That contract took him off the big screen and into "Maverick," a move he was not thrilled with, partly because it was so ill paid. When it became a hit, he dug his heels in and after he was laid off because a writers strike shut down production on "Maverick," he dug them in further. He and his lawyer, a young man by the name of Frank Wells (who would eventually run Disney), sued Warner Bros. for breach of contract. The judge ruled in his favor and despite all the predictably dire warnings, he did work, and sue, in this town again.
Advertisement
(Page 2 of 2)
Book review: 'The Garner Files'
At 83, James Garner pulls no punches in this candid account of his acting career.
Garner is a self-described curmudgeon and there are times when "The Garner Files" wobbles dangerously toward the querulous. But it never topples because he is unfailingly candid about his own desires — which are to make money and do the roles he believes he is best suited to do.
By those standards, he is a wildly successful man, and by more ephemeral ones as well. Thirty pages at the end of the book are titled "Outtakes" and filled with anecdotes, memories and testimonials from Garner's friends, family and colleagues, including Lauren Bacall, Doris Day, James Woods and David Chase (who got his start on "The Rockford Files"). Although there is an air of Tom Sawyer creeping back to hear his own funeral about this chapter, it is a fine, frank and fun collection.
More than that, it provides proof that the man the reader has just spent several hours listening to does actually exist outside his own narrative. Just in case you were wondering. Like James Garner knew you were.
The Garner Files
A Memoir
James Garner and Jon Winokur
Simon & Schuster: 282 pps., $25.99
FEATURED
MORE:
Advertisement
