Available for freelance writing commissions on a variety of subjects including family history, nostalgic Belfast and its famous people, shops, shoppers & shopping (40 years in retailing), the golden age of Hollywood (including westerns) and humorous pieces on life's weird and wonderful. Op-eds, columns, non-fiction book reviews too.
joecushnan@aol.com & @JoeCushnan
I have a portfolio of features, reviews, poetry and short fiction published in all sorts of places - Belfast Telegraph, Tribune, Ireland's Own, Dalhousie Review, Fairlight Books, Reader's Digest, Reality, Lapwing Poetry, Ink, Sweat & Tears, Spillwords, Dear Reader, Amethyst Review, to name a selection. Oh, and the odd BBC radio contribution. I wrote a book on retailing, on dealing with job losses and a biography of Stephen Boyd.
This is a series of very short items that have nothing to do with the current news agenda. Swift diversions for a moment or two.
Apropos of Nothing #90 – 19 July 2014
James Garner died at 86 on 19 July, 2014.
As far back as I remember, if anyone asked me who my favourite actors were, I’d say, without hesitation, John Wayne and James Garner, followed by some others from a long list of brilliant performers.
I was born at exactly the right time for the golden age of TV westerns – Cheyenne, Bronco, Laramie, Bonanza, Wagon Train, etc – and my all-time favourite was Maverick. The James Garner/Jack Kelly combo was perfect, with Garner especially handsome and cool. The show lost a great deal of charm when he left.
James Garner had huge successes in cinema and television. He starred in The Great Escape, Cash McCall, The Thrill of it all, The Wheeler Dealers, Move Over Darling, The Americanisation of Emily, 36 Hours, Grand Prix and Hour of the Gun, to name several.
His wonderful westerns, Support Your Local Sheriff/Gunfighter, are a joy.
From 1974 to 1980, and in TV movies in the 1990s, he was Jim Rockford in The Rockford Files, a gem of a show that I have watched dozens and dozens of times.
James Garner was a great all-rounder. He could produce serious deep drama and pitch-perfect comedy.
Anyway, gaze in wonder at his monumental screen CV.
Thank you, sir.
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