The Garner Files - A Memoir cowritten with James Garner by John Winokur offers an unflinching view of James Garner's life from his alternately kind and cruel childhood to his life as a hollywood actor.
His life is not the life of a hero but of a man who survives by standing up for himself and others who are mistreated. He becomes emancipated at 14 when he slugs his step mother and throttles her after she attemps to beat him again with a spatula. He was wounded twice in the Korean War first by shrapnel and again when he leaps off a hill to avoid getting shot by US war planes. He thrives in his role as a scrounger at the base in Korea making sure his unit gets some creature comforts.
His marriage to Lois Clarke has lasted over 56 years. He met Lois and her daughter at a pool party and they married two weeks later.
He also covers his other passions in his life: auto racing and golf. He was a pretty good golfer but would often launch his club when frustrated. He offers a tip from a friend. When you throw your club at least throw it in the direction of the golf ball. He raced the Baja in Mexico several times and briefly had a racing team. He enjoyed his work on the movie Grand Prix.
I enjoyed the section at the end of the book where other people offered up their opinions on Mr. Garner. Mac Davis's wife is a nurse at an LA Hospital and she was shocked at the stack of medical charts that she had to review prior to treating Mr. Garner after one of his many mishaps.
James Garner - Audio book Excerpt - Stick to the script and react don't act
James Garner and Julie Andrews in the Americanization of Emily - Jim's favorite picture
The book, The Garner Files: A Memoir
is available from Amazon.com.
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