James Garner on Ronald Reagan

[KansDem]

This thread http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6106690">Ronald Reagan: Was He Really that Dumb? (a warning from history) reminded me of a quote by James Garner regarding Ronald Reagan. I read James Garner: A Biography by Raymond Strait (St. Martin’s Press: New York, 1985) a few years ago and remember an assessment of Reagan by Garner:

Oh, Ronnie, Ronnie, isn’t he wonderful? Listen, I was vice-president of the Screen Actors Guild when he was its president, and we used to tell him what to say. He can talk around a subject better than anyone in the world. He’s never had an original thought that I know of, and we go back a hell of a lot of years. Do you realize I could have been your president?

(page 374)

President James Garner, a real Maverick! :patriot:

[lame54]

1. he's super cool

[Captain Hilts]

8. Dated Betty Bacall, who also is a rock 'em sock 'em Democrat. nt

[Romulox]

2. James Garner is one of the best of all times.

Is there a TV show superior to the Rockford Files? I haven't seen it.

[RufusTFirefly]

5. Since you asked...

[Romulox]

13. Never saw "the Prisoner". TZ and MP are WAY too uneven to compare to the ' Files...

I might have conceded if you'd mentioned one of the following:

[Patchuli]

47. If you ever get the chance,

watch 'The Prisoner!' It was that good...along the lines of my other favorite, 'The Avengers!'

[FredStembottom]

15. I have been plowing through Rockford episodes lately.....

...and not only do they still hold up - they are one of a kind.
Has TeeVee attempted the complexities and nuances of those scripts before or since?
Has there been another character like Rockford himself? A first-rate detective who wakes up disappointed he's a detective each morning.
And all the 70's smarmy outfits and cheap, concrete & fluorescent modernism just adds to the whole thing now!

What a show.

[Deja Q]

30. There is. It's called

"8 Simple Rules".

[roguevalley]

43. Maverick. :) but then, whatever that man is in is instantly better.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

53. Very few

As far as detective shows, it was the best.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

3. I love him. Murphy's Romance is one of my all time favorite films.

:loveya:

[murielm99]

4. Support your local sheriff...

my husband watches that one often. It puts him in a good mood.

[tbyg52]

36. Victor/Victoria!

:thumbsup:

[spooky3]

46. he was at his charming best in that!

[xxqqqzme]

28. And I'm in love for the last time in my life.....ooooooomelt.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

32. *sigh*

totally :loveya:

[a kennedy]

50. one of my husband's favorites too......couldn't believe it...he just loves that

movie. Ditto for me too. Great flick.

[RT Atlanta]

6. Jim Rockford!

Woooooo!

[Captain Hilts]

7. then there's John Huston who was asked if he ever worked with RR...

No, and thank God, what a bore. He thinks he's right about everything and he's not. He's not right about anything!

[lame54]

10. you have to say it with the gruff voice - classic

[Octafish]

9. Rockfish!

Angel Martin for Treasury.

[lame54]

11. that was Chef that called him that

[Octafish]

14. Gandolph Fitch

Rockford Files was filled with great and memorable characters.

[AndyA]

12. I think it would have been great if James Garner had been our President instead of

Reagan.

By all accounts, James Garner is a good guy. (And I've always loved The Rockford Files.)

[Gidney N Cloyd]

19. He looked the part.

http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTM1MzAyODU1Nl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNDA4NDAzMQ@@._V1._SX293_SY400_.jpg

[fishwax]

59. definitely! n/t

[rurallib]

16. IIRC Reagan was a democrat until he met Nancy Davis and her dad

was the chair or something of the John Birch Society. Daddy Davis changed Reagan from a Dem to an ugly RW repug.
Safe to say Reagan was an actor who could play whatever role he thought would have the best payoff.

[WI_DEM]

24. actually he was straying from reservation prior to Nancy. He supported Dick Nixon

for Senate in 1950 over the "pink" lady, Helen Gahagan Douglas. He also was a stool pidgeon to the FBI on alleged communist activity in Hollywood well before Nancy entered the picture.

[rurallib]

34. thank you.

[immoderate]

17. James Garner was a role model for boomer males.

In Rockford and Maverick he exemplified coolness, temperance, tolerance, humor, and when necessary, toughness. Yes, Bret Maverick (or Jim Rockford) would have been a great president.

--imm

[supernova]

18. Mmm. loves me some James Garner!

Funny to think about he could have taken the same path as Reagan, but with far superior results! What a different country we would be if that had been true.

[livetohike]

27. Me too. Me too!

:hi:

[G_j]

40. he 's too smart to have taken that path

but, I'd bet we'd live in a better world today, if he had been pres instead of RR!

[merh]

20. James Garner would have made one hell of a president.

I love that man. My favorite movie of his is "The Americanization of Emily".

That is the best anti-war movie every made, imho.

[drm604]

21. I loved the Rockford Files.

I don't think I was ever aware of his politics before your post.

Makes sense. To be as entertaining an actor is he his you probably have to have some smarts.

[liberal N proud]

22. If he had, we wouldn't had to listen to McCain claim he was a Maverick

And this nation would be far better off.

[road2000]

23. James Garner WAS President...

In a very funny flick, My Fellow Americans, Garner and Jack Lemmon played a pair of ex-presidents who catfight their way across the country while being pursued by evil agents of the evil current president, Dan Ackroyd. Definitely worth the price of a rental.

