James Garner (1928–2014)

Like the actor himself, this autobiography is charming and smooth, self-effacing and witty. Like most of his film roles, there is not a whole lot of depth involved. He does touch on some emotional points, step-mother was evil on almost a fairytale level and his father a feckless alcoholic, but they are not dwelled upon. For the most part we are left with his love for almost everyone he worked with—even when they had problems he managed a positive spin. For example, Garner got the better of fellow race car driver Steve McQueen who for a long time held a grudge. Garner doesn’t fault him for it. Just waited for years for him to come around and he finally did. Impressive is that prowess as a driver—shown off doing most of his own driving in the movie GRAND PRIX and on his ground-breaking TV show ROCKFORD FILES. Despite being a long time fan, I didn’t know about his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement joining in on the 1963 MARCH ON WASHINGTON or about his potentially personally costly lawsuit battling “creative accounting” in Hollywood. Self-effacing on both subjects but I would certainly have liked to know more. Overall a pleasant ramble through an ultimately charmed life. (one extra * for being a fan)… (más)

I don't usually read ghost written autobiographies of actors and television stars but I always liked the work of James Garner. He just seemed to come across on the screen as human and real. That was what he was trying to do according to himself in this book, The Garner Files. I found the parts of the book about his political views and his auto racing experience to be the most interesting. James Garner was a committed liberal and member of the Democratic Party. He was at Martin Luther King Jr.'s I have a Dream speech in Washington DC and except for Eisenhower in 1952 never voted for a Republican. He really was a great race driver. The racing scenes in the movie Gran Prix were really him. The car chase scenes in the Rockford Files were Garner as well. The producers didn't like it but Jim was a much better driver than any of the stunt drivers on the set. The parts of the book about playing golf with other celebrities didn't interest me as much. However the when he wrote about his fighting back against the studio executives my interest was held. Garner died in 2014, just three years after this book was written. I spotted it on the self at the library and took it home to read. Glad I did.… (más)

My late father-in-law attended Norman, Oklahoma High School with James Garner. So I just read the first chapter of this book out of curiosity. Then, liking a good war story, I read the greater part of the second chapter too.

My father-in-law would only say that James Garner was vain. He certainly was handsome and I am sure having a full Cherokee grandmother didn't hurt in that regard. Garner tells how he was being heckled as a showboat and pretty boy while playing in a high school football game. So he charged into the stands creating a ruckus that resulted in several arrests but not his. Perhaps my father-in-law was one of them but I will never know since he died before this book was published.

Garner appears to have had a casual attitude towards education and with all his perambulations and work I suspect he fell behind a grade or two. My father-in-law on the other hand graduated from the Naval Academy, retired from Air Force Systems Command and then was a professor of mechanical engineering at a state university. So likely they did not move in the same social set.

Garner says he enlisted in the Merchant Marine as soon as he turned sixteen (April 7, 1944) and V-E Day (May 8, 1945) occurred thirteen months later. Go figure.

I like the photo on the front endpaper. It is from "The Great Escape" one of my favorite movies. Steve McQueen is shirtless on a motorcycle and bears a passing resemblance to Vladimir Putin on that horse.… (más)