Good for you.

__________________
2001 SLK 320 six speed manual
2014 Porsche Cayenne six speed manual

Annoy a Liberal, Read the Constitution

It appears that Garner had a lot more class than certain conservatives on this forum:

James Garner’s legacy: A commitment to civil rights and political activism - The Washington Post

R.I.P. Mr. Garner. Sun hangs a little lower today with your passing.

I think James Garner was interested in kindness and fairness.

__________________
Strelnik
Invest in America: Buy a Congressman!

1950 170SD
1951 Citroen 11BN
1953 Citroen 11BNF limo
1953 220a project
1959 180D
1960 190D
1960 Borgward Isabella TS 2dr
1983 240D daily driver
1983 380SL
1990 350SDL daily driver alt
3 x Citroen DS21M, down from 5
3 x Citroen 2CV, down from 6

I curious to find out which professions aren't filled with "sleazoids" and why.

One man's sleazoid is another's hero. A lot of folks thought of Jack Warner, of Warner Brothers, as a sleazoid when it came to contracts but others thought of him as a very savvy businessperson.

The ones that didn't like him were the ones who could not hold their own against him.

And there there were people like Roy Cohn, of Columbia Pictures, who was a true through and though sleazoid that was hated by everyone. Cohn was such a sleazoid that his funeral gave rise to a show-biz joke: Cohn's funeral was so well attended that people had to be turned away. It was so packed that it proved the old show-biz adage of 'Give the people what they want and you will always draw a crowd.'

Seeking "kindness and fairness" is a noble thing to do as long as one goes about it the right way. Everyone certainly should strive for it in their everyday lives.

__________________
2001 SLK 320 six speed manual
2014 Porsche Cayenne six speed manual

Annoy a Liberal, Read the Constitution

Oh. Well hey, I'll try to relate to him as best I can.

There's several great stories related to the filming of "Grand Prix" involving Garner. He did do much of his own driving, while some of the other actors were so terrified, their camera shots were mostly in towed cars. Steve McQueen, who had also been planning a Formula One movie, was so literally "pi$$ed" that when the two lived in the same apartment building, McQueen used to take a leak onto Garner's patio every night from his upstairs unit.

IIRC, the cars were actually placed on turntables which themselves were towed. At least one of the actors had little street-driving experience, and it was thought to be great fun for the crew to build up a little speed and give the turntable a little spin...

I never knew that but it is very easy to believe. The actor that played Jean Pierre made all sorts of grimacing faces that you would never expect to see on the face of a driver while concentrating on staying in the groove or setting up to pass. Garner OTOH looked focused as you would expect to see a professional race driver while at work.

I was in Monaco about 10 days after 9/11. There were several of us that flew in for a meeting in Sophia, so we spent the afternoon and evening in Monaco. I drove our rented peugot around wha I believed to be the course. The tunnel and the run along near the harbor were clearly part of the course but I wasnt sure about much of the rest of it. Going through the tunnel gave me goosebumps, and looking into the harbor made me wonder if James Garner was going to be swimming with a helmet.

Another James Garner scene in the movie that was clearly him doing his own driving was when he was driving the Mustang GT 350H to the track.

Grand Prix won an oscar for special effects as I recall. I saw that movie while n high school or shortly after. I was awed at the beginning of the movie with the multiple frames. It was an effect I had not seen before and was really impressed by it.

The filming of the movie was outstanding and seemntly realistic as opposed to see many hollywood car races with hokey stuff like tires squealing on a dirt road.

Another very enjoyable movie of his was with Sally Fields where he played a druggist that fell in love with a younger woman. He had an anique car in that one too.

__________________
2001 SLK 320 six speed manual
2014 Porsche Cayenne six speed manual

Annoy a Liberal, Read the Constitution

A Ford GT was partially stripped to be a film car and a tow car. Garner used Chris Amon's helmet styling. The other trivia is that they made the driver's name for Ferrari "Sarti" so that it would sound like Ferrari's actual driver Surtees, to try to use the race PA announcer from the races.

And there are conservatives who are priggish, condescending know-it-alls. I sorta wonder how Garner would have regarded someone supposedly praising him by taking a back-handed swipe at his colleagues.

__________________
1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

I too went to see Grand Prix in 1966 but missed most except the opening scene as I spent the time necking. I didn't see the full movie til later and I own a copy now.

The fellow who played Clark (sort of) couldn't drive a stick so they had him wear a scarf over his mouth because all the shots of the full car with him in it were played by other drivers. They used formula three cars (similar to my Formula Ford) with dummy pipes to look like the real cars for shots with the actors driving. A lot of real drivers were in the movie, at least a dozen including Gurny, G Hill, P Hill, and many others.

I often get it out or LeMans if I feel I need some motivation before an autocross event.

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

For the 1985 CBS miniseries Space, Garner asked that the political affiliation of the lead character be changed from Republican to Democrat, saying, “My wife would kill me if I ever played a Republican,”


“In my opinion, Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn’t qualified to be governor of California. Ronald Reagan wasn’t qualified to be governor, let alone president.”


"Too many actors have run for office," he writes. "There's one difference between me and them: I know I'm not qualified. In my opinion, Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn't qualified to be governor of California. Ronald Reagan wasn't qualified to be governor, let alone president. I was a vice president of the Screen Actors Guild when he was its president. My duties consisted of attending meetings and voting. The only thing I remember is that Ronnie never had an original thought and that we had to tell him what to say. That's no way to run a union, let along a state or a country."


"Bleeding Heart Liberal" and Takes a Poke at Heston, Too