Actor - Racer James Garner dead at 86

James Garner, one of the most loveable Hollywood actors in the last 50 years passed away at his Los Angeles home at the age of 86. For some time he had been suffering from debilitating arthritis and toward the end was bedridden.



I first met Mr. Garner at the 1969 Daytona 24 Hours were his American International Team of Lola T-70s was entered and finished 2nd and 7th. Garner fell in love with racing after appearing in the 1966 movie Grand Prix and drove in a number of motorsports events but particularly loved off-road racing.



At both Daytona and Sebring in 1969 Garner had a film crew to document what racing was like and it became part of a documentary called The Racing Scene which was released in 1969.



My fondest memory of Mr. Garner was seeing how kind he was to race fans at Daytona always agreeing to sign autographs when asked. In fact I saw some well known drivers bring over race programs for Mr. Garner to sign. He will be missed.