‘The Rockford Files’ Closed as James Garner Battled the Detective Drama’s Studio
Fans of The Rockford Files probably wondered, “Is that all there is?” when James Garner’s private-eye drama ended abruptly in 1980, midway through Season 6. The NBC show, which celebrates another anniversary on September 13, ended with a sixth season only half the length of the others — cut short due to an ugly, protracted legal battle between Garner and Universal Studios. It wasn’t until the 1990s, after the lawsuit was resolved, that a series of CBS TV movies continued Jim Rockford’s story.
Here’s what happened in the last episode of the original series, and why it all came to a screeching halt.
The final episode had Jim Rockford snared in a conflict on a fishing trip
In “Deadlock in Parma,” which ended up being The Rockford Files’ series finale, Garner’s Jim Rockford goes fishing in the town of Parma with an angler friend named John Traynor (Michael Cavanaugh), who sits on the local town council. When that fisherman comes down with appendicitis, he asks Rockford to be his proxy on the council, which is weighing a proposition to turn a wilderness area into a gambling district.
There are opposing factions hoping to influence the vote, however: mobsters on one side, and a corporation on the other. And with the help of reporter Carrie Osgood (Sandra Kerns), Rockford realizes the mobsters want to turn Parma into the next Las Vegas and the corporation already has Sin City investments and doesn’t want Parma as competition. And then — cue the dramatic music sting — Traynor turns up dead…
The show ended when James Garner took sick leave
NBC canceled The Rockford Files after Garner told the network illness precluded him from filming, as UPI reported. Garner was suffering from ulcers, arthritis in his knee, a sinus issue, and exhaustion, according to his friends. Universal Studios, the studio behind The Rockford Files, then sued Garner for $1.5 million, alleging breach of contract and saying he owed the studio 11 more episodes that season. According to the lawsuit, Universal told the actor on December 19, 1979, to return to work a week later, and Garner told the studio the following day that he wouldn’t be able to return for another one to two months. (The lawsuit added legal insult to unrelated injury: Universal filed the suit the same day Garner was assaulted in Los Angeles by two people following a minor car accident.)
Universal said the show had a $9 million deficit
Universal said The Rockford Files had accrued $9 million of debt, per Orange Coast Magazine. And in its suit against the actor, Universal alleged Garner was on strike because he didn’t believe The Rockford Files had that kind of deficit, as Hollywood lawyer Neville Johnson recapped in a 2014 Hollywood Reporter guest column. What Garner did believe was that Universal was “creatively accounting.” (In a 60 Minutes interview, he claimed the Rockford Files ledger showed the production had purchased the same car from Universal four separate times, per Orange County Magazine.)
Finally, in 1989, Garner and Universal settled out of court, shortly before Garner’s own lawsuit was set to go to trial, per the Los Angeles Times. Garner had sued the studio for fraud, deceit, and breach of contract, alleging his company was only getting paid a fraction of the 37.5% of earnings from reruns and foreign sales his contract stipulated. In fact, Garner claimed he’d only gotten $250,000 from gross revenues of $119 million. The terms of the settlement weren’t revealed, but Garner had previously turned down a $6 million offer from Universal, and when the ink was dry on the settlement, he said he could “live with this deal, and live very comfortably.”
Garner said he set an example by taking on the studios behind his TV shows
NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
When the Los Angeles Times profiled Garner in 1990, the newspaper reported the actor had walked away from both The Rockford Files and Maverick, his previous claim to TV fame, because he was being treating unfairly.
“About everything I ever have done, in the way of lawsuits against studios, I’ve won them all,” he said, “because I was right every time. [Studios] would rather steal than do it right. And they might even make more money if they did it right. But it’s just not in their nature.”
He also reflected on the legacy of his lawsuits. “There’s a lot of people who can’t afford to do what I’ve done in the way of taking on studios [over his share of series profits],” he said. “And I’ve done it twice and won both times. But it meant something to other actors, that it can be done. And it’s also changed a little bit of policy by the studios toward the actors.”
With a smile, he added, “Of course, the minute you plug up one hole, they find another one. They’ve got these batteries of lawyers to find ways to steal.”
Puzzler '80s Comedy Classics
Vol 1, Issue 6
This issue is packed with puzzles and trivia from all your favorite '80s sitcoms.
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