EchoVibe

James Garner Net Worth - Pulptastic

What was James Garner’s net worth?

James Garner, an American film and television actor, passed away in 2014 leaving behind a net worth of $20 million. Garner was best known for his starring roles in popular TV series such as “Maverick” and “The Rockford Files”.

He was also a leading man in many movies over the years, including “The Great Escape”, “Grand Prix”, “Marlowe”, and “Murphy’s Romance”, which earned him an Academy Award nomination. Garner continued to act in the 2000s, appearing in films such as “Space Cowboys” and “The Notebook”.

Early Life and Military Service

James Garner, born as James Scott Bumgarner in 1928 in Denver, Oklahoma, was raised Methodist with his older brothers Jack and Charles. After World War II, Garner moved to Los Angeles and attended Hollywood High School. He later enrolled at Norman High School in Oklahoma, where he played basketball, football, and golf, and competed on the track team. However, he dropped out during his senior year.

Garner worked as a merchant mariner in the United States Merchant Marine before enlisting in the California Army National Guard. He served his first seven months in California and then went to Korea for 14 months as a rifleman with the 5th Regimental Combat Team. Garner was awarded a Korean Service Medal, a United Nations Service Medal for Korea, and a Purple Heart, among other honors.

James Garner’s Rise to Fame

In 1954, James Garner was encouraged by his friend Paul Gregory to take a nonverbal part in the Broadway production of “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial.” This led to commercials and larger television roles. Although he missed out on the leading role on the Western series “Cheyenne,” Garner appeared on the pilot episode in 1955. He made his feature film debut in 1956 with “The Girl He Left Behind” and “Toward the Unknown.”

Garner’s breakthrough role came in 1957 when he played professional gambler Bret Maverick on the ABC Western series “Maverick.” The show was a massive hit, beating both “The Steve Allen Show” and “The Ed Sullivan Show” in its time slot. It ran until 1962 and earned Garner an Emmy Award nomination.

James Garner’s Prolific Decade of Film

After leaving Warner Bros., James Garner starred in “The Children’s Hour” with Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine in 1961. He then went on to have leading roles in “Boys’ Night Out,” “The Thrill of it All,” and “Move Over, Darling,” all with Doris Day. Garner also starred in three World War II dramas: “The Great Escape,” “The Americanization of Emily,” and “36 Hours.”

In the latter half of the decade, Garner headlined several films, including “The Art of Love,” “Duel at Diablo,” “Hour of the Gun,” “A Man Could Get Killed,” and “Grand Prix,” which sparked his interest in racing. He also starred in “The Pink Jungle,” “Support Your Local Sheriff!,” and “Marlowe,” in which he played a private investigator.

Garner’s Television and Film Career

Garner returned to television in 1971 to star in the offbeat Western series “Nichols.” He also starred in the comedy movies “Support Your Local Gunfighter!” and “Skin Game.” Garner’s next biggest success came in 1974 when he was cast as private investigator Jim Rockford on “The Rockford Files.” The program ran for six years, and Garner received Emmy Award nominations for all six seasons, winning one in 1977.

Garner also appeared in several films during this time, including “They Only Kill Their Masters,” “One Little Indian,” and “The Castaway Cowboy.”

James Garner’s Career Highlights

In the 1980s, James Garner reprised his role in “Bret Maverick” and appeared in several television movies, earning Emmy Award nominations for his performances. He also starred in the successful film “Murphy’s Romance” and played Wyatt Earp in “Sunset.” In the 1990s, he appeared in the short-lived series “Man of the People,” the HBO movie “Barbarians at the Gate,” and reprised his role as Jim Rockford in eight television films. He also appeared in the film adaptation of “Maverick,” as well as the comedy “My Fellow Americans” and the thriller “Twilight.”

James Garner’s Later Career

Garner starred in “Space Cowboys,” “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood,” and “The Notebook,” earning a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for the latter. He joined the cast of “8 Simple Rules” in 2003 and remained on the series until its ending in 2005. Garner received a total of 15 Emmy Award nominations throughout his television career that spanned over five decades.

James Garner’s Personal Life and Health Struggles

In 1956, Garner married Lois Josephine Fleischman Clarke and had one daughter, Greta. They separated temporarily in 1970 and again in 1979, but reunited in 1981. Garner suffered from health problems, including knee operations from his work on “The Rockford Files,” quintuple bypass heart surgery in 1988, and a severe stroke in 2008. He passed away in 2014 at the age of 86 due to a heart attack caused by coronary artery disease.

James Garner’s Brentwood Home Sells for $10 Million

James Garner purchased a newly constructed home in LA’s Brentwood neighborhood in 1966, where he lived for most of his life until his death in 2014. The Garner family sold the home in March of 2020 for $10 million.