Rockford at 80

Anyone who has spent much time on our sister site, the wonderful Rap Sheet crime fiction blog, knows that the Sheet’s editor, J. Kingston Pierce is a serious fan of the 1970s television drama, The Rockford Files. Serious.

Today Pierce writes a charming birthday tribute to Rockford Files star James Garner, 80, as well as M*A*S*H and City of Angels star Wayne Rogers, 75.

We have a couple of birthdays to celebrate today, both from the TV crime-drama category. The first and most significant, of course, is the 80th birthday of Rockford Files star James Garner, an actor who may never have given a bad performance. I’ve not only been watching the DVDs of Rockford lately, but have managed to acquire an almost complete collection of Bret Maverick, the NBC series (and revival of the 1950s TV western Maverick) that he went on to do after leaving Rockford. What a treat.

Pierce’s dual birthday tribute can be found here.