Editing James Garner (section)

==Personal life==
===Marriage and family===
Despite his popularity and sociable nature, Garner was seen by others as a down-to-earth man who kept his family life private.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lancasteronline.com/features/i-know-a-story-meeting-james-garner-a-down-to/article_923dd3c4-1669-11e4-a56f-001a4bcf6878.html|title=I Know A Story: Meeting James Garner, a down-to-earth star|publisher=LancasterOnline.com|date=August 3, 2014 |access-date=October 4, 2023}}</ref>
[[File:Jim Garner and his family, 1959.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Lois, Garner and family]]

Garner was married once, to Lois Josephine Fleischman Clarke,<ref>{{cite web|last=Walsten |first=Jessika |url=https://www.nexttv.com/news/rockford-files-star-james-garner-dies-132572 |title='Rockford Files' Star James Garner Dies|website=NextTV |date=2014-07-20 |access-date=2021-11-29}}</ref> whom he met at a party in 1956. They wed 16 days later on August 17, 1956. "We went to dinner every night for 14 nights. I was just absolutely nuts about her. I spent $77 on our honeymoon, and it about broke me."<ref name=CunneffT-People/> According to Garner, "Marriage is like the Army; everyone complains, but you'd be surprised at the large number of people who re-enlist."<ref>Garner, James, with Charlie Rose.  "An Hour with Actor James Garner." ''[[Charlie Rose (TV series)|Charlie Rose]]'' (March 26, 2002)</ref> His wife practiced [[Judaism]].<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.countryliving.com/life/entertainment/a44424/james-garner-and-lois-clarke-love-story/ |title = James Garner and Lois Clarke Dated for 14 Days Before Getting Married|date = August 18, 2017}}</ref>

When Garner and Clarke married, Lois' daughter from a previous marriage was nine years old and recovering from [[polio]].<ref name="GoodHousekeeping-Mar76" /> Garner had one daughter formally named Greta, called by her nickname "Gigi" with Lois who was born on January 4, 1958.<ref name="GoodHousekeeping-Mar76" />

Garner and his wife Lois were still married at his death in 2014, although they had had two periods of separation: the first for three months in 1970, and the second in 1979. The couple reunited two years later in September 1981.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YBlbAAAAIBAJ&pg=4250%2C443056 | last=Beck | first=Marilyn | title=Garner: 'I like people who care' | newspaper=Bangor Daily News | date=January 1, 1982 | access-date=June 12, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/james-garner-the-actor-known-for-his-portrayals-of-an-honourable-man-in-a-dishonourable-world-9617517.html | title=James Garner: The actor known for his portrayals of an honourable man in a dishonourable world | website=The Independent | first=Robert | last=Sellers | date=July 20, 2014 | access-date=June 12, 2022}}</ref>

Garner stated that during this second period apart he split his time between Canada and "a rented house in the Valley." In each case Garner said the separations were caused by the stress of his acting career and were not due to marital problems. In the case of ''The Rockford Files'' he was in almost every scene while in constant pain due to his arthritic knees, and under tremendous stress from the studio.<ref name="CunneffT-People" /> Garner stated that when he quit the series in 1979, he simply needed to spend time alone in order to recover.<ref>{{Cite magazine | url=https://people.com/archive/cover-story-the-man-is-back-vol-23-no-16/ | title=The Man Is Back | first=Jane | last=Hall | date=April 22, 1985 | magazine=People | access-date=June 12, 2022 | language=en}}</ref>

Garner's death in 2014 was less than a month before their 58th wedding anniversary. His wife died seven years later, on October 21, 2021.

===Racing===
In his youth, Garner had raced with "hot cars" in "chases", but his interest in auto racing was magnified during preparations for the filming of ''[[Grand Prix (1966 film)|Grand Prix]]''. [[John Frankenheimer]], the director and impetus behind the project, was determined to make the film as realistic as possible. He was trying to determine which actor he could focus on for high speed takes. At his disposal were the services of [[Bob Bondurant]], a Formula 1 racer who was serving as technical consultant for the film. The first step was to place the actors in a two-seater version of a Formula 1 car to see how they would handle the high speeds. Bondurant noted that all the actors became quite frightened going over 240 kph, (149&nbsp;mph) except Garner, who returned to the pit laughing like an excited child. Said Bondurant, "This is your man".<ref name="Crowe">{{cite web|url=https://autoaction.com.au/2017/01/11/james-garners-grand-prix|last=Crowe|first=Jason|title=James Garner's Grand Prix|work=Auto Action|date=11 January 2017}}</ref> From there on out, all the actors were placed in a race driver training program except for Garner, whom Bonderant was assigned to personally train. Garner proved to be a good student, a hard worker and a talented driver. Compared to the other actors in the movie, Bondurant tagged Garner as being 'light years' ahead.<ref name="Crowe"/> By the end of the film Bonderant asserted that Garner could compete on a Formula 1 team, and would best some of the drivers currently in the field.<ref name="Warner Bros">{{cite AV media|people=Jonathan Strailey (producer)|title=Pushing the Limit: The Making of Grand Prix|type = Documentary film|date = 2006|publisher = Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.}}</ref>

