![]() ![]() Jim has to disappoint Rocky by changing their plans to go fishing as he has a potential client, Sara Butler (Lindsay Wagner), waiting for him at his mobile home/office. We first meet Jim Rockford walking on the beach with his father Rocky, played here by Robert Donley rather than Noah Beery Jr., who would make the role memorable over the next six seasons. For the first of several posts to come celebrating and exploring Jim Rockford’s off-the-rack style, we go back to where it all began with the pilot episode, “Backlash of the Hunter”, that aired six months before the first season premiered in September 1974. ![]() Perhaps in the spirit of classic noir detectives, Jim Rockford’s wardrobe was famously off-the-rack, inexpensive duds that represented ’70s streetwear at its best with a rotation of sport jackets (often plaids, checks, and tweeds), large-collared shirts worn open at the neck, gabardine slacks, and loafers. The pilot episode, a movie-length episode retitled “Backlash of the Hunter” for syndication, established much about the show and character that would last the duration of the series, including his beachside mobile home (though the address and location would change), his circle of unreliable clients, colorful confidants, and distrustful police officers, his unfortunate financial situation, his relationship with his retired trucker father “Rocky”, and his preference for talking his way out of trouble rather than fighting. area in his latest Pontiac Firebird Esprit, doing his best to earn his usual rate of $200 a day plus expenses…not that he typically received this payment from his clients. I’ll get back to you…Įach episode of The Rockford Files began with a message left on Rockford’s answering machine, typically a humorous non-sequitur illustrating his world of bounced checks, missed payments, gilted dates, and persistent sales reps before launching into the show’s iconic opening credit sequence, scored by a distinctive and memorable theme song composed by Mike Post and Pete Carpenter.įollowing the credits, audiences were treated to an hour in Rockford’s world as the ex-convict private eye sped around the greater L.A. Having already proven his private eye credentials by playing Raymond Chandler’s famous detective in Marlowe (1969), Garner stepped into Jim Rockford’s loafers and established one of the greatest TV roles ever. Cannell developed The Rockford Files as a spiritual successor to Maverick, reinventing Garner’s charming gambler Bret Maverick as a modern-day private investigator with the same sarcastic yet sincere attitude and conflict-averse nature. Today would have been the 91st birthday of James Garner, the charismatic actor who grew to stardom with his starring roles on the Western series Maverick and in The Great Escape (1963) before taking on what would be his signature role as struggling private eye Jim Rockford on The Rockford Files. James Garner as Jim Rockford, wisecracking private detective and ex-convictĮpisode: “Backlash of the Hunter” (Pilot)Ĭreator: Roy Huggins & Stephen J. James Garner as Jim Rockford on The Rockford Files (1974-1980) Vitals
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