James Garner once claimed he “almost decked” fellow Hollywood actor Lee Marvin after he tried to make a move on his wife.

James was an American actor and producer whose career spanned more than seven decades, starring in famed roles such as Bret Maverick in the Fifties Western ABC series, ‘Maverick’. As well as his budding TV career, James appeared in more than 50 theatrical films, including The Great Escape (1963) with Steve McQueen, Blake Edwards’s Victor/Victoria (1982) with Julie Andrews, and Murphy’s Romance (1985) with Sally Field, for which he received an Academy Award nomination While many actors of his era failed to continue in their careers post-20th century, the style of the Golden Era of Hollywood no longer a sought-after commodity, James managed to break into contemporary cinema.

He starred in a number of early Noughties films, like like ‘Space Cowboys’ (2000) with Clint Eastwood, voiced an animated film titled ‘Atlantis: The Lost Empire’ (2001) with Michael J Fox and Cree Summer, as well as ‘The Notebook’ (2004) and his TV sitcom role as Jim Egan in ‘8 Simple Rules’ (2003–2005).

Tonight, the shameless tear-jerker ‘The Notebook’ airs on BBC One, where James starred as the older version of Ryan Gosling’s character alongside Gena Rowlands as his wife.
Known to take no prisoners in his youth, James recalled many of his wild and wacky experiences in his 2011 memoir, ‘The Garner Files’.
From the outset written in his charming and self-detracting style, he said: “People who don’t know me think I’m easy-going but I’m a pessimist by nature and an old curmudgeon.”
Recalling one incident that happened with fellow Hollywood actor Lee Marvin, he revealed that he “almost decked” him after Lee had made a move on his wife.
James wrote: “In Hollywood you have to ‘defend your quote’ — keep your fee as high as possible and never accept less.
“Lee Marvin raised his quote to a million dollars a picture after he won an Oscar for Cat Ballou and had trouble getting parts.
“I never worked with Lee, but I thought that as an actor he was very colourful.
“As a guy, he was a pain in the a**. He just didn’t care. He was a drinker.
“One night in a limousine on our way to a function, he made moves on my wife.
“That’s a little more than I can handle and almost decked him.”
He went on to argue that actors were overpaid, branding the producers who recruited them “idiots”, and wrote: “Anyway, Lee wanted to work but couldn’t take a salary cut.
“I didn’t want to fall into that trap, so I never let my quote get too high.
Actors are paid more than they’re worth anyway.
“Producers are idiots for paying the ridiculous prices we ask. We make so much money, the majority of pictures never make a profit.
“I think movies would be a lot better if more actors waived their big salaries in order to do worthwhile pictures.
“I don’t think actors today are well-served by their agents and managers, who aren’t as good as they used to be.
They just want their 10 percent and let their clients do things they shouldn’t.
“They have one hit and three flops and their careers are over.”
In the book, he details the characters of many of the people he came across in his lengthy career: while Charles Bronson was, in his opinion, bitter and belligerent, Hollywood mogul Jack Warner was the rudest and most vulgar man he ever met.
Charlton Heston’s acting technique was “stiff as a board”, while even his old friend, Steve McQueen, was “trouble”.
He wrote: “Steve was trouble if you invited him to breakfast.
“He didn’t like anything. Like Marlon Brando he could be a pain in the a** on set.
“Unlike Brando, he wasn’t an actor.
“He was a movie star, a poser who cultivated the image of a macho man.
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Movie star John Wayne once expressed his positive thoughts toward Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill. He was known to be politically vocal, unafraid to express his support or disapproval of politicians. Here’s a look at why Wayne thought Churchill was the “most terrific fella of our century.”

Wayne was closely associated with his conservative Republican views. However, he didn’t always think that he aligned with the political party. In fact, Wayne considered himself a liberal before the world reminded him that he held very traditionalist, conservative views.

The Oscar-winning actor frequently expressed anti-communist statements, leaning back on his “super patriot” image. Wayne despised Hollywood figures behind the scenes who infused communist messaging in their filmmaking. High Noon screenwriter Carl Foreman was one of the folks at the top of the list, which largely had to do with why he turned down the lead role that he called “un-American.”

