50 Years of THE ROCKFORD FILES

LEARN SECRETS FROM THE SET OF AMERICA'S FAVORITE PRIVATE DETECTIVE SERIES

- Louise A. Barile, Fortune Benatar

The first time Gretchen Corbett got into a car with James Garner on the set of The Rockford Files, she had no idea what she was in for. “She knew Jim was a good driver, but she didn’t know exactly how good,” says author Ed Robertson, who explains that the scene called for sudden “hairpin turns,” which terrified the actress. “She told me when they finished the scene, she realized she had wet her pants!”

Fifty years ago, America got its first look at TV’s The Rockford Files, and it was love at first sight. The series about charming everyman private detective Jim Rockford would run six seasons, from 1974 to 1980, and lift its star James Garner to four Emmy nominations and one win. “Aside from getting beat up by thugs and stiffed by clients every week, Rockford didn’t have a care in the world,” the actor said. “That’s the difference between television and real life.”