The movie Grand Prix gave one of Hollywood’s most enduring actors his appetite for speed
The opening scene of the 1966 flick Grand Prix features actor James Garner in one of the most memorable movie moments of all time.
The green flag drops amid a deafening roar of Formula One machinery. A blur of drivers in their tube-shaped metal envelopes begin their full-scale assault on the streets of Monte Carlo. Split-screen images projected onto the oversized curved Cinerama screen provides an all-too-real sense of riding along with the drivers as they frantically jockey for position. Suddenly, in a split-second, two cars collide and you’re watching, wideeyed, as one car violently catapults off course — straight into Monaco’s yachtfilled harbor.
Fortunately, the hero Pete Aron, played in his usual easy-going style by James Garner, escapes his metal coffin, gasping for air as a trio of scuba divers swims to his aid.
Pure Hollywood fantasy? Well, not exactly. What Grand Prix director John Frankenheimer chose for his movie’s opening sequence happened to real-life driver Alberto Ascari at that very spot 11 years before, while he was leading the event.
For Garner, who died in 2014 at age
86, working on Grand Prix became an example of life imitating art. As a result of the movie he became hooked on racing and remained actively involved in the sport for many years after this groundbreaking movie was in the can.
Garner’s interest in fast dated back to his pre-acting days. Born James Scott Bumgarner in 1928, the native of Norman, Okla., was driving hot rods around town as a teenager. But this carpet layer’s son couldn’t afford his own wheels, so he was usually piloting one of his buddies’ modified jalopies.
Following minor stage and small-screen roles, Garner’s first of many breaks came in 1957 when he starred in the TV western series, Maverick. After four successful years, he moved to the big screen as the leading man in a number of fluffy romantic comedies before landing a major role in The Great Escape. This real-life movie vaulted the suave and debonair Garner into bona fide superstar status.
Grand Prix director Frankenheimer actually wanted Steve Mcqueen for lead roll as Pete Aron, but the deal fell through after a rocky interview that Frankenheimer was unable to attend.
Garner, who badly wanted the part, was picked.
Before shooting began, Garner took lessons from Bob Bondurant, a successful Grand Prix and sports car driver who would eventually begin his own highperformance driving school. Garner followed that with a session at the Jim Russell Driving School in England where he was joined by some of the other principal actors. The Russell experience taught him plenty, including the fact that the lanky 6’ 3” actor was too big to comfortably fit inside the cockpit of a Grand Prix race car. Garner immediately went on a diet, managing to lose 20 pounds. Even then, he had to drive with the seat removed from the car so his head would be lower than the roll bar.
Frankenheimer’s $8 million epic began shooting in late May of 1966. The director hired many well-known Formula One stars as background actors, including Graham Hill, Dan Gurney, Jochen Rindt, Chris Amon and Bruce Mclaren. Some of these drivers were also hired to drive camera vehicles that would chase the mostly fake Grand Prix race cars specially constructed by Russell for the movie.
During production, Garner’s skill behind the wheel impressed many of the racers involved in the film, which opened in late 1966 to rave reviews. Not only was the film exciting to watch on the giant screen, its special effects and camera techniques created specifically for the movie were technical breakthroughs.
After Grand Prix, Garner, who was by then hooked on racing, drove in a number of sports-car events in the United States. He also formed his own team, American International Racers. But unlike actor/ racers Steve Mcqueen or Paul Newman, Garner soon let the pros do his driving.
After Grand Prix, Garner continued to ply his trade in a succession of movie and TV roles. In the case of the latter, motor vehicles were prominently featured. In 1971, Garner starred in Nichols, a series about a quirky sheriff in the early 1900s who rode a motorcycle instead of a horse.
More popular, however, was The Rockford Files, which aired from 1974-’80. Garner portrayed private detective Jim Rockford who was frequently behind the wheel of a tan Pontiac Firebird. Rockford’s moreor-less basic means of transportation was a far cry from other ostentatious TV gumshoes such as Tom Selleck’s Magnum P.I. character, who drove a Ferrari.
Garner’s stature as an actor, combined with his skill as a driver, helped earn him the special role of pace-car driver for the annual Indianapolis 500 racing event in 1975, ’77 and ’85. Garner frequently made the pilgrimage to the race to renew acquaintances with friends and former Indy drivers such as Parnelli Jones, Roger Ward and Lloyd Ruby.
Garner’s fame as an actor far outshone his racing interests. But the role of Pete Aron in Grand Prix not only gave his many fans a reason to cheer for their hero, but provided Garner the opportunity to develop his lifelong interest in motorsports.
For a car guy, who could ask for anything more.