Following the completion of ''Grand Prix'', Garner become involved in auto racing. From 1967 through 1969 Garner was an owner of the "American International Racers" (AIR) [[auto racing]] team.<ref name="ORMHOF"/> Motorsports writer William Edgar and Hollywood director [[Andy Sidaris]] teamed with Garner for the racing documentary ''[[The Racing Scene]]'', filmed in 1969 and released in 1970.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thisweekinmotors.com/james-garners-the-racing-scene-dvd|title=James Garner's "The Racing Scene"|website=Thisweekinmotors.com|date=2014-07-20|access-date=2016-07-24}}</ref> The team fielded cars at the [[24 Hours of Le Mans|Le Mans]], [[24 Hours of Daytona|Daytona]], and [[12 Hours of Sebring|Sebring]] endurance races, but is best known for raising public awareness in early off-road motor-sports events, in many of which Garner competed.<ref name="ORMHOF">{{cite web|url=http://www.ormhof.com/inductees/James-Garner.htm|title=Garner – 1978 inductee, Off-Road Hall Of Fame|publisher=Ormhof.com|date=April 7, 1928|access-date=April 25, 2010}}</ref> In 1978, he was one of the inaugural inductees in the [[Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame]].<ref name="ORMHOF"/>

Garner signed a three-year sponsorship contract with [[American Motors|American Motors Corporation]] (AMC).<ref>Foster, Pat. {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20090628070729/http://www.ramblerrogue.com/maverick.htm Maverick's Movin' Machine: James Garner's Racing SC/Rambler"]}}. Hemmings Muscle Machines magazine (c/o Rambler Rogue Registry)</ref> His shops prepared ten 1969 [[Rambler American|SC/Ramblers]] for the Baja 500 race.<ref>[http://www.arcticboy.com/media/american/BajaScram/bajaamer.html "1969 Rambler Americans in Baja"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160806073753/http://www.arcticboy.com/media/american/BajaScram/bajaamer.html|date=August 6, 2016}} – at ArcticBoy's Baja Scramble Pictures</ref> Garner did not drive in this event because of a film commitment in Spain that year. Nevertheless, seven of his cars finished the grueling race, taking three of the top five places in the sedan class.<ref>[http://www.javelinamx.com/JavHome/articles/air4wd.htm "Like Bounding Gazelles"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312012337/http://www.javelinamx.com/JavHome/articles/air4wd.htm|date=March 12, 2016}} [[Motor Trend]] – (c/o JavelinAMX.com). August 1969</ref> Garner also drove the [[pace car]] at the [[Indianapolis 500]] race in 1975, 1977, and 1985 (see: [[list of Indianapolis 500 pace cars]]).<ref name="ORMHOF"/>

In 1987, Garner announced plans to partner with Larry Cahill to form a racing team to compete in the [[1988 CART PPG Indy Car World Series|1988 Indycar season]]. The intention was to base the team in [[Cedar Rapids, Iowa]], where Cahill operated his businesses. The estimated budget was $3.5 million. Plans for this team never came to fruition.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1987-08-28-8703050381-story.html|title=GARNER GETS INTO RACING ACT|website=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=28 August 1987 }}</ref>
Cahill later formed his own [[Cahill Racing|team]] to compete in the [[Indy Racing League]].

