| James Garner  AKA James Scott Bumgarner
Born: 7-Apr-1928
Birthplace: Norman, OK
Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor
Party Affiliation: Democratic Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Jim Rockford on Rockford Files Military service: Oklahoma National Guard; US Army (drafted, Korean War, discharged 1952) James Garner was the first man drafted from Oklahoma for service in the Korean War. He was wounded in action, and won a Purple Heart. Garner's first major role was on the TV western, Maverick. The show was a huge hit and Garner was its breakout star, but during a writers' strike in 1960, the studio suspended production of the show, and stopped paying the actors. Garner considered this a breach of his contract, and refused to return when the strike was settled. He was sued by the studio, and won, and stayed away from television work for the next decade.
His movies include the discreet lesbian drama The Children's Hour with Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine, the rousing all-star action flick The Great Escape, the Doris Day comedy Move Over, Darling, the western Support Your Local Sheriff, Raymond Chandler's Marlowe, the anti-war comedy The Americanization of Emily, the psychothriller The Fan, the heartwarming Murphy's Romance with Sally Field, and Blake Edwards's farcical Victor/Victoria.
Garner is best known for his TV work, including Maverick and The Rockford Files, and he has reprised his characters from both shows repeatedly in TV updates and, for Maverick, a feature film with Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster. Garner's best TV series might have been Nichols, which lasted only one season, with Garner as a laid back and slightly shady sheriff in an early-1900's Arizona town.
In made-for-TV movies, he played a co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous in My Name is Bill W., and made leveraged buyouts seem almost fun in Barbarians at the Gate. After John Ritter's sudden death, Garner popped up as "Grandpa" on 8 Simple Rules. Father: Weldon Bumgarner (carpet layer)
Mother: Mildred
Brother: Jack Garner (actor)
Brother: Charlie Baumgarner (schoolteacher)
Wife: Lois Clarke (m. 17-Aug-1956, two daughters)
Daughter: Kimberly Garner (stepdaughter, from Clarke's first marriage)
Daughter: Gretta Scott Garner
High School: Norman High School, Norman, OK
High School: Hollywood High School, Hollywood, CA (dropout)
University: University of Oklahoma (one semester, dropped out)
Gore 2000
John Kerry for President
Progressive Majority
Voters for Choice
Purple Heart Korean War
Emmy 1977 Best Actor for Rockford Files
Hollywood Walk of Fame 6927 Hollywood Blvd (television)
Open Heart Surgery quintiple bypass 1988
Stroke May-2008
Endorsement of Polaroid 1978
Cherokee Ancestry
TELEVISION
8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter Jim Egan (2003-05)
First Monday Chief Justice Thomas Brankin (2002)
God, the Devil and Bob God (2000)
Chicago Hope Hugh Miller (2000)
Man of the People Councilman Jim Doyle (1991)
The Rockford Files Jim Rockford (1974-80)
Maverick Bret Maverick (1957-60)
FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
The Ultimate Gift (20-Oct-2006)
The Notebook (20-May-2004)
The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration (2-Dec-2003) [VOICE]
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (3-Jun-2002)
Roughing It (16-Mar-2002)
Atlantis: The Lost Empire (3-Jun-2001) [VOICE]
The Last Debate (5-Nov-2000)
Space Cowboys (1-Aug-2000)
One Special Night (28-Nov-1999)
Legalese (4-Oct-1998)
Twilight (6-Mar-1998)
Dead Silence (11-Jan-1997)
My Fellow Americans (20-Dec-1996)
Streets of Laredo (12-Nov-1995)
Maverick (20-May-1994)
Breathing Lessons (6-Feb-1994)
Barbarians at the Gate (20-Mar-1993)
Fire in the Sky (12-Mar-1993)
The Distinguished Gentleman (4-Dec-1992)
Decoration Day (2-Dec-1990)
My Name Is Bill W. (30-Apr-1989)
Sunset (29-Apr-1988)
Murphy's Romance (25-Dec-1985)
Heartsounds (30-Sep-1984)
Tank (16-Mar-1984)
HealtH (7-Apr-1982)
Victor/Victoria (16-Mar-1982)
The Fan (15-May-1981)
The Castaway Cowboy (1-Aug-1974)
One Little Indian (1973)
They Only Kill Their Masters (22-Nov-1972)
Skin Game (30-Sep-1971)
Support Your Local Gunfighter (26-May-1971)
A Man Called Sledge (30-Oct-1970)
Marlowe (22-Oct-1969)
Support Your Local Sheriff (26-Mar-1969)
Hour of the Gun (01-Nov-1967)
Grand Prix (21-Dec-1966)
Mister Buddwing (15-Jul-1966)
Duel at Diablo (15-Jun-1966)
A Man Could Get Killed (25-Mar-1966)
The Art of Love (30-Jun-1965)
36 Hours (28-Jan-1965)
The Americanization of Emily (27-Oct-1964)
Move Over, Darling (19-Dec-1963)
The Wheeler Dealers (14-Nov-1963)
The Thrill of It All (17-Jul-1963)
The Great Escape (4-Jul-1963)
Boys' Night Out (21-Jun-1962)
The Children's Hour (19-Dec-1961)
Cash McCall (27-Jan-1960)
Up Periscope (4-Mar-1959)
Darby's Rangers (12-Feb-1958)
Sayonara (5-Dec-1957)
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