James Garner

Born: April 7th 1928
Where: Oklahoma, USA

One Hollywood's best-loved stars is reaching the pinnacle of a career that has spanned six decades.

From Maverick, to The Great Escape, to Space Cowboys and now starring the critically acclaimed The Notebook, Garner has proved himself an actor of real diversity and worth.

Garner dropped out of his Oklahoma high school at 16 to join the Marines, and in 1978 he was decorated with The Purple Heart after he was wounded during the Korean War.

But the army did not appeal to the aspiring actor as a permanent career. He made contact with Warner Brothers and was spotted by Director David Butler who cast him in The Girl He Left Behind in 1956.

Warner Brothers then gave Garner a co-starring role in the Western Television series Maverick. He almost immediately became a household name.

It was well into the 60s when he left the series due to a financial dispute with the producers.

By this time he was star and didn't need favours from anyone. The film roles were flooding in and his box office bankability was soaring from year to year.

It was in 1966 when James appeared in the car racing film Grand Prix that he got a taste for real life racing. This was a taste which turned into a passion, and he spent much of his free time supporting his favourite teams.

Throughout the 80s Garner appeared in Tank, in 1984 and Murphy's Romance the following year. His role in Murphy's Romance garnered him a Best Actor Academy Award and Golden Globe.

In the year 2000 James came together with old friends, Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones and Donald Sutherland for Space Cowboys, and he is currently enjoying critical and box office success in The Notebook.