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    The Garner Files: A Memoir
    The Garner Files: A Memoir
    The Garner Files: A Memoir
    Audiobook9 hours

    The Garner Files: A Memoir

    Written by James Garner and Jon Winokur

    Narrated by Michael Kramer

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    After suffering physical abuse at the hands of his stepmother, James Garner left home at fourteen. He became Oklahoma's first draftee of the Korean War and was awarded with two Purple Hearts before returning to the United States and settling in Los Angeles to become an actor. Working alongside some of the most renowned celebrities, including Julie Andrews, Marlon Brando, and Clint Eastwood, Garner became a star in his own right, despite struggles with stage fright and depression.

    In The Garner Files, this revered actor and quintessential self-made man recalls "trying to decipher" William Wyler with Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine, breaking Doris Day's ribs, having a "heart-to-heart and eyeball-to-eyeball" with Steve McQueen, being "a card-carrying liberal-and proud of it," and much more.This audiobook features an introduction by Julie Andrews read by Wanda McCaddon.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateNov 1, 2011
    ISBN9781452674919
    Author

    James Garner

    James Garner is a freelance graphic designer, illustrator and decorator. He lives in Suffolk where he pursues his passion of creativity. He can often be found drawing or painting, whether it is houses or beautiful children's books.

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    Reviews for The Garner Files

    4.5/5

    33 ratings11 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      Not so likable I thought he comes off as petty
    • 3/5
      Interesting read for fans. I enjoyed the name dropping. JG explains near the end of the book how Jon Winokur to be his co-author and choosing him to write an autobiography still didn't make sense to me. The writing style was choppy but, for all I know, better than JG would have done on his own. If the publisher had suggested someone else, JG probably would have decked him.
    • 4/5
      One of my favorite actors and a really stand-up guy. This was a fun read.
    • 3/5
      James garner sounds like a nice guy who played by the rules loved his wife and was kind of a hothead but there’s nothing really juicy and this memoir . It was interesting to hear how dirty the business side of entertainment can be though.
    • 5/5
      An excellent memoir by James Garner and Jon Winokur. So nice to read a book that doesn't dwell on how many people the 'star' slept with or how he had to beat addictions. I think golf was his only real addiction. He comes across as a person that would be there for you in heartbeat as long as you never lied to him.
    • 3/5
      I listened to his audio book read by Jim Garner. Love his voice. .......After suffering physical abuse at the hands of his stepmother, Garner left home at fourteen. He became Oklahoma’s first draftee of the Korean War and was awarded with two Purple Hearts before returning to the United States and settling in Los Angeles to become an actor. Working alongside some of the most renowned celebrities, including Julie Andrews, Marlon Brando, and Clint Eastwood, Garner became a star in his own right, despite struggles with stage fright and depression. In The Garner Files, this revered actor and quintessential self-made man has stories about Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine, breaking Doris Day’s ribs, having a “heart-to-heart and eyeball-to-eyeball” with Steve McQueen, being “a card-carrying liberal—and proud of it,” etc. I enjoyed learning about James Garner, an actor I've always enjoyed. He seems to have earned the respect of Hollywood. ...........A couple of the chapters on auto racing and golf I had to fast forward through. Way to boring for me but someone else may really enjoy listening to specifics on those subjects.
    • 4/5
      Honest and frank autobiography by James Garner. He details the terrible conditions in which he grew up (absent father, abusive stepmother, poverty) and his stints in the Merchant Marine and Army and his service in Korea. He is very frank about some of his fellow actors (Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Bruce Willis) but details his hard work and his inclination to do his own stunts. He also was someone who stuck to the lines as written and intended to have other actors working with him do the same. There is only a small amount on his wife of 57 years and his children. There is a section where his wife, children, co-stars, friends, writers, etc. provide comments about Garner which is very good. However, the best is the filmography where Garner himself provided ratings and comments about his films. This is one of the best filmographies I have ever read.
    • 5/5
      The Garner Files: A Memoir by James Garner and Jon Winokur is an excellent celebrity memoir. It reveals Garner to be a man of integrity. He is socially conscious, politically liberal, very opinionated, and he doesn’t hesitate to voice his opinions when they matter. Although he has been very successful in television and movies, he came from a dysfunctional family that struggled to provide a home for him. His mother died when he was very young and his father was not very attentive to him and his brothers. In fact, his father was not even around much, and James had to work odd jobs and take care of himself when he was very young. Garner was the first Oklahoman drafted for the Korean War, and he was awarded two Purple Hearts for wounds sustained during the First Spring Offensive in 1951 when he was one of 30 men who survived from a company of one hundred thirty. However, Garner doesn’t claim to be a hero in any way. He was wounded twice, but he states that he was only trying to save himself during that war. Of course, most of the book focuses on his work as an actor and producer. Most people (at least people of my age) know his television work as Maverick (1957-1961) and as Jim Rockford (1974-1980). However, he was also in 44 feature films, 23 made-for-television movies, and three miniseries. He worked with a long list of very famous and accomplished actors and directors, including Julie Andrews, Marlon Brando, Doris Day, Steve McQueen, James Coburn, William Holden, Lloyd Nolan, Natalie Wood, Randolph Scott, Angie Dickinson, Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, Sidney Poitier, Lauren Bacall, Sally Field, Jodie Foster, Jack Lemmon, Gene Hackman, Clint Eastwood, and many others. He also produced The Rockford Files in addition to some other television shows and movies in which he performed. This book provides much information about many of his movies and TV shows, including fascinating information about the people he worked with. However, this is not a tabloid-gossip book. Garner focuses on his interactions with his family, friends, coworkers, directors, and studio magnates. While most of his stories present positive images of those people, it is not surprising that he includes some very interesting negative opinions of some. He also does not portray himself as perfect in any way. He discusses his drinking problems, his use of marijuana, and his bad temper on the golf course, which also manifested as fights in other settings. Garner is serious about his profession, and he discusses his philosophy of acting, which does not include researching the parts he plays and includes saying the lines exactly as they were written by the writer. This book provides a very candid portrait on Garner’s life, work, and passions, which include golf and race cars. Instead of an ego trip, he provides a revealing description of himself that caused me to respect him even more after reading the book. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has enjoyed Garner’s movie and/or television work, and it would also be of interest to any avid fan of movies or television shows from 1956-2000.
    • 4/5
      James Garner is an actor and producer best known for “Maverick” and “The Rockford Files.” He writes in a plan and forthright fashion about his life. Garner starts with his childhood growing up during The Great Depression in Oklahoma. He was wounded twice during the Korean War and then was reassigned to a base post office where he became a “dog robber” like the character he played in “The Great Escape.” After the war he drifted around for a while until someone suggested he try acting. He never formally studied acting and learned from observation. Garner comes across as a strong personality who shuns the “Hollywood lifestyle” for a private life with friends and family. He doesn’t like awards and is afraid of public speaking. He is a manly sort who played football when he was younger, raced cars, and did most of his own stunts. He is an admitted “bleeding heart liberal” who fought injustice. Along with Charlton Heston , Sidney Poitier, Burt Lancaster, Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, and other celebrities he participated in the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Garner confesses to be an old curmudgeon; hard on the outside and soft on the inside. He is an interesting man and this book is worth reading if you are a fan.
    • 3/5
      Not overly well written but interesting. He seems to have been an all around nice guy in the sense that he stuck up for the downtrodden. He also had a temper, which you'd never know from his TV shows and movies. He stayed out of the limelight and was married to the same woman for 50 years, both rare in Hollywood.
    • 5/5
      An excellent memoir by James Garner and Jon Winokur. So nice to read a book that doesn't dwell on how many people the 'star' slept with or how he had to beat addictions. I think golf was his only real addiction. He comes across as a person that would be there for you in heartbeat as long as you never lied to him.