The Garner Files: A Memoir

James Garner has always been one of my absolute most-favorite television actors. Though I was born a little too late to have enjoyed him in Maverick, I consider The Rockford Files to be, perhaps, one of the most perfectly-constructed television series ever made. And James Garner deserves the lion's share of the credit for that. He puts out the impression of gruffness or, as he mentions in his biography, "crochetyness", but underneath it, he's got a warm personality. His autobiography is definitely written in his voice -- he shares anecdotes, both positive and negative, from throughout his career. He's blunt but honest about the people whom he has issues with, but cordial and sentimental about the creative types whom he respects. He show more spends about equal time on his TV and movie careers, but also a large amount of the book covers his personal life outside of the show-biz trappings -- his hard-scrabble youth, his love of both golf and racing cars, and the issues of growing older. I very much enjoyed this book, and recommend it highly to anyone who's a fan of Garner's extensive body of work on screen.

Originally reviewed for my local library's website: http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/depts/bookguide/srec/staffrec12-01.htm show less

James Garner in his own words. Korean War decorated veteran, reluctant actor, and scrappy fighter bucking the Hollywood establishment, Garner has enjoyed a remarkable career spanning over six decades to become the acting equivalent of a national monument.

Garner had a rough start in childhood. He stood up to an abusive stepmother at 14 and then went out on his own after his father left. He got into acting accidentally and learned mostly “on the job”. He had a full life with many interesting stories about himself and people he worked with, his experience with car racing and his time on the golf course. I was surprised to learn he had an angry side. He would occasionally punch a guy if he thought he’d done something wrong. He also show more got extremely angry at his own mistakes on the golf course. Otherwise, he was loyal, honest, respectful and ready to step in and help the little guy who was getting stepped on. It was an enjoyable memoir. show less

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 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 show more 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. show less

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 show more 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) show less

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 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 show more 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. show less

I mostly enjoyed this memoir, being a fan of James Garner's work. But I found some of it to be off-putting. Throughout the book, he talks about what a bad temper he has and how many people he has hit. It really sounded more like bragging than admitting to a character flaw. Also, the chapters on auto racing and golf were way too long and detailed. It struck me as a bit hypocritical how he portrayed himself as a Hollywood outsider, an ordinary guy, all the while talking about travelling the world, racing cars, playing golf at exclusive clubs, and dropping the names of his very Hollywood pals. Can you really be a member of the Bel Air country club and still be a man of the people?

The book is written just like he talks; plain and simple and down to earth. He has some great stories and he doesn't just share the good stuff, he lets you in on his failures too. At the end of the book he has excerpts from people in his life and his wife's account of how they met is one of my favorite parts. They've been married over 50 years and you can tell she is still his biggest fan. He just adores her as well. I always enjoy hearing about couples who are dedicated to each other.