James Garner filmography and "Bret Maverick" (1981–1982), Jim Rockford in "The Rockford Files" (1974–1980) and eight subsequent "Rockford Files" TV-movies (1994-1999), and Jim Egan in "8 Simple Rules" (2003–2005). James Garner filmography The following is the filmography for American actor James Garner. Garner was known for prominent roles in films such as "Sayonara" (1957) with Marlon Brando, "Cash McCall" (1960) with Natalie Wood, "The Children's Hour" (1961) with Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine, "Boys' Night Out" (1962) with Kim Novak and Tony Randall, "The Great Escape" (1963) with Steve McQueen, "The Thrill of It All" (1963) with Doris Day, "Move Over, Darling" (1963)
The Rockford Files stated, the way Jim and Rocky talk about her would seem to indicate she had died (before the series' start). Rocky was portrayed by Noah Beery, Jr. (nephew of actor Wallace Beery) except in the 1974 pilot film, where he was portrayed by Robert Donley. Though much of the character's backstory is the same, in the pilot Rocky is portrayed as more of a small-time grifter and operator—at one point, working with a partner, Rocky unsuccessfully tries to run a minor scam on Jim, his own son. This element of Rocky's character would largely be dropped as the series started,