So sad…one of my most favorite actors has passed away at age 86.

He was born James Scott Bumgarner on April 7, 1928 in Norman, Oklahoma, James Garner's early childhood in the Great Depression-era Dust Bowl was marked by hardships. He is the youngest of three sons. When he was only four years old, he lost his mother, Mildred Bumgarner, who was half-Cherokee.

Garner’s career started with The Caine Mutiny Court Martial. He then landed several supporting roles in films, including Sayonara (1957) starring Marlon Brando. Garner's acting career really picked up when he was awarded the lead role in a Western television series called Maverick, in which he played the title character, Bret Maverick, from 1957-60.

Garner attained small-screen fame once again as Jim Rockford, a private detective, in the series The Rockford Files (1974-80).

In the 1980s, Garner returned to the big screen. He appeared alongside Julie Andrews in the Oscar-winning Victor Victoria (1982) and was nominated for an Oscar himself for Murphy's Romance (1985), in which he starred opposite Sally Field. Garner also acted in several television movies, racking up awards nominations and winning a best actor Golden Globe for Decoration Day (1990). In 1990, Garner received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Despite this success, the decade also presented major challenges: Garner underwent quintuple bypass heart surgery around the same time.

James Garner continued his acting career well into the 2000s, signing for a major role on the ABC sitcom 8 Simple Rules after the untimely death of its original male lead, John Ritter. Garner took a supporting role in the film Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002), and played a husband whose wife is sick with Alzheimer's in 2004's The Notebook. That same year, Garner was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Best Supporting Actor Award, and awarded the SAG Life Achievement Award. According to SAG President Melissa Gilbert, Garner "is a man who has served his peers, his community and his country with integrity and quiet generosity. He epitomizes class, style, wit, and depth. He serves as a role model for all of America's actors."

In 2008, he suffered a stroke.

He was conspicuous for his lack of profanity…and playing lovable and respectable characters.

I’m going to miss him a great deal…R.I.P., Jim.