Garner had a non-speaking part in The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, which starred Henry Fonda. It was that contact who eventually helped him land his first acting role.

His paths crossed with a stage manager when Garner was working at a gas station in his hometown of Norman, Okla. James Garner Landed His Acting Break, In Part, While Working at Gas Station He was awarded two Purple Hearts for his service. Garner also served in the Army during the Korean War. He tried playing baseball with the Pittsburgh Pirates farm system. Then there was his brief athletic career. And Garner even sweated with his father installing carpets. He worked on an oil rig, at a gas station and at a chicken hatchery.

Somehow all this added to his image as the cool man’s man, who did as well in comedy as he did in dramatic roles and found great success on both the big and small screens.First, James Garner did real labor before he became a star. Garner was a devoted fan of the football Raiders, as identifiable on the sidelines for many years as Jack Nicholson was at Lakers games.

He also stepped up to take the lead in 8 Simple Rules For Dating My Daughter, after the death of the show’s star, John Ritter. Among the highlights: an Academy Award nomination in 1985 for the romantic comedy Murphy’s Romance opposite Sally Field in 1985 starring alongside Mel Gibson in the movie version of his signature series Maverick starring opposite Julie Andrews and Robert Preston in the 1982 Blake Edwards comedy Victor Victoria and starring in 1990’s celebrated HBO telefilm Barbarians at the Gate, about the RJR-Nabisco merger and corporate greed. He appeared in more than 50 films in a career that spanned 54 years. Garner’s last screen appearance came in 2006’s The Ultimate Gift, but his last major role in a studio film came opposite Gena Rowlands in the love story The Notebook. A war hero before he turned to acting, Garner received two Purple Hearts while serving in the Korean War. No cause of death was given but he had suffered from a stroke in 2008 after open-heart surgery. The ruggedly handsome actor will be remembered always for the 1950s TV Western Maverick and for playing Jim Rockford in the 1970s series The Rockford Files. James Garner died last night at the age of 86.

James garner