The Rockford Files is an American detective drama television series starring James Garner. Garner portrays