The Rockford Files the series. Frequent directors included William Wiard (23 episodes), Lawrence Doheny (10 episodes), and Ivan Dixon (previously a regular on "Hogan's Heroes") (9 episodes). Veteran actor James Coburn directed an episode. Coburn had co-starred with Garner in the classic movies "The Great Escape" (1963) and "The Americanization of Emily" (1964). Other actors who directed episodes include Jackie Cooper (3 episodes) Richard Crenna and Dana Elcar (1 episode each). Co-creator Stephen J. Cannell directed several episodes; series regular Stuart Margolin and executive producer Meta Rosenberg each helmed 2; and James Garner directed one episode in the second season, "The Girl in
The Rockford Files used. In total, 122 different messages were created through the run of the original six series. The eight CBS TV movies (also referred to as season 8) feature a unique message. However episodes syndicated as "James Rockford, Private Investigator" use the same message; it was taken from episode 507, "A Three-Day Affair with a Thirty-Day Escrow". Each message is a standalone gag that often provides a small amount of biographical detail about Rockford, the people he knows and the activities that occur in his life as a Private Investigator. Only extremely rarely (such as in episode No. 209, "Chicken Little