===Golf===
Garner was an avid golfer for many years. Along with his brother, Jack, he played golf in high school.<ref name=TW-OKIE-2007/> Jack even attempted a professional golfing career after a brief stint in the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] baseball farm system.<ref name="MontgomeryE-WD-2006-04-05">Montgomery, Ed. {{cite web|url=http://www.weatherforddemocrat.com/entertainment/cnhinsentertainment_story_096092050.html?keyword=topstory|title=Maverick coming home|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130108203330/http://www.weatherforddemocrat.com/entertainment/cnhinsentertainment_story_096092050.html?keyword=topstory|archive-date=2013-01-08}} ''The Norman Transcript'' (c/o ''The Weatherford Democrat''; April 6, 2006)</ref> Garner took it up again in the late 1950s to see if he could beat Jack.<ref name=CunneffT-People/> He was a regular for years at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am.<ref name=MontgomeryE-WD-2006-04-05/> In February 1990 at the AT&T Golf Tournament, he won the Most Valuable Amateur Trophy.<ref name="ABC bio"/> Garner appeared on Sam Snead's Celebrity Golf TV series, which aired from 1960 – 1963. These matches were 9-hole charity events pitting Snead against Hollywood celebrities.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hZldDAAAQBAJ&q=Garner+appeared+on+Sam+Snead%27s+Celebrity+Golf+TV+series&pg=PT112|title=James Garner: A Biography|last=Strait|first=Raymond|date=2016-06-13|publisher=Crossroad Press|language=en}}</ref>

===American football===
Garner was noted as an enthusiastic fan of the [[Oakland Raiders|Raiders]] in the [[National Football League|NFL]]; he regularly attended games and mixed with the players.<ref name=CBS-Raiders-2014-07-20>[https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/look-james-garner-who-died-at-86-was-a-huge-raiders-fan/ "James Garner, who died at 86, was a huge Raiders fan"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309000708/http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/24629456/look-james-garner-who-died-at-86-was-a-huge-raiders-fan/ |date=March 9, 2016 }}CBS Sports July 20, 2014. Retrieved November 29, 2021</ref> He was also present when the Raiders won [[Super Bowl XVIII]] over the [[Washington Redskins]] in January 1984 at [[Tampa, Florida]].

===University of Oklahoma===
Garner was a supporter of the [[University of Oklahoma]], often returning to [[Norman, Oklahoma|Norman]] for school functions. When he attended [[Oklahoma Sooners football]] games, he frequently could be seen on the sidelines or in the press box. Garner received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree at OU in 1995.<ref name=NoTr-FavSon-2006-03-30>[https://archive.today/20130108144837/http://www.normantranscript.com/localnews/local_story_089005605/ "Favorite son returns for '89er Days"] – The Norman Transcript – March 30, 2006</ref>

In 2003, to endow the James Garner Chair in the School of Drama, he donated [[USD|$]]500,000 towards a total $1 million endowment for the first endowed position at the drama school.<ref name=NoTr-FavSon-2006-03-30/><ref name=NoTr--2006-03-12>[https://archive.today/20130108200832/http://www.normantranscript.com/localnews/local_story_071004240/ "Garner will choose movie for Norman celebration"], ''The Norman Transcript'' (March 12, 2006)</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Klinka |first=Karen |date=April 4, 2003 |title=Garner gives $500,000 for OU drama chair |url= https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2003/04/04/garner-gives-500000-for-ou-drama-chair/62050048007/|work= The Oklahoman|location=Norman,OK |access-date=January 22, 2024}}</ref>

===Politics===
[[File:Warner Brothers television westerns stars 1959.JPG|thumb|right|1959 [[Warner Bros.]] series leads [[Will Hutchins]] (''[[Sugarfoot]]''), [[Peter Brown (actor)|Peter Brown]] (''[[Lawman (TV series)|Lawman]]''), [[Jack Kelly (actor)|Jack Kelly]] (''[[Maverick (TV series)|Maverick]]''), [[Ty Hardin]] (''[[Bronco (TV series)|Bronco]]''), James Garner (''Maverick''), [[Wayde Preston]] ''([[Colt .45 (TV series)|Colt .45]]''), and [[John Russell (actor)|John Russell]] (''[[Lawman (TV series)|Lawman]]'')]]

Garner was a strong [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] supporter.