The only other detective series that could rival Rockford, IMHO, is Harry O.

[johnaries]

58. I LOVED that movie!

Especially the ending, where they had decided to run together, but hadn't decided which would run as Pres and which as VP. So Garner steps up to the mic and announces as Lemmon says "You son of a" (credits):rofl:

[yesphan]

25. And to think

He was born and raised in Norman, OK. We've recently erected a statue of him in the downtown area.

[fishwax]

60. hey yesphan! I didn't no they built a statue of him

I lived in Norman for years, and your post sent me to the google to look up pictures of the statue, and now I'm missing the old place :)

That's cool that they built that statue of him. He deserves it, and always represented Oklahoma well. :hi:

[yesphan]

61. I went to high school

In Bartlesville with the guy who designed the statue and I can see it looks like a mix of he and James Garner.

[PVnRT]

26. That's what the kids call hardcore pwnage (n/t)

[Joey Liberal]

29. Rockford Rules! nt

[Deja Q]

31. And yet Bonzo was the monkey for that dumb movie... They should have reversed the roles...

No time to whip out photoshop - that's the original photo. Picture the monkey giving Saint Ronnie the bottle instead...

[Jackpine Radical]

54. The monkey is feeding the chimp in that pic. (nt)

[progressoid]

33. Yer damn skippy, Jim!

[Wednesdays]

35. K&R

:kick:

[blogslut]

37. I have a special place in my heart for James Bumgarner

My folks used to eat breakfast with him when they all lived in a boarding house in Norman Oklahoma.

Thanks for that quote. :hi:

[KansDem]

38. You're welcome!

If I were to pick the best one-hour drama ever in American TV, it would be the "Rockford Files." Always excellent acting, writing, directing, and or course...music!

:hi:

on edit: Just out of curiosity, did you parents ever eat with James' brother Jack? He played on several "Rockford" episodes as well...

[blogslut]

39. As I recall

They mentioned that one of his brothers was a baseball player. I don't know which brother but Mom used to laugh because, at the time, the brother was the "famous" one. I do remember she said that James (maybe?) had a girlfriend named Nelda.

Mom & Dad are both gone now.

[KansDem]

41. Could have been Jack...

From Wikipedia:
Garner was an avid golfer for many years. Along with his brother Jack, he played in high school.<8> Jack even attempted a professional golfing career after a brief stint in the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball farm system.

Wikipedia: James Garner

Damn! I didn't know this!:
Garner, the youngest of three children, was born James Scott Bumgarner in Norman, Oklahoma, the son of Mildred (née Meek) and Weldon Warren Bumgarner, a carpet layer.<1><2> His mother, who was part Cherokee, died when he was four years old.<3> After their mother's death, Garner and his brothers were sent to live with relatives. Garner was reunited with his family in 1934, when Weldon remarried.

Garner grew to hate his stepmother, Wilma, who beat all three boys, especially young James. When he was fourteen, Garner finally had enough of his 'wicked stepmother' and after a particularly heated battle, she left for good. James' brother Jack commented, "She was a damn no-good woman".<4> Garner admitted that his stepmother punished him by forcing him to wear a dress in public and that he finally engaged in a physical fight with her, knocking her down and choking her to keep her from killing him in retaliation. This incident ended the marriage.<5> :(

But then there's this:
Politics
Garner is a strong Democratic Party supporter, contributing over $7,500 to Democrats running for Federal office the past seven years, including Dennis Kucinich (for Congress in 2002), Richard Gephardt, John Kerry, Barbara Boxer, and various Democratic committees and groups. Since 1982 Garner has given at least $29,000 to Federal campaigns, and over $24,000 of that has been to the Democrats.<31> :)

And this (from the Internet Movie Databse):
Spouse
Lois Clarke (17 August 1956 - present) 2 children

Married to the same woman for 53 years! :D

[blogslut]

42. I'll have to ask my sister

I'm the baby of the family and as a result, my recollections of family legends tend to be a bit fuzzy. In fact, it may be that Jack was the one who lived at the boarding house and James may have just visited. We're having a family reunion this weekend so I'll pick some brains while I'm at it. :hi:

[graywarrior]

44. We were just discussing James Garner this morning and what a great guy he seemed to be.

[Mythsaje]

45. I actually LIKE Garner...

Reagan, not so much.

[tomm2thumbs]

48. maverick!

he still got it

[WoodyD]

49. LOVE him!

ITA with "The Americanization of Emily." Great movie, great anti-war message and Garner's wonderful with Julie Andrews. Then again, anything he's in is better just because he's in it.

[dana_b]

51. my mom had a big crush on Garner

she had good taste.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

52. Jim Rockford rules!

He had a cool car, somehow was allowed to stash his trailer on the beach rent free, had a cute girlfriend who did all his legal work without a retainer, and a cop who was always doing his leg work too. If he could just get rid of that idiot Angel, he would have been all set.

[Gold Metal Flake]

55. Coupla more pix

Top one from Grand Prix

[wryter2000]

56. I'm so glad to hear someone say this

I lived under St. Ronald when he was governor of CA. It was clear to me back then that he was as dumb as a stump. I was always amazed that people didn't see that.

(Lord, I hope Ron Reagan isn't reading because I love him. But, that's the honest truth.)

[guitar man]

57. I don't know what happened to us

We used to have really cool people like James Garner coming from Oklahoma....now we just seem to breed idiots like Inhofe and Coburn :(