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'My heart's always been in Norman'
Garner statue, plaza dedicated
By Josh McBee
Entertainment Editor
As a train passed Sooner Theatre around 4:30 Friday afternoon, a Hollywood icon and Norman's "Native Son" paused during his press conference.
"Ah, there's that sound of the train. I love that," James Garner said as a train's horn bellowed in the distance. "Now I remember being in the theater and having it go by, but there's something about that sound that I love."
One got the sense the 78-year-old felt right at home during the second day of his Norman visit. Nostalgia filled the stage as Garner recounted the first film he saw at Sooner Theatre: Frank Capra's 1937 Oscar-winner "Lost Horizon."
Garner would've been around 9 years old, and he said back then he had no idea he would one day be a star of film and TV, the latter of which produced one of his most memorable characters: private investigator Jim Rockford.
Jimmie Mesis, editor-in-chief of New Jersey-based P.I. Magazine, said Garner's portrayal of the no-nonsense, down-to-earth investigator Rockford helped inspire his own gumshoe dreams. To show his gratitude, Mesis presented Garner with his publication's distinction of "Television's Most Famous P.I." Garner humbly accepted the magazine's award.
"[Rockford] really took care of the client first," Mesis said. "He didn't care what he had to do to help the client, and that's what real P.I.s do. [Garner] was the most realistic person to do that ... his personality really came across in the character."
The next character audiences will see Garner portray is billionaire Red Stevens in "The Ultimate Gift," scheduled for release in November. The plot concerns the deceased patriarch Stevens, who bequeaths riches on a young boy. Before the boy gets the money, however, he must complete a series of 12 "ultimate tasks."
"If he passed them all, he would receive the 'ultimate gift,'" Garner said.
While the film's "ultimate gift" remains secret, Norman's gift to Garner was displayed publicly to a crowd of about 1,000 as the sun set on Main Street Friday. Temporary bleachers were packed and lawn chairs reserved as the James Garner Plaza and statue were dedicated.
"Who is the tall, dark stranger there? Maverick is his name," Mayor Harold Haralson announced to cheers and applause from the crowd gathered across the street from Sooner Theatre. After the mayor listed some of Garner's achievements (a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, induction into National Cowboy Hall of Fame, Screen Actor's Guild Lifetime Achievement award recipient), the actor was presented with a copy of the street sign bearing his name, the key to the city, and a Norman hat and shirt.
If that was the "toast" portion of the dedication, Molly Shi Boren had the "roast."
"Mr. Garner may have had his acting debut as an OU student," the university president's wife said, "when he had to respond to the OU police department about some missing exotic fish in the reflecting pool."
All joking aside, eventually the big moment came. The Garner clan gathered around local artist Shan Gray's veiled creation at the corner of Main Street and Peters Avenue. Members of the OU Pride provided a drum roll. Revealed was a "Maverick"-era Garner cast in bronze, cowboy hat tilted high on his head and thumb tucked into belt just so.
"I used to get it in California: [in snide voice] 'Oh he's from Oklahoma,'" Garner told the crowd, "and I'd say, 'You're damn right I am.'
"I may have lived in California for over 50 years," Garner concluded, "but my heart's always been in Norman."
Josh McBee 366-3533 jmcbee@normantranscript.com
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