On August 28, 1963, Garner was one of several celebrities to join [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] in the "[[March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom]]."<ref name="Leopold">{{Cite web |last=Leopold |first=Todd |date=2014-07-20 |title=Famed actor James Garner dies at 86 |url=https://www.cnn.com/2014/07/20/showbiz/james-garner-death/index.html |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> In his autobiography, Garner recalled sitting in the third row listening to King's "[[I Have a Dream]]" speech.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Garner |first1=James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W6jiYnyLRgoC&q=%22James+Garner%22+%22I+have+a+dream%22 |title=The Garner Files: A Memoir |last2=Winokur |first2=Jon |date=2012-10-23 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-4516-4261-2 |pages=97 |language=en}}</ref>
:"If there was an environmental cause, James Garner was there" — [[Zev Yaroslavsky]]<ref name="Sawicki">{{Cite web |last=Sawicki |first=Emily |date=2014-07-23 |title=Garner Remembered for 'Rockford Files,' Environmental Passion • The Malibu Times |url=https://malibutimes.com/article_de6b8e58-129a-11e4-9619-0019bb2963f4 |access-date=2024-04-25 |language=en-US}}</ref>
In July 1964, Garner, over a master plan for a 92-square-mile Santa Monica Mountains area, engaged in a public quarrel with [[Karl L. Rundberg#Mountains|Karl L. Rundberg]], a Los Angeles City Council member, at a council meeting.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.alamy.com/actor-james-garner-is-shown-july-30-1964-los-angeles-calif-the-actor-was-on-hand-for-a-city-council-hearing-on-a-controversial-master-plan-for-development-of-the-santa-monica-mountains-which-the-movie-folk-dont-want-changed-by-proposed-subdivisions-and-additional-population-ap-photo-image525565482.html | title=Actor James Garner is shown, July 30, 1964, Los Angeles, Calif. The actor was on hand for a City Council hearing on a controversial master plan for development of the Santa Monica Mountains which the movie folk don't want changed by proposed subdivisions and additional population. (AP Photo Stock Photo - Alamy }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2014-07-21 |title=James Garner nearly got into a fight to protect Santa Monica Mountains |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-james-garner-santa-monica-mountains-20140721-story.html |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Vollmer">{{Cite web |last=Vollmer |first=Ted |date=1988-09-19 |title=Many Battles but No Winner : A tenacious Occidental Petroleum Corp. and ambivalent city officials have fought to a draw for 22 years over Palisades drilling. |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-09-19-me-1555-story.html |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1964-07-30 |title=Independent from Long Beach, California |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/719583846/ |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Later, Garner, [[Steve McQueen]] and [[Burt Lancaster]], became founding members of the ''Friends of the [[Santa Monica Mountains]]'' conservancy group, according to the book ''Transforming California'' by Stephanie S. Pincetl, but contested by Dash Stolarz, spokesperson for the state's [[Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy]]<ref name="Leopold"/><ref name="Sawicki"/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Steve |date=2018-12-02 |title=Mothers of the Santa Monica Mountains |url=https://venturacountytrails.org/WP/2018/12/02/mothers-of-the-santa-monica-mountains/ |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=venturacountytrails.org |language=en-US}}</ref>

In the 1980s, Garner worked against oil drilling offshore of [[Will Rogers State Beach]].<ref>* https://static.library.ucla.edu/oralhistory/pdf/masters/21198-zz000975hc-5-master.pdf
* https://ssmpa.com/resources/newsletters/2015%2001%20Newsletter%20v1_1.pdf
</ref><ref name="Sawicki"/><ref name="Vollmer"/>

From 1982, Garner gave at least $29,000 to Federal campaigns, of which over $24,000 was to Democratic Party candidates, including [[Dennis Kucinich]] (for Congress in 2002), [[Dick Gephardt]], [[John Kerry]], [[Barbara Boxer]], and various Democratic committees and groups.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsmeat.com/celebrity_political_donations/James_Garner.php|title=NEWSMEAT - James Garner's federal campaign contributions|date=March 9, 2005|access-date=May 9, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050309051230/http://www.newsmeat.com/celebrity_political_donations/James_Garner.php|archive-date=March 9, 2005|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
 
For his role in the 1985 CBS miniseries [[Space (miniseries)|''Space'']], the character's party affiliation was changed from [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] to Democrat, as in the book, to reflect Garner's personal views. Garner said, "My wife would leave me if I played a Republican."<ref>Thomas, Jack. "Keep Your Eye On This Space". ''Boston Globe'' (April 13, 1985)</ref>

===Friendship with Richmond Barthé===
Garner became a friend, supporter and main benefactor of African-American sculptor [[Richmond Barthé]], from the time the latter returned from Europe in 1977 and settled in Pasadena,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Richmond-Barthe|title=Richmond Barthé|date=March 2, 2025|website=Britannica}}</ref> until Barthé's death in 1989.