According to The Patriot Post, Wayne thought Churchill was “the most terrific fella of our century.” The movie star most frequently spoke about his opinion on American politicians, but he had plenty of wonderful things to say about this one from the U.K. Further, he said that he “could think of nobody that had a better insight or that said things concerning the future that have proven out so well” when it came to the subject of communism.
Wayne read the following quote from Churchill:
“I tell you–it’s no use arguing with a Communist. It’s no good trying to convert a Communist, or persuade him. You can only deal with them on the following basis … you can only do it by having superior force on your side on the matter in question–and they must also be convinced that you will use–you will not hesitate to use these forces if necessary, in the most ruthless manner. You have not only to convince the Soviet government that you have superior force–but that you are not restrained by any moral consideration if the case arose from using that force with complete material ruthlessness. And that is the greatest chance of peace, the surest road to peace.”
Wayne continued: “Churchill was unparalleled. Above all, he took a nearly beaten nation and kept their dignity for them.”
Wayne had political views beyond the Churchill quote that got him into quite a bit of trouble. He directed and starred in The Green Berets, where he played Col. Mike Kirby during the Vietnam War. However, the politics surrounding his take on patriotism landed the film on film critic Roger Ebert’s most hated movies of all time list.
Additionally, Wayne didn’t see eye-to-eye with many of his liberal peers. Nevertheless, his wit and charm still managed to reach them, as several were able to see beyond his political views, including Kirk Douglas.
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Although in 2012 she released a CD of songs she recorded years ago, since the early ’80s, the world’s favorite “girl next door” kept a low profile and lived on 11 acres in Carmel, California, where she devoted most of her time to her charitable organization.

Some speculated that she turned her attention to furry friends because of all the people who had disappointed her in her lifetime, though Day herself never publicly addressed the subject. Three of her four marriages ended in divorce, and her third husband (and manager) Martin Melcher died and left her broke until she sued to reclaim more than $20 million from his business partner.

Despite her immense popularity — by the early ’60s, she was the No. 1 box-office star on the planet — Day was often greatly underrated, and, blaming her fear of flying, turned down several awards and accolades, including (it was discussed) an honorary Oscar and the Kennedy Center Honor. One prize she never lost: the unbridled love of an adoring public.

Music and movies
Born Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff, the daughter of a Cincinnati music teacher and a homemaker, the crystal-voiced pop soprano changed her name to Day when, as a teen, she began singing on the radio. After appearances with the Big Bands of Barney Rapp and Bob Crosby, she joined Les Brown’s Band and had her first hit with “Sentimental Journey.”
Going solo in 1947, she successfully auditioned for Warner Bros. the following year and was cast in the studio’s attempts to rival the romantic musicals that were the specialty of MGM.
By the mid-’50s came better roles at other studios. This included what even she considered her best film, 1954’s Love Me or Leave Me, a dramatic, though highly fictionalized, biopic of ’20s singer Ruth Etting, who lived under the thumb of her short-tempered, controlling husband. (Day played down parallels between the movie’s plot and her own life.) In 1956, for Alfred Hitchcock, she co-starred with James Stewart in The Man Who Knew Too Much, in which she introduced the Oscar-winning song that became her signature, “Que Sera Sera.”
In 1959 she was paired for the first time with Rock Hudson, in the racy romantic comedy Pillow Talk, which resulted in her one and only Best Actress Oscar nomination, and also her greatest box-office success.
Two more vehicles with Hudson (and sidekick Tony Randall) followed, as did similar comedies in which Day — sometimes as a career woman, but always squeaky clean — costarred with Cary Grant, James Garner, and Rod Taylor.
Loved to laugh
As the ’60s wound down, Day turned to TV, having been forced there by a contract signed by late husband Melcher without her knowledge. CBS’s 1968-73 The Doris Day Show never rose above the level of being a poor man’s Mary Tyler Moore Show, and Day herself was highly critical of it.
For Day, as she told PEOPLE in 2011, her greatest loss in life was the 2004 death (from melanoma) of her son, music producer Terry Melcher.
“I had him when I was [18], so we were like sister and brother,” said Day, who found his passing “really hard. But I keep him with me.”
The profile also pointed out that humor had always been Day’s secret weapon. “I love to laugh,” said the star who made so many others laugh and sing. “It’s the only way to live. Enjoy each day — it’s not coming back again!”
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