James Garner played Jim Rockford as the star of "The Rockford Files."

The Rockford Files, which premiered on September 13, 1974, starred James Garner as the cautious Jim Rockford. The 60-minute television mystery series told the story of an “ex-con-turned-private-investigator  who would rather run away than fight and would rather go fishing than work.” (IMDb) Supporting characters surrounding Rockford included police detective friend Dennis Beckard, former cellmate Angel, and his attractive lawyer, Beth Davenport.

But were you familiar with the following pieces of The Rockford Files trivia? We weren’t – until we visited IMDb. Please check out IMDb for an extended list of The Rockford Files trivia!

1. “Three cast members from the series Magnum, P.I. – Tom Selleck, Roger E. Mosley and Larry Manetti – all did guest spots on “Rockford Files.” An episode of “Magnum” features a discussion of a “Rockford Files” episode.
2. There were plans to spin the characters of Gandolph “Gandy” Fitch and Marcus “Gabby” Hayes off onto their own series, but they never came to fruition.
3. Rockford’s telephone number is shown to be 555-2368 during the opening credits, as his answering machine message is heard just before the music starts. This was also the phone number shown for the Ghostbusters in their in-movie ad.
4. Rockford drove a Pontiac Firebird Esprit, not a Trans-Am as often thought.
5. David Chase, a writer/producer for “Rockford,” went on to create The Sopranos. An episode from “The Sopranos” first season shows a scene in a retirement home where the inhabitants are watching television. We can’t see what they’re watching but we can hear the theme to “Rockford” playing clearly.” (IMDb)

Watch full-length episodes of The Rockford Files, including parts 1 and 2 of the original pilot, by clicking here.