Twice in one weekend, I have been deeply saddened and have regretfully announced the death of rock blues legend Johnny Winter and now legendary Film and TV actor James Garner. As a kid growing up in the late 50s and 60s Garner was one of the coolest guys on TV as Bret Maverick in Warner Bros. TV hit The Mavericks. All the guys my age in my suburban neighborhood loved the affable, fast talking, handsome Garner as the cowboy gambler who always managed to talk his way out of trouble instead of pulling his trademark Fanner 50s pistols and shooting it out. But we ALL had Fanner 50 cap-guns modeled after Garners. I loved Garner in his role as Charlie Madison, the cynical coward who played the first man to die on Omaha Beach in The Americanization of Emily in 1964 with Julie Andrews, James Coburn and Melvyn Douglas. The role that probably cemented Garner as a major star who could hold his own even in the presence of other legendary actors like Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough or Donald Pleasence was John Sturgis epic WW2 prisoner of war film, The Great Escape, the true story of British POWs daring escape from a German Stalag in 1963. One of the biggest blockbuster films of all time and a recognized classic film by audiences and critics alike. Garner played the camp scrounger who could cajole, bribe, extort and hoodwink the German POW guards out of whatever the POWs needed to make their escape from Stalag Luft 3 possible.I also loved him in Murphys Romance with Sally Field, in which he plays Fields older, romantic interest. And who didnt love Garner in The Rockford Files, in which Garner took his trademark handsome looks and redefined the TV detective genre with his wise-cracking style and humble yet courageous private-eye bravado? And I loved him in Space Cowboys, where he played the former astronaut-test-pilot turned preacher in Clint Eastwoods Team Daedalus, about a group of aging space explorers who team up to go into space and salvage an aging satellite only their expertise and experience can fix. In every role he played, Garner possessed a comfortable, easy-going, likeable style that made you admire and be comfortable with Garner no matter what kind of character he played. He was funny, friendly, down-to-earth and always a gentleman and a man of principle. He was a guy you could rely on. He was a guy who could get the job done, with an easy grace and humble, aw-shucks manner that reminded you of your best runnin buddy. I admired and respected James Garner so much and will miss him, because his kind of actor doesnt exist in todays Hollywood. He was one of a kind and now, we only have the memories of his extensive body of work to remember him by. He was the epitome of the handsome leading man type, but was accessible as the kind of guy you could have a beer with and comfortably shoot the breeze. God Bless You and rest in peace, James Garner! https://movies.yahoo/news/police-movie-tv-legend-james-garner-dies-103721261.html
Posted on: Sun, 20 Jul 2014 16:38:32 +0000