James Garner

Born: James Scott Bumgarner on April 7, 1928

What do you know about James Garner? Try this Western Movie & TV Stars FUN Trivia quiz. You'll find the answers at the bottom of the page.

1) James, the youngest of three children, was the son of Mildred (née Meek) and Weldon Warren Bumgarner, a carpet layer. Where was he born?

• Hollywood, California
• Norman, Oklahoma
• Dallas, Texas

2) James joined the National Guard serving seven months stateside. He then went to Korea for 14 months in the United States Army, serving in the 24th Infantry Division in the Korean War. He was injured twice, first in the face and hand from shrapnel fire from a mortar round, and second in the buttocks from friendly fire from U.S. fighter jets as he dove headfirst into a foxhole in April 23, 1951.

• True or False?

3) In 1954, a friend, whom Garner had met while attending Hollywood High School, persuaded Garner to take a non-speaking role in the Broadway production of The Caine Mutiny Court Martial, where he was able to study actor Henry Fonda night after night. Garner then moved to television commercials and eventually to television roles. His first movie appearances were in The Girl He Left Behind and Toward the Unknown in 1956. Who was the friend?

• Paul Gregory
• Arnold Palmer
• Jack Nicholas

4) Garner is married to a woman, he met at an Adlai Stevenson for president rally in 1956. They married 14 days later on August 17, 1956. Who did he marry?

• Lois Clarke
• Lois Hart
• Mary Tyler

5) Garner was the sole star of Maverick for the first seven episodes but production demands forced the studio, Warner Brothers, to create a Maverick brother, Bart. Who played Bart?

• Ty Harden
• Clint Eastwood
• Jack Kelly

6) In 1969, what Western did he do with Joan Hackett, Walter Brennan, Harry Morgan, and Jack Elam?

7) In 1971, Garner returned to television in an offbeat western. The motorcycle-riding character was killed in what became the final episode of the single-season series. Garner was re-cast as the character's more normal twin brother, in the hopes of creating a more popular series with few cast changes. What was the TV series?

8) Roy Huggins had an idea to redo Maverick, but this time as a modern-day private detective. Huggins teamed with co-creator Stephen J. Cannell, and the pair tapped Garner to attempt to rekindle the success of Maverick, eventually recycling many of the plots from the original series. Starting with the 1974 season, Garner appeared as private investigator Jim Rockford in The Rockford Files. He appeared for six seasons, for which he received an Emmy Award for Best Actor in 1977.

• True or False?

9) Who from the Rockford Files also played with Garner in Bret Maverick?

• Stephen J. Cannell
• Mariette Hartley
• Stuart Margolin

10) He was nominated for his first Oscar award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, opposite Sally Field. Field, and director Martin Ritt, had to fight the studio, Columbia Pictures, to have Garner cast, since he was regarded as a TV actor. What was the movie?

• Murphy's Romance
• Promise
• Hour of the Gun