James Garner
In my lifetime I've had two memorable brushes with Hollywood celebrities. One was with James Garner and the other Jane Mansfield which is another story.
It was with some sad note that I read about the death of James Garner at age 86. He is only eight months older than I am. My only encounter with him was early in life before he was a movie star and then only for a number of brief intense moments for about an hour during a football game played in Norman, Oklahoma, in the Fall of 1945.
James Bumgarner (James Garner) played football for Norman High School. I played football for Classen High School which was in the same conference with Norman. James played guard. I played guard. In those days according to the rules we played both offense and defense which means James and I butted heads a number of times during the game. I recall that he was a lanky hard-hitting guy with a big mouth. There has always been a certain amount of "conversation" on the playing field among the opposing players, but James carried it to a higher level. I also had a few choice words for him as we looked eyeball-to-eyeball across the scrimmage line.
All the news account I read Saturday said he quit high school at age16 and joined the Merchant Marine. That would have been in 1944. But, he didn't last long because of a susceptibility to sea sickness. I was beginning to think maybe my memory of playing against him was wrong until I ran across this blurb on one of the Internet websites:
At seventeen, he joined his father in Los Angeles and enrolled at Hollywood High School, where he was voted the most popular student. A high school gym teacher recommended him for a job modeling Jantzen bathing suits. It paid $25 an hour, but in his first interview for the Archives of American Television, he said he hated modeling; he soon quit and returned to Norman. There he played football and basketball for Norman High School.
James became age seventeen April 7, 1945. Since he returned to Norman and played football it had to be the Fall of 1945. It was James Bumgarner I played against.
He played in a number of movies and television programs, the most notable being the Rockford Files. I always liked James Garner. He had a unique style that you couldn't help but like him. I wish I could have known him in later life and reminisced with him about our youthful days playing football. He is sorely missed. He was one of a kind, one you seldom ever meet. Unlike most movie stars he was married to the same woman 55 years.
Farewell, my friend. Maybe we'll soon see each other over there.
It was with some sad note that I read about the death of James Garner at age 86. He is only eight months older than I am. My only encounter with him was early in life before he was a movie star and then only for a number of brief intense moments for about an hour during a football game played in Norman, Oklahoma, in the Fall of 1945.
James Bumgarner (James Garner) played football for Norman High School. I played football for Classen High School which was in the same conference with Norman. James played guard. I played guard. In those days according to the rules we played both offense and defense which means James and I butted heads a number of times during the game. I recall that he was a lanky hard-hitting guy with a big mouth. There has always been a certain amount of "conversation" on the playing field among the opposing players, but James carried it to a higher level. I also had a few choice words for him as we looked eyeball-to-eyeball across the scrimmage line.
All the news account I read Saturday said he quit high school at age16 and joined the Merchant Marine. That would have been in 1944. But, he didn't last long because of a susceptibility to sea sickness. I was beginning to think maybe my memory of playing against him was wrong until I ran across this blurb on one of the Internet websites:
At seventeen, he joined his father in Los Angeles and enrolled at Hollywood High School, where he was voted the most popular student. A high school gym teacher recommended him for a job modeling Jantzen bathing suits. It paid $25 an hour, but in his first interview for the Archives of American Television, he said he hated modeling; he soon quit and returned to Norman. There he played football and basketball for Norman High School.
James became age seventeen April 7, 1945. Since he returned to Norman and played football it had to be the Fall of 1945. It was James Bumgarner I played against.
He played in a number of movies and television programs, the most notable being the Rockford Files. I always liked James Garner. He had a unique style that you couldn't help but like him. I wish I could have known him in later life and reminisced with him about our youthful days playing football. He is sorely missed. He was one of a kind, one you seldom ever meet. Unlike most movie stars he was married to the same woman 55 years.
Farewell, my friend. Maybe we'll soon see each other over there.
posted by Donald G Davidson at 1:18 AM
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