Always his own man.

These days it seems like celebrities are dying in their 80s who I didn't think were nearly that old. . It shows how fast time is passing without us noticing. One recent death, at 86,  didn't seem all that tragic to me at the time. But then I started to read the bio of the actor and was amazed at how much I liked him. Sadly he was a completely different person than I would have pictured. I would have guessed he was a John Wayne Republican, super macho, not terribly intellectual, and not a person of outstanding character. And I would have been wrong on all counts. The book The Garner Files has been a revelation. James Garner was a life-time liberal, and a modest, honest, hard-working actor who was married to actress Lois Clarke for 57 years.  In his memoir, he mentions such heroes as Adlai Stevenson and Barack Obama, and reveals the petty side of such such famous right-wing icons as Steve McQueen, Charlton Heston, and Ronald Reagan. I'd give you some of the highlights, but if you're a Democrat, you should read the book.