Ticket 2 Ride

Recently,a gathering of Rockford fans took place in Thousand Oaks, California, for the express purpose of celebrating the show, touring locations, and hearing from a few folks with connections to The Rockford Files.

Rockford50Fest! attracted over 140 fans. I wasn’t in attendance, but I’ll include a few postings from their Facebook group that I think might be interesting to a wider audience.

This is a time to celebrate the lasting impact of The Rockford Files. Let’s enjoy some interesting tidbits about the show…

There are 33 different directors listed for the show, including two episodes directed by series regular Stuart Margolin, one by actor James Coburn, one by actor Richard Crenna (The Real McCoys) one by actor Dana Elcar (Macguiver), five by actor Jackie Coogan, nine by actor Ivan Dixon (Hogan’s Heroes) one by James Garner, and six by Meta Rosenberg, the series executive producer and Garner’s agent.

Series producer David Chase (The Sopranos) also wrote 19 episodes of the series.

Series co-creator, producer and occasional writer Stephen J. Cannell, got his start as writer, script consultant and story editor for Jack Webb’s Adam-12.

The series was owned by Universal Studios, but a co-production of co-creator Roy Huggins’ Pacific Arts, and Garner’s Cherokee Productions.

Garner’s brother Jack, appeared in 22 episodes, usually as a cop or an extra. He had many other credits and sometimes appeared in his brother’s films and TV show.

Rockford was the launching pad for the spinoff, Richie Brockelman detective series, starring Dennis Duggan, who went on to direct a slew of Adam Sandler films.

The Pontiac Firebird Esprit was used from 1974-1978. Actually, Formula 400s were used, but styled as the Esprit. A P.I. wouldn’t have had the cash for the higher price Formula 400, although Garner wanted the extra power.

Three Firebirds were used every season: the hero or “beauty” car, the action car and the damage car. Sierra Gold was the car’s color every year.

Garner did most of the driving, he was a race car driver in his spare time. Garner often performed the “J-turn” on the show so Rockford could give pursuers the slip. Garner described the J-turn: “When you’re going straight in reverse at about 35 miles per hour, you come off the gas pedal, go hard left and pull the emergency brake. That locks the wheels and throws the front end around. Then you release everything, hit the gas and off you go in the opposite direction.” 

Occasional reference is made to Rockford’s prison stay, courtesy of a five-year sentence for a robbery he didn’t commit, before receiving a pardon. It did allow him an interesting view of the criminal justice system and a chance to make acquaintances like Gandy and Angel.

Robert Donley played Joseph “Rocky” Rockford in the pilot episode. The role was recast in the series with Noah Beery Jr. as the beloved father.

Stuart Margolin, who won two Emmy Awards for portraying Angel, also directed two episodes of the series and two subsequent Rockford TV movies. Margolin worked with Garner on the single season Nichols (1971-72), and Garner’s Bret Maverick (1981-82) series, and the Rockford TV movies.

Tom Selleck guest-starred as private investigator Lance White, a dashing, successful and self-assured competitor. Selleck appeared in two memorable episodes that helped him land Magnum, P.I.

Beth Davenport, Rockford’s attorney and one-time girlfriend, left the series during season four, as Gretchen Corbett was locked in a salary dispute with Universal Studios.

Garner sued Universal Studios twice regarding profits over The Rockford Files. Studios are known for their cost accounting that triggered numerous lawsuits from actors and others who owed a percentage of the show. Garner twice settled out of court with Universal. One of his lawsuits took eight years to settle.

So far, there have been two attempts to reboot The Rockford Files, one staring Dermot Mulroney in 2010 as a series, and a later effort with Vince Vaughn as a feature film in 2012. Thankfully, both efforts did not reach fruition.

Sources: Autoweek, IMDb.com, Rockford50Fest!, the Rockford Files.fandom.com,