James Garner
James Garner (born April 7 1928) is an American film and Emmy-award winning television actor.
He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades. These included his roles as Bret Maverick, in the popular 1950s western-comedy series, Maverick; Jim Rockford, in the popular 1970s detective drama, The Rockford Files; and the father of Katey Sagal's character on 8 Simple Rules following the death of John Ritter. He has starred in dozens of movies, including The Great Escape (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy Chayefsky's The Americanization of Emily (1964) and Blake Edwards' Victor/Victoria (1982), both with Julie Andrews; and Murphy's Romance (1985) with Sally Field, for which he received an Academy Award nomination.
James, the youngest of three children, was born James Scott Bumgarner in Norman, Oklahoma, the son of Mildred (née Meek) and Weldon Warren Bumgarner, a carpet layer. His mother, who was part Cherokee, died when he was four years old. After their mother's death, James and his brothers were sent to live with relatives. James was reunited with his family in 1934, when Weldon remarried.
James grew to hate his stepmother, Wilma, who beat all three boys, especially young James. When he was fourteen, James finally had enough of his 'wicked stepmother' and after a particularly heated battle, she left for good.
Shortly after the breakup of the marriage, Weldon Bumgarner moved to Los Angeles, while James and his brothers remained in Norman. After working at several jobs he disliked, at sixteen, James joined the United States Merchant Marine. He fared well in the work and with shipmates, but suffered from chronic seasickness. At seventeen, he 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 job modeling Jantzen bathing suits.It paid well, $25 dollars an hour, but in his first interview for the Archives of American Television, he said he hated modeling and soon quit and returned to Norman. There, he played football and basketball, as well as competing on the track and golf teams, for Norman High School.
Later, he joined the National Guard serving seven months stateside. He then went to Korea for 14 months in the United States Army, serving in the 24th Infantry Division in the Korean War. He was injured twice, first in the face and hand from shrapnel fire from a mortar round, and second in the buttocks from friendly fire from U.S. fighter jets as he dove headfirst into a foxhole in April 23, 1951. James was awarded the Purple Heart in Korea for the first injury. For the second wound, he received his second Purple Heart (eligibility requirement: "As the result of friendly fire while actively engaging the enemy"), although James received the medal in 1983, 32 years after his injury. James was a self-described "scrounger" for his company in Korea (he would later use this experience for his character in the The Great Escape).
In 1954, a friend, Paul Gregory, whom James had met while attending Hollywood High School, persuaded James to take a non-speaking role in the Broadway production of The Caine Mutiny Court Martial, where he was able to study actor Henry Fonda night after night. He subsequently moved to television commercials and eventually to television roles.
He changed his last name from Bumgarner to Garner after the studio had credited him as "James Garner" without permission. He then legally changed it when his first child was born, as he decided she had too many names.
James is married to Lois Clarke, whom he met at an Adlai Stevenson for President rally in 1956. They married 14 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, and it about broke me. According to James, "Marriage is like the Army; everyone complains, but you'd be surprised at the large number of people who re-enlist".
Garner has two daughters: Kimberly, a stepdaughter, from Clarke's first marriage, and their daughter Greta 'Gigi' Garner. Greta Garner is a book author, song writer and licensed private investigator.
He was a key character in the delightful and inspiriing movie, "The Ultimate Gift." Let's pray that he may have been given some food for thought from that experience that that the Father will draw James closer to His Son Jesus Christ.
--Heidi