The Garner files

An excellent memoir by James Garner and Jon Winokur. So nice to read a book that doesn't dwell on how many people the 'star' slept with or how he had to beat addictions. I think golf was his only real addiction. He comes across as a person that would be there for you in heartbeat as long as you

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never lied to him.

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James Garner and Jon Winokur have written and engaging account of Garner’s life in Hollywood and the difficult childhood that set him on the path to a life as an actor. This is no shocking expose: Garner tells no tales out of turn (although his relationship with Steve McQueen seems to have been a

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little odd). He shares his thoughts on golf, politics and the qualities of curmudgeons. He discusses, at length, several of his film and television projects, which I particularly enjoyed. I’m a big fan of the film “The Americanization of Emily” (based on the book of the same name by William Bradford Huie) and was delighted to learn that it was in fact his favorite movie. I also enjoyed the stories of his two risky lawsuits against the studios – and who knew the man had such a temper? The book closes with a list of his work, both TV and film, personally annotated.

I’ve never read many entertainer biographies or memoirs, but The Garner Files has encouraged me to give some others a try.

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The Garner Files: A Memoir by James Garner and Jon Winokur is an excellent celebrity memoir. It reveals Garner to be a man of integrity. He is socially conscious, politically liberal, very opinionated, and he doesn’t hesitate to voice his opinions when they matter. Although he has been very

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successful in television and movies, he came from a dysfunctional family that struggled to provide a home for him. His mother died when he was very young and his father was not very attentive to him and his brothers. In fact, his father was not even around much, and James had to work odd jobs and take care of himself when he was very young. Garner was the first Oklahoman drafted for the Korean War, and he was awarded two Purple Hearts for wounds sustained during the First Spring Offensive in 1951 when he was one of 30 men who survived from a company of one hundred thirty. However, Garner doesn’t claim to be a hero in any way. He was wounded twice, but he states that he was only trying to save himself during that war. Of course, most of the book focuses on his work as an actor and producer. Most people (at least people of my age) know his television work as Maverick (1957-1961) and as Jim Rockford (1974-1980). However, he was also in 44 feature films, 23 made-for-television movies, and three miniseries. He worked with a long list of very famous and accomplished actors and directors, including Julie Andrews, Marlon Brando, Doris Day, Steve McQueen, James Coburn, William Holden, Lloyd Nolan, Natalie Wood, Randolph Scott, Angie Dickinson, Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, Sidney Poitier, Lauren Bacall, Sally Field, Jodie Foster, Jack Lemmon, Gene Hackman, Clint Eastwood, and many others. He also produced The Rockford Files in addition to some other television shows and movies in which he performed. This book provides much information about many of his movies and TV shows, including fascinating information about the people he worked with. However, this is not a tabloid-gossip book. Garner focuses on his interactions with his family, friends, coworkers, directors, and studio magnates. While most of his stories present positive images of those people, it is not surprising that he includes some very interesting negative opinions of some. He also does not portray himself as perfect in any way. He discusses his drinking problems, his use of marijuana, and his bad temper on the golf course, which also manifested as fights in other settings. Garner is serious about his profession, and he discusses his philosophy of acting, which does not include researching the parts he plays and includes saying the lines exactly as they were written by the writer. This book provides a very candid portrait on Garner’s life, work, and passions, which include golf and race cars. Instead of an ego trip, he provides a revealing description of himself that caused me to respect him even more after reading the book. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has enjoyed Garner’s movie and/or television work, and it would also be of interest to any avid fan of movies or television shows from 1956-2000.

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Interesting read for fans. I enjoyed the name dropping. JG explains near the end of the book how Jon Winokur to be his co-author and choosing him to write an autobiography still didn't make sense to me. The writing style was choppy but, for all I know, better than JG would have done on his own. If

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the publisher had suggested someone else, JG probably would have decked him.

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James Garner is an actor and producer best known for “Maverick” and “The Rockford Files.” He writes in a plan and forthright fashion about his life. Garner starts with his childhood growing up during The Great Depression in Oklahoma. He was wounded twice during the Korean War and then was

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reassigned to a base post office where he became a “dog robber” like the character he played in “The Great Escape.” After the war he drifted around for a while until someone suggested he try acting. He never formally studied acting and learned from observation.

Garner comes across as a strong personality who shuns the “Hollywood lifestyle” for a private life with friends and family. He doesn’t like awards and is afraid of public speaking. He is a manly sort who played football when he was younger, raced cars, and did most of his own stunts. He is an admitted “bleeding heart liberal” who fought injustice. Along with Charlton Heston , Sidney Poitier, Burt Lancaster, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, and other celebrities he participated in the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Garner confesses to be an old curmudgeon; hard on the outside and soft on the inside. He is an interesting man and this book is worth reading if you are a fan.

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Not overly well written but interesting. He seems to have been an all around nice guy in the sense that he stuck up for the downtrodden. He also had a temper, which you'd never know from his TV shows and movies. He stayed out of the limelight and was married to the same woman for 50 years, both

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rare in Hollywood.

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I listened to his audio book read by Jim Garner. Love his voice. .......After suffering physical abuse at the hands of his stepmother, Garner left home at fourteen. He became Oklahoma’s first draftee of the Korean War and was awarded with two Purple Hearts before returning to the United States

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and settling in Los Angeles to become an actor. Working alongside some of the most renowned celebrities, including Julie Andrews, Marlon Brando, and Clint Eastwood, Garner became a star in his own right, despite struggles with stage fright and depression. In The Garner Files, this revered actor and quintessential self-made man has stories about Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine, breaking Doris Day’s ribs, having a “heart-to-heart and eyeball-to-eyeball” with Steve McQueen, being “a card-carrying liberal—and proud of it,” etc. I enjoyed learning about James Garner, an actor I've always enjoyed. He seems to have earned the respect of Hollywood. ...........A couple of the chapters on auto racing and golf I had to fast forward through. Way to boring for me but someone else may really enjoy listening to specifics on those subjects.

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I listened to his audio book read by Jim Garner. Love his voice. .......After suffering physical abuse at the hands of his stepmother, Garner left home at fourteen. He became Oklahoma’s first draftee of the Korean War and was awarded with two Purple Hearts before returning to the United States

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and settling in Los Angeles to become an actor. Working alongside some of the most renowned celebrities, including Julie Andrews, Marlon Brando, and Clint Eastwood, Garner became a star in his own right, despite struggles with stage fright and depression. In The Garner Files, this revered actor and quintessential self-made man has stories about Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine, breaking Doris Day’s ribs, having a “heart-to-heart and eyeball-to-eyeball” with Steve McQueen, being “a card-carrying liberal—and proud of it,” etc. I enjoyed learning about James Garner, an actor I've always enjoyed. He seems to have earned the respect of Hollywood. ...........A couple of the chapters on auto racing and golf I had to fast forward through. Way to boring for me but someone else may really enjoy listening to specifics on those subjects.

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One of my favorite actors and a really stand-up guy. This was a fun read.

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

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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)

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