James Garner Biography

James Garner is one of Hollywood's best-loved stars, with a career that has spanned six decades.

The son of an Oklahoma carpet layer, Garner dropped out of high school at 16 to join the Marines.

In 1978, he was decorated with the Purple Heart, after he was wounded during the Korean War.

His acting career had started before his war experiences, with a non-speaking part in a play, which led to small TV roles in mini-series and adverts.

Eventually, James made contact with Warner Brothers and was spotted by director David Butler, who cast him in 'The Girl He Left Behind' in 1956.

After co-starring in a handful of films during 1956-57, Warner Brothers gave Garner a co-starring role in the Western television series, 'Maverick'. He played the cool, likeable guy in the title role and almost immediately became a household name.

It was well into the 1960s before he left the series, over a financial dispute with the producers.

By this time, he was a household name, and film roles were flooding in, with his success rising every year.

Some of James' most successful movies at that time included 'The Thrill Of It All', 'Move Over Darling', 'The Great Escape' and 'The Americanisation Of Emily'.

It was in 1966, when James appeared in the car racing film, 'Grand Prix', that he got a taste for real life racing. This was a taste which turned into a passion, and he spent much of his free time supporting his favourite teams.

Still a TV star, in 1974 James became the classic television private eye in 'The Rockford Files', which became a major TV hit. His role brought him an Emmy for Best Actor in 1977.

Throughout the 1980s, James' roles became more sinister, in films such as 'Tank', in 1984, and 'Murphy's Romance' the following year, bith of which were major successes. His role in 'Murphy's Romance' garnered him a Best Actor Academy Award and a Golden Globe.

In 2000, James came together with old friends, Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones and Donald Sutherland, for the astronaut movie 'Space Cowboys', produced by Eastwood.

The following year, he voiced the main antagonist Commander Rourke in Disney's 'Atlantis: The Lost Empire', before turning his voice to the commercial for Chevrolet's 'Like a Rock' campaign in 2002.

Upon the death of John Ritter in 2003, Garner appeared, in what was supposed to be one episode, in '8 Simple Rules … for Dating my Teenage Daughter' as Kate's father. He starred in the show until it ended in 2005.

In 2004, Garner returned to film appearing in the cult romantic drama 'The Notebook' as an older version of the main character Ryan Gosling. For his role, Garner was nominated for the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role by the Screen Actors Guild.

Since then, Garner has been quiet on the acting front as he suffered a stroke in May 2008 for which he had surgery. He has been awarded with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Another achievement by Garner is his marriage to Lois Clarke, whom he met at a President rally in 1956. The pair married a mere 14 days later on 17 August 1956 and have been together ever since. Garner adopted Clarke's daughter Kimberly from her first marriage when she was nine years old. The couple have one daughter called Greta 'Gigi'.