A native Oklahoman and two-time Emmy Award winner who shot to fame in the 1950s playing the amiable gambler Bret Maverick on the television series "Maverick” will be the grand marshal of the "grandest” parade in Oklahoma history.
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James Garner, who starred as Jim Rockford in "The Rockford Files” in the 1970s, will serve as grand marshal of the Oklahoma Centennial Parade, set for 2 p.m. Oct. 14 in downtown Oklahoma City.
The large-scale parade will feature professionally designed floats, giant helium-filled balloons of state icons and children's favorite characters, performance groups and marching bands.
Garner said that as a kid he enjoyed watching bands march in parades along Main Street in his hometown of Norman.
"Now I'm going to get to be with them,” Garner said in a recent phone interview from his home in Brentwood, Calif.
"Throughout the years, James Garner has been a wonderful ambassador for our state — not only spreading the word about his home state, but also returning frequently to contribute to Oklahoma projects,” said Lee Allan Smith, chairman of centennial projects and events. "We are proud to feature this Oklahoma treasure in the parade of a century.”
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This is wonderful. No one deserves this honor more.
James Baumgarner was born in Norman in 1928 and later shortened his last name to Garner. He was a poker player on the TV series "Maverick” (1957-60), before starring in about 40 films. He had another TV hit with "The Rockford Files” (1974-80). His TV work brought him two Emmys and 15 nominations.
He was inducted into the state hall of fame, named Oklahoma's ambassador of cultural arts and inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum during a four-year span beginning in 1986. He's received the Western Heritage Award for Lifetime Achievement in Film and Television from the Gene Autry Museum.
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Thank you for joining our conversations on NewsOK.com. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.
Leave a comment. Log in below or sign up (it's free).Editor's note: It is not our intent to offer comments on crime or fatality stories.