LOS ANGELES, CA.- Julien’s Auctions, the world-record breaking auction house to the stars, will honor the illustrious life and career of the three-time SAG Award nominee, Academy Award nominee, and two-time Emmy Award winning American actor, producer and internationally renowned television and film star, James Garner, known for his iconic roles in the long-running and popular hit series, Maverick and The Rockford Files in Property from the Estate of James Garner, taking place live June 2022 at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills and online on juliensauctions.com.

Born James Scott Bumgarner on April 7, 1928 in Norman, Oklahoma, James Garner got his start in show business as a model in high school and nabbed his first acting role playing a judge in a 1954 Broadway production of The Caine Mutiny Court Martial starring Henry Fonda, who became his mentor. In 1956, he received a film contract from Warner Bros. where he started getting notice as a supporting film actor, including his role in 1957’s Sayonara starring Marlon Brando. But soon after, Garner nabbed the breakthrough role that would make him famous in the Western television series Maverick, in which he played the titular character, Bret Maverick, a professional gambler and reluctant hero.

The hit western comedy show ran from 1957-1960 beating The Ed Sullivan Show and The Steve Allen Show in the ratings during its first two years and made Garner an instant household name. In the ‘60s, Garner’s film career launched in notable roles working with Hollywood’s biggest luminaries in films such as 1963’s The Thrill of It All and Move Over, Darling opposite Doris Day and in the same year, John Sturges’ The Great Escape, opposite Steve McQueen; 1964’s The Americanization of Emily, co-starring Julie Andrews with its screenplay written by Paddy Chayefsky; and 1966’s Grand Prix directed by John Frankenheimer and co-starring Eva Marie Saint and Yves Montand. The film turned Garner into an avid race-car driver and later he drove the pace car at the Indianapolis 500 in 1975, 1977 and 1985 and owned the American International Racing team. In 1974, Garner found even greater fame and success on television for his leading role as Jim Rockford, a former ex-convict turned Los Angeles private investigator, in the smash hit series The Rockford Files.

He appeared in every episode of the series’ six seasons as well as performed his own stunts. For the role, Garner was nominated for the Emmy for best actor in a drama series for five consecutive years and won in 1977.

The critically acclaimed series and international phenomenon was nominated for Best Drama three consecutive years from 1978 to 1980 and took home the prize in 1978. Garner appeared in a series of popular Polaroid Camera commercials opposite Mariette Hartley and would later reprise the fan favorite Rockford character in eight telefilms in the 1990s. On the big screen, Garner starred once again with Julie Andrews in Blake Edward’s 1982 comedy Victor/Victoria and opposite Sally Field in the 1985 romantic comedy Murphy’s Romance, for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role.




Throughout his long career, Garner received 16 Emmy nominations and two wins, one for Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special for the 1986 telefilm Promise, for which he served as executive producer, and the other for Outstanding Leading Actor for The Rockford Files in 1977, as well as induction in the Television Academy’s Hall of Fame in 1991. He earned a Golden Globe nomination for his performance as a terminally ill doctor opposite Mary Tyler Moore in the 1984 telefilm Heartsounds and won Golden Globes for his roles as a recluse who must rejoin society in 1990’s Decoration Day and as a president of a major tobacco company in the HBO movie, Barbarians at the Gate.

Other memorable film roles included: the 1989 telefilm My Name Is Bill W; the sitcom 8 Simple Rules, where he joined after the untimely death of John Ritter; 2000’s Space Cowboys opposite Clint Eastwood; the 1994 film version of Maverick, portraying “Marshal Zane Cooper” opposite Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster; 2002’s Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood; and 2004’s The Notebook, the runaway box office hit adapted from Nicholas Sparks’ best-selling novel that introduced Garner to a new generation of fans who fell in love with the film’s sweeping intergenerational love story and his portrayal of Duke, the nursing home resident and husband to a woman suffering from Alzheimer's played by Gena Rowlands. For the role, Garner was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Best Supporting Actor Award and received the SAG Life Achievement Award that same year. A decorated combat veteran and a lifelong civil rights activist, he received his high-school diploma in the Army, served in the U.S. National Guard and in the Korean War, where he received two Purple Hearts, helped organize Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 March on Washington and supported numerous causes for veterans, unions and Native Americans. Garner passed away on July 19, 2014 in his Brentwood, California home at the age of 86.

“This special auction presentation offers some of the most cherished professional and personal items from James Garner, one of Hollywood’s acting greats, whose acclaimed and popular portrayals of television’s classic characters, Bret Maverick and Jim Rockford, and roles on the big screen epic of The Great Escape to the universally beloved The Notebook have delighted audiences worldwide,” said Martin Nolan, Executive Director/CFO of Julien’s Auctions. “We are honored to present this incredible collection representing a lifetime of outstanding performances by this incredible man, humanitarian, daredevil racer and iconoclast who broke all the rules.”

Highlights of the auction (with estimates) include: James Garner’s 1950s period Western-style costume worn in his iconic role as Bret Maverick, on his TV series, Maverick (ABC Television, 1957-1962), comprising a black wool coat, a white cotton dress shirt with ruffles down the front, a beige silk vest with a subtle purple and green pattern, a dark blue Nudie's Rodeo Tailors silk string tie and a pair of gray wool trousers ($15,000 - $20,000); two of Garner’s classic black felt wool “Maverick” cowboy hat worn by Garner, one a Dobbs-brand and the other with a brown leather sweatband stamped “J.G.” and “Lucchese / San Antonio” (each $3,000 - $5,000); Garner’s circa 1980s Dan Post black ostrich leg leather cowboy boots ($300 - $500).

Garner’s 2004 Screen Actors Guild nomination certificate for “Outstanding Performance by A Male Actor in a Supporting Role” for his acclaimed role in 2004’s The Notebook accompanied by documents such as tickets to the film's premiere, and a telegram to Garner from the film's director, Nick Cassavetes ($400 - $600); the chocolate brown ribbed velvet robe worn by Garner as “King Marchand” in the Blake Edwards’ 1982 classic comedy Victor/Victoria ($400 - $600); his navy blue cotton 1980s racing jacket with white and yellow stripes and a number of “Goodyear” patches on it ($400 - $600).

Garner’s 1980 California driver's license ($400 - $600); an award presented to Garner circa 1975 by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce for “the placement of (his) star in the / Hollywood Walk of Fame (on) / February 9, 1960” ($400 - $600); 1950s sterling silver cigarette lighter engraved “Jim” ($200 - $400); Garner’s decorative gold and diamond monogrammed “J” belt buckle made by Edward H. Bohlin, the famous Western wear maker ($4,000 - $6,000); a 1980 tan leather hand-tooled Western-style belt and large oval-shaped silver-tone metal buckle embossed on the inside “Custom made for Jim Garner from Roy Clark” ($400 - $600); Garner’s custom made small straight back hunting knife made by Anza Knives whose metal blade reads Maverick on one side and “Rockfish” on the other -- his character’s nickname from The Rockford Files ($200 - $300); a silver-plated square-shaped trinket box with an engraved image of an Oscar statuette gifted to James Garner by producer Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. in 1988 when Garner was a presenter in the 'Best Foreign Language Film' category at the 60th Academy Awards along with Faye Dunaway ($300 - $500); an oval-shaped brass belt buckle made for James Garner by noted Studio City, California Western Artist, Al Shelton that reads “Rockford” ($400 - $600); Garner’s circa 1960s custom made car racing helmet painted slate blue with a black 'crack' or 'web' design on the front and text “Jim Garner / Blood Type / Allergies - Penicillium” ($2,000 - $3,000); a 1970s wooden sculpture reading “The Rockford Files” gifted to Garner from a fan that was displayed on his desk for decades ($200 - $300); Garner’s 1977-1978 Academy of Television Arts & Sciences nomination certificate for The Rockford Files ($400 - $600); Garner’s 1993 Golden Globe award for “Best Performance By An / Actor in a Mini-Series / or Motion Picture / Made for Television” for HBO’s Barbarians at the Gate ($4,000 - $6,000); as well as citations, jewelry, and more.