Show Type: Detective Drama
First Telecast: September 13, 1974
Last Telecast: July 25, 1980

Episodes:
123 Color Episodes
+ 1 Pilot Movie
& 8 Made-for-TV Movies

James Garner stars as Jim Rockford, a private investigator who lives and works in his trailer in Malibu, Los Angeles. Jim is an ex con who had been imprisoned for five years in San Quentin for armed robbery – which he did not commit and was later pardoned. Jim has a quarter page advertisement in the yellow pages, drives a gold Pontiac Firebird and has an answering machine, which plays at the beginning of every File; "This is Jim Rockford, at the tone leave your name and message and I'll get back to you". A person then leaves a message – which has no relevance to the episode but is often humorous.

The series also stars Noah Beery as Jim's father Joseph "Rocky" Rockford, a retired truck driver. Rocky offers words of wisdom, advice or even assistance in some episodes. Rocky frequently pressures his son to leave his PI business and take up safer, honest work, such as trucking.
Jim also has close relations with Dennis Becker, played by Joe Santos. Dennis is a Los Angeles Police Sergeant, later promoted to Lieutenant. Jim uses Dennis got information, police computer checks and often makes him the hero of the case Jim was investigating.
Any time Jim is arrested in the first four seasons, he simply calls for his attorney Elizabeth "Beth" Davenport, played by Gretchen Corbett. Jim and Beth had a previous relationship, but remained friends until Beth went off to run her own private practice and later write legal fiction. In her absence Jim turns to John ‘Coop' Cooper, played by Bo Hopkins in the fifht season. Coop is a disbarred attorney who specialises in legal research, and gets embroiled in three of Jim's cases.
While Jim was in prison, he shared a cell with Evelyn ‘Angel' Martin, wonderfully portrayed by Stuart Margolin. So named because he was always praying the hard cases not to hit him; Angel is sneaky and is always up to something illegal - often involving Jim in his swindles. As part of his parole, he works for his brother in law who owns a LA Newspaper.

Roy Huggins and Stephen J Cannell created The Rockford Files. The shows production team includes Meta Rosenberg, Juanita Bartlett, Chas Floyd Johnson and David Chase, all of whom have had further successful series in later years.

NBC Broadcast History
September 1974-May 1977----Fridays----9:00 p.m.
June 1977----Fridays----8:30 p.m.
July 1977-January 1979----Fridays----9:00 p.m.
February-March 1979----Saturdays----10:00 p.m.
April-December 1979----Fridays----9:00 p.m.
March-April 1980----Thursdays----10:00 p.m.
June-July 1980----Fridays----9:00 p.m.

Nielsen Ratings:
(Top 25 or Better)
#12 in the 1974-1975 Season