Garnering Some Attention

And speaking of J. Kingston Pierce, our man at The Rap Sheet does a great job at affectionately grilling James Garner, the former star of The Rockford Files, for an extensive interview that ran, in part, on Kirkus and in part on January’s sister publication.

There are two things that make Pierce’s interview with the star so special. One, Garner has publicly stated that he’d “rather dig a ditch than do an interview.” That being the case, lengthy and candid interviews with Garner are rare and this is one of those. And, two, as Pierce himself says, Garner’s film and television work “over the last six decades make up about half of all the DVDs I own.” As a result, Pierce brings a fanboy’s charm as well as his usual fierce journalistic skill to the piece. As Pierce writes:

Garner may be “a very private person,” as actress (and onetime Rockford Files guest star) Lauren Bacall describes him in her tribute -- one of many from his family and friends -- at the back of The Garner Files. But he chose to live his life in the most public of professions. It took him only six decades in Hollywood before he was willing to step out from behind the characters he’s brought to vivid life on-screen and show himself, in print, to be a character worth knowing in his own right. I’m thrilled to have been around to ask him a few questions when that happened.

Pierce’s efforts help herald in Garner’s new memoir, The Garner Files, written with Jon Winokur (The Portable Curmudgeon, The Rich are Different) and due out from Simon & Schuster on Tuesday. Look for Pierce’s Rap Sheet piece here.