RIP James Garner, 86, one of Hollywood's classiest leading men. He was as likeable and charismatic a screen presence as any actor ever. Reruns of his late 1950's breakout show, Maverick, run every Saturday night on Cozi-TV from eight until eleven. They still hold up. He did 60 episodes, 122 of The Rockford Files, 24 of Nichols, and scores of others in series that did not fare well. He starred or co-starred in dozens of popular films. He did 300 Polaroid ads with the lovely Mariette Hartley. They were so convincing as a married couple that Hartley had a T-shirt made up that read: "I Am Not James Garner's Wife." He was nicknamed "Slick" by high school friends, and he certainly lived up to the designation in his craft. He always made it look easy. He was awarded two Purple Hearts for his service in the Korean War. He is a member of the the Hall of Great Western Performers and the Television Hall of Fame. He won Emmy and Golden Globe awards, but not an Oscar, for which he was nominated only once: Murphy's Romance (1986). A gym teacher recommended him for a modeling job, and Garner is quoting as saying: "I made 25 bucks an hour! That's why I quit school. I was making more money than the teachers. I never finished the ninth grade." Asked if he would ever do a nude scene, he replied in his signature self-deprecating style: "I don't do horror films." His work will live on. Kudos, sir, and thank you. (Facts culled from Wiki & IMDb.)
Since Park Slope is considered by many the most literate neighborhood in Brooklyn, I expect to sell my most literary wares whenever I take the floating book shop there. My thanks to the elderly gentleman who purchased a biography of poet Wilford Owen, killed in WWI, by Guy Cuthbertson; the middle aged woman who bought A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell; the young woman who pounced on The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides; and the eager grandma who jumped on a compilation of Knock-Knock jokes. And I didn't have to work that hard there for a change. I found a parking spot about 100 yards from the corner of 4th Street and 7th Avenue, where I was in the shade of John Jay High School for most of the session, and that of a little tree for the rest.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Horror Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
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