"This is Jim Rockford. At the tone, leave your name and message. I'll get back to ya."

Certain actors just captivate you! All they have to do is come on the screen and your eye is drawn to them. James Garner was one of those actors! He was a master of the comedic take and the definition of smooth. Older generations probably first knew him as TV's Bret Maverick and then Jim Rockford on "The Rockford Files" I don't remember watching "Maverick," but I do remember "The Rockford Files." I wasn't really interested in that show, I kind of considered it a "guy's show." When I hear someone mention "The Rockford Files" I always think of a scene from the comedy, "Fraser" between Daphne and Martin discussing the show "The Rockford Files" and how upset Martin gets when Daphne confides to Martin that he reminds her of Rocky, Jim's father. Martin had always fancied himself as the smooth PI, James Garner played, and Daphne's observation struck quite a blow to Martin's ego. I first became enamored of James Garner when I saw him in one of my favorite movies, Victor, Victoria. He plays a straight Chicago Kingpin, who surprisingly finds himself attracted to a female impersonator. The female impersonator, unbeknownst to the public, is actually a "woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman" played wonderfully by Julie Andrews. Garner plays the handsome, suave, Man's man to a tee which makes it all the funnier when he finds out the woman he just saw perform this amazing, sexy musical number is actually a man, well, sort of. Confused? Find it and watch it! You won't be disappointed! About 3 years later a movie came out called "Murphy's Romance" starring Sally Field and James Garner. In the movie, two men are vying for her attentions, one, young and very good looking and the other, older but very handsome and charming. The older character is played by James Garner. I was 22 when I saw the film, but I remember thinking, I would pick the older guy. There is a scene in the film where James Garner's character finally kisses Sally Field.

Later in an interview Field said it was the most gratifying screen kiss she had ever received. James Garner received an Oscar nomination for his role in the film. Today's generation probably knows James Garner best as Ryan Gosling's character living out his twilight years in "The Notebook" If you're going to watch that one, get out your tissues. He also stepped back into TV in one of the most difficult ways. In 2003 he joined the cast of "8 Simple Rules" It's star, John Ritter, had passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. Instead of the series going off the air, the show continued and dealt with the death of the actor by dealing with the death of his character on the show. James Garner came in as the Grandfather, and played what he played so well, the man to go to when you needed advice, compassion, or sometimes just a good kick in the pants to send you in the right direction. 

James Garner died yesterday at the age of 86. He will be sorely missed.