His first film after “Maverick” established him as a movie actor. It was “The Children’s Hour,” William Wyler’s remake of Lillian Hellman’s lesbian drama that co-starred Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine.
He followed in a successful comedy with Kim Novak, “Boys Night Out,” and then fully established his box-office appeal with the 1963 blockbuster war drama “The Great Escape” and two smash comedies with Doris Day — “The Thrill of It All” and “Move Over Darling.”
Throughout his long film career, Garner demonstrated his versatility in comedies (“The Art of Love,” “A Man Could Get Killed,” “Skin Game”), suspense (“36 Hours,” “They Only Kill Their Masters,” “Marlowe”), Westerns (“Duel at Diablo,” “Hour of the Gun,” “Support Your Local Gunfighter”).
In the 1980s and 1990s, when most stars his age were considered over the hill, Garner’s career remained strong.
He played a supporting role as a marshal in the 1994 “Maverick,” a big-screen return to the TV series with Mel Gibson in Garner’s old title role. His only Oscar nomination came for the 1985 “Murphy’s Romance,” a comedy about a small-town love relationship in which he co-starred with Sally Field.