Tributes pour in for James Garner

Moviemaker Ron Howard, Carole King and Marlee Matlin have led the early tributes to TV and film veteran James Garner, who passed away on Saturday (19Jul14), aged 86. The Rockford Files star died of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles on Saturday evening (19Jul14), and celebrities have flooded Twitter.com with their last respects.
Howard recalled the actor’s role in 1966 movie Grand Prix, noting, “RIP James Garner. Admired by all who knew him. When starring in Grand Prix the people around F1 (Formula One) said he had the talent to be a pro driver,” while singer/songwriter King remembered working with Garner on the set of Murphy’s Romance, adding, “He was one of the nicest people”.
Matlin tweets, “Now sad to read my dear friend & costar James Garner passed. RIP sweet Jim Rockford,” and Forrest Gump star Gary Sinise, writes, “R.I.P James Garner. Such a lovely man I had the pleasure of working him in 1989 in My Name Is Bill W with James Woods”, while Kaley Cuoco – Garner’s TV granddaughter in 8 Simple Rules – adds, “I say this with a heavy broken heart. Was an honor working beside u receiving ur bear hugs every day. (love) u Grampa Jim (sic).”
Other tributes have come from singer LeAnn Rimes, Alan Cumming, Stephen Fry, former child star Haley Joel Osment, and Sally Field, who writes, “My heart just broke. There are few people on this planet I have adored as much as Jimmy Garner. I cherish every moment I spent with him and relive them over and over in my head. He was a diamond.” Field starred alongside Garner in Murphy’s Romance, which earned the actor an Oscar nomination.