Cool Facts You Didn't Know About 'Maverick'
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'Maverick'
'Maverick' revolved around "Bret Maverick" (James Garner), a poker player who often visits saloons and while traveling through the 19th-century frontier in the United States on riverboats.
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'Maverick'
'Maverick' presented a unique interpretation of the stereotypical cowboy character, particularly through the portrayal of "Bret Maverick," who lacked traditional hero traits and displayed significant fear when facing life-threatening situations during his adventures.
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'Maverick'
The series featured a couple of notable guest stars!
For example, actor Clint Eastwood played a gun-slinging villain in the 1959 episode 'Duel at Sundown', while Wayde Preston and Louise Fletcher appeared in the episode 'The Saga of Waco Williams, that same year.
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'Maverick'
Due to the show's success, drawer Dan Spiegle released multiple 'Maverick' comic books.
In fact, he and James Garner met in person as no pictures or publicity images of the show were available. Garner was the only character featured in Dan's first comic, as he was the only "Maverick" character for the first seven episodes of the show.
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'Maverick'
James Garner left the show after suing the Warner Brothers studio for breach of contract, following the actor's suspension during a writer's strike in 1960.
While the studio claimed that there were no scripts available for Garner during the strike, the court eventually ruled in favor of Garner.
He was released from his contract and then focused on keep building his career, which was already very successful.
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'Maverick'
Over the course of the years, multiple 'Maverick' spin-offs, crossovers and even a film were released.
'The New Maverick', 'Young Maverick', 'Bret Maverick', 'The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw' and 'Maverick' (film), premiered in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1991 and 1994, respectively. The movie starred Mel Gibson as "Bret", with James Garner playing his father.
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'Maverick'
In 2006, a 10-foot-tall statue of James Garner as "Bret Maverick" was unveiled in his hometown, Norman, Oklahoma.
The actor was present when the bronze statue was unveiled, and even described it as one of the happiest days of his life in his book 'The Garner Files'.