James Garner and Bret Maverick

James Garner (Bret Maverick) and Jack Kelley (brother Bart Maverick)

James Garner, 86,  has died and it seems everybody has a positive word to say about him.  I will too.  I have heard he was graceful;  a man's man; a gentleman; cool; calm; generous; and witty.  I will amen most of that.  I don't know about his generosity, that falls outside my  knowledge field.

I think most today will remember James for his movie and his adventure TV series "THE ROCKFORD FILES".   I only have seen THE ROCKFORD FILES once or twice.

HOWEVER, I was a big fan of his earlier TV series MAVERICK.  

The MAVERICK series ran from 1957 to 1962.  It was about two brothers, both professional gamblers traveling the west and the Mississippi River boats.   Most of the time each episode would be about one brother or the other, not both.  Only on rare occasions would they join forces.  The other brother was Bart Maverick, played by Jack Kelly.  And when James quit the series because of a contract dispute he was replaced by Roger Moore, which played Beau Maverick, a cousin.

What I liked about MAVERICK was the "As my Pappy said" or "My Pappy always said" quotes.  Usually when James Garner would quote his pappy you would expect something  profound but always ended up with a greedy and self-serving quote.  I loved it!

Here are some of Pappy's quotes pulled off the blog spot INTERNET MOVIE DATABASE QUOTES.

Bret Maverick: As my old pappy used to say, work is fine for killin' time, but it's a shaky way to make a living.

Bret Maverick: Never cry over spilt milk. It could've been whiskey.

Bret Maverick: As my old pappy used to say, "Son, stay clear of weddings because one of them is liable to be your own."

Bret Maverick: As my old pappy used to say, you can be a gentleman and still not forget all you know about self-defense.

Bret Maverick: As my old pappy used to say, a man does what he has to do - if he can't get out of it.

Bret: My Pappy always said, "A coward dies a thousand deaths, a hero dies but one." A thousand to one is pretty good odds.

Bret Maverick: As my old pappy used to say, if at first you don't succeed, try something else.

Pappy Maverick: A man does what he has to do - if he can't get out of it.

Pappy Maverick: Son, hard work never hurt anyone - who didn't do it.