James Stewart... or the next Cary Grant..."
What we really should be trying to find is the next James Garner.
Need a charming and charismatic lead? Look no further!
Good looks to play the romantic leading man.
Tough, so that he could be believable in a scrap.
Humorous, with a twinkle in his eyes that let you know he was having fun.
While looking through his list of work, the roles were varied and many, most of the characters he portrayed were seemingly an amalgamate combination of what we had seen from him before.
And there isn't anything wrong with that.
As I've said in many reviews, if you're going to have a role that is perfectly cast for "actor x" you go out and hire that actor. Usually, they will get it right and it is perfect.
If you want an actor who embodies Bret Maverick or Jim Rockford...
Well, you go get James Garner, and you will not be disappointed.
For television actors, if you can get that one great role, you'll be remembered forever.
Garner did it.
Twice.
First there was Bret Maverick from Maverick from 1957-1962. I have only seen a few episodes from this series, but they were very smart, well-written, and Garner deserved his stardom from this series.
Returning to the Silver Screen, he played Hendley "The Scrounger" in The Great Escape (1963), probably my favorite World War II movie of all time. As the guy who could get things, long before Red did the same thing in Shawshank, Hendley was a scoundrel, but as usual for a Garner performance, he had a caring heart. His devotion to trying to save The Forger who had gone blind crafting forged documents is a touching part of the film.
Then in 1969, he dusted off a Maverick-like performance for Support Your Local Sheriff and a similar retread in 71 with Support Your Local Gunfighter.
Then Garner did something that actors are just now beginning to do again with great frequency:
He returned to television.
In 1974, he brought The Rockford Files and private investigator Jim Rockford to a new generation of viewers. Again, I've only seen a handful of these episodes, some first run at the end of the series, and I watched the first episode on Netflix. Again, Garner was a natural at what he does, and that's probably an impossible thing to teach an actor.
Fast forward to the 1990s, and Garner was back on the Silver Screen in one of my favorite television remakes of all time: Maverick. This time playing Marshal Zane Cooper while he let Mel Gibson take over the title role. Of course, there was more to the Marshal than met the eye, and it remains one of my favorite movies of all time. Fun, fun fun!
In 1996, he teamed with Jack Lemmon in My Fellow Americans. A zany road-trip film that is worth a viewing if you've never seen it, and worth repeated viewings if you have. Too much fun, and he made a great pair with Lemmon.
Finally, I will close with Garner's performance from a decade ago: The Notebook. While all the fans gush about the Ryan Gosling/Rachel McAdams chemistry from that movie, it's Garner's performance as the man who is so in love with the girl of his dreams that he goes to whatever lengths he can to be with her for when her memory does come back so he can be there for his love. I dare you not to cry at the end of that movie. So sweet, so sad, it's a movie I refuse to watch again because I don't want to have to cry at the end.
On top of all of his other accomplishments, I would be remiss to not mention his status as a decorated Korean War veteran. Or that the "Rockford", the J-Turn in evasive driving taught to The Secret Service is named in honor of his driving move from The Rockford Files, which he did on the show without a stunt driver.
His autobiography, The Garner Files is one of the few books I've bothered to even want to read in the last decade.
Thank you James Garner, for giving me a lifetime of memories that I'm able to share with my family.
You were a class act, and you'll be missed, but never forgotten.
