We’re All in Rockford’s Files Now
Connor Martin
Posted: Apr 07, 2022 12:01 AM
April 7th marks the birthday of one of Hollywood’s best – the late, great James Garner – whose multi-decade career spanned everything from early TV westerns like "Maverick," to movies of all genres, from "Grand Prix" to "The Great Escape" to "Hour of the Gun." And, prior to his life on the screen, he served in both the U.S. Merchant Marine and the U.S. Army National Guard – that latter stint in uniform included combat in the Korean War where he was wounded twice in action, and received two Purple Hearts and the Army’s Combat Infantryman Badge for his service. Garner would have been 94 this year.
And while Garner’s career spanned multiple decades on both the big and little screen, it was The Rockford Files where he shined – eventually earning an Emmy for Best Actor on the show. The character – a tough, good-natured and sharp-skilled but perennially down-on-his-luck ex-con (pardoned) private detective – was basically tailor-made for Garner. In fact, he was so perfect for the role that it is almost impossible to envision any other actor playing the part.
But The Rockford Files was more than James Garner. And it was more than superb writing and plots, or excellent characters with chemistry – which it all was, of course. Beyond all of that, it was a tribute to and a defense of the middle-class. Rockford spoke to all of us stuck between the protected polar ends of society, putting in the hours, footing the bill for everyone else, and making just enough to stay above water…but never enough to sit completely high-and-dry. And while The Rockford Files regularly highlighted societal injustice, it was done via a character clad in off-the-rack blazers who lived in a trailer house and drank canned beers…a far cry from the sanctimonious moralizers who endlessly brow-beat the common citizen with their selective outrage today.
Even if it wasn’t intended, Rockford was an everyman hero – the “Average Joe” who is simply trying to get by, earn enough cash to make the payments on his Firebird, and live peacefully enough to throw a few casts into the surf with his old man. Rockford – and often his retired truck-driver Dad “Rocky” – took it on the chin for good people in nearly every episode. And while the villains didn’t succeed with their schemes, Rockford never got rich for his troubles. The hard-knock lesson here is that even if evil gets punished – a big “if” it seems these days – good never seems to get properly reimbursed.
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https://townhall.com/columnists/connormartin/2022/04/07/were-all-in-rockfords-files-now-n2605564
