James Garner

He was born April 7th, 1928 in Norman, Oklahoma and christened James Scott Baumgarner. He was four when his mother died. He and his two brothers were briefly sent to live with relatives. A couple years later, his father remarried and the kids were allowed to return home. It was far from an ideal reunion that deteriorated into domestic violence. James’ stepmother beat all the boys, but she reserved her greatest wrath for James until the day the fourteen year old fought back.

James Baumgarner quit school at sixteen and joined the United States Merchant Marines but he had to give that up, too, when it become obvious he couldn’t overcome his seasickness. He later served the Army in the Korean War where he received two Purple Hearts.

As a civilian, James worked as a gas station attendant and a male model before trying his hand at acting. His first part was a non-speaking role in a stage play, but it led to other
small television bits, commercial roles, and a contract with Warner Brothers for $150 dollars a week. Then in 1957, twenty-nine year old James Baumgarner, you know him better as James Garner, shot to stardom as Brett Maverick, the likeable but unlikely hero of a western series.

After Maverick, James made a number of successful films throughout the sixties, but his second greatest success came with a very similar role in the early seventies. The public loved “The Rockford Files” and James Garner’s Emmy award winning portray of Jim Rockford, a wry private eye who was equal parts con-man. Today, in his fifth decade in the business, James Garner is still married to Lois, his wife of more than forty-five years.

In today’s Southern Quote we hear the wit of James Garner who once said, “Marriage is like the Army; everyone complains, but you’d be surprised at the large number of people who re-enlist.” — James Garner