Once famously described by People magazine as "The Last Real Man," James Garner brings his rugged charm to TCM as a guest of host Robert Osborne in the in-depth interview series Private Screenings. Some of Garner's most memorable movies, include The Great Escape (1963), the World War II adventure in which he emerged as a major film star; The Americanization of Emily (1964), a WWII romance with Julie Andrews that Garner once chose as his favorite among his films; Support Your Local Sheriff (1969), a parody of Westerns with Garner in top comic form as an unconventional lawman; and Victor/Victoria (1982), a gender-bending romp with Andrews as a woman who attracts Garner even though he initially believes her to be a man.

In Private Screenings: James Garner, the actor reminisces about a life that included its share of hard knocks before he emerged as a star in movies and such television series as the legendary Maverick and The Rockford Files. Born James Scott Bumgarner in 1928 in Norman, OK, he dropped out of high school to join the merchant marines and, after moving to the Army, earned a Purple Heart in Korea. He made his film debut in 1956 and soon became a leading man in such movies as the submarine adventure Up Periscope (1959). Other career highlights include the comedies The Thrill of It All (1963) and Skin Game (1971), delightfully teaming Garner with, respectively, Doris Day and Louis Gossett Jr.

by Roger Fristoe