July 19, 2014 - RIP James Garner

We lost an American icon today with the death of James Garner.

Growing up, I watched Garner in The Rockford Files TV series.  Every Friday Night, I would watch the show on the only channel we received on our TV, WHIZ, a NBC affiliate.

Garner was a true TV icon, but also a Korean War veteran and Purple Heart medal recipient.  Most impressive was his 57 year marriage while living in Hollywood.  He was universally regarded as one of the “good guys.”

I was truly influenced by The Rockford Files, where Garner played a private investigator (PI) in Los Angeles.  

Rockford relied on his quick wit and charm rather than a gun to win the day.  I was so enamored with the character that I worked as a PI apprentice one summer.  It was only after I learned that private investigators in Ohio did not earn the $200 per day plus expenses that Rockford received on the TV series that I decided on an alternative career path.

James Garner will never get the credit he deserved as an actor, but to me, he was an inspiration.