The Rockford Files

Did You Know?

• David Chase, later known for The Sopranos, wrote or co-wrote 20 episodes of The Rockford Files.
• The Ben Folds Five song 'Battle of Who Could Care Less' mentions The Rockford Files, and the show's theme tune is played at the end of the band's concerts.

Cast

James Garner portrayed Jim Rockford, a Los Angeles private investigator. Noah Beery Jr. played his father, Joseph 'Rocky' Rockford, a retired truck driver; Robert Donley played the role in the pilot episode. Joe Santos appeared as Sergeant Dennis Becker, Jim's friend in the Los Angeles Police Department, who was promoted to lieutenant in season five. Frequently recurring cast members included Stuart Margolin as Evelyn Angelo 'Angel' Martin, Jim's former prison friend and an untrustworthy con artist; Gretchen Corbett as Elizabeth 'Beth' Davenport, Jim's lawyer and sometime girlfriend in seasons one through four; James Luisi as Lieutenant Douglas J. 'Doug' Chapman, Becker's superior officer in seasons three through six; and Tom Atkins as Lieutenant Alex/Thomas Diehl, another superior officer with an antagonistic relationship with Rockford. Pat Finley appeared as Peggy Becker in six episodes. Isaac Hayes played Gandolph 'Gandy' Fitch, a violent acquaintance from Rockford's prison days, in three episodes. Bo Hopkins appeared as John 'Coop' Cooper, Jim's disbarred attorney friend, in four episodes of season five.

Vehicles

Jim Rockford drove a gold Pontiac Firebird Esprit throughout the series. The car's license plate was 853 OKG, though some early episodes showed 835 OKG; James Garner believed the letters OKG stood for 'Oklahoma Garner' but did not know the origin of the number. Starting with the 1974 model year, Rockford received a new model-year Pontiac Firebird each year. Although badged as Esprits, the cars were actually higher-performance Formula models without the twin scoop hood, chosen to look like the affordable Esprit while providing the performance needed for chase sequences. The Formula model had the same higher-horsepower engines and drive trains as the top-level Trans Am, along with larger antisway bars and stiffer springs and shocks. Sharp-eyed car connoisseurs could spot twin exhausts and a rear antisway bar, options not part of the Esprit package. Garner performed the famous 'Jim Rockford turn-around'—a J-turn or moonshiner's turn—himself for the duration of the series, as he stated in a season-one DVD interview. The move involved reversing at about 35 miles per hour, then turning hard left and pulling the emergency brake to spin the car around.

End

In late 1979, The Rockford Files went on hiatus after James Garner’s doctor ordered him to rest from knee injuries, back trouble, and an ulcer—problems largely caused by doing his own stunts. A few months later, NBC canceled the show midseason and sued Garner for not fulfilling his contract. The series had grown costly due to location shoots and big-name guest stars; NBC and Universal claimed it was losing millions, though Garner’s company, Cherokee Productions, said it was profitable. On The Tonight Show, Garner told Johnny Carson that the studio once paid a carpenter $700 to build a shipping crate for a dock shoot-out, even though crates were already there. The scripts often required Garner to damage his car, which was then sold, repaired, and bought back for each episode. In the 1980s, Garner entered a legal fight with Universal over profits that lasted over a decade and ended with an out-of-court settlement in his favor. Universal began syndicating the show in 1979, pushing it heavily to local stations, which made it a staple on afternoon and late-night TV. This exposure built a younger fan base that continued through the 1990s and 2000s on cable. By 1989, the show had earned revenue from its network and syndicated runs.

TV movies

After contractual disputes between Garner and Universal were resolved, eight Rockford Files reunion TV movies were made from 1994 to 1999, airing on CBS. Most of the original cast reunited; Noah Beery Jr. died on November 1, 1994, and the first film, airing later that month, was dedicated to his memory. The movies picked up nearly 15 years after the show ended. In the initial movies, Rocky is referenced as alive but off-screen; he dies within the series continuity before the third movie. Garner, Santos, and Margolin appeared in every movie. Other regulars appearing in multiple movies included Luisi, Atkins, Corbett, and Jack Garner as Capt. McEnroe. Recurring players brought back for a single return appearance included Rita Moreno, Kathryn Harrold, and Pat Finley. New cast members added for the movies were Gerry Gibson as 'Critch' Critchland, owner of The Sand Castle restaurant, and Shirley Anthony as Sally, a grandmotherly type who falsely confessed to crimes. The series Richie Brockelman, Private Eye was a spin-off of The Rockford Files; the character Richie Brockelman, played by Dennis Dugan, was introduced in a 1978 Rockford Files episode before a five-week trial run in The Rockford Files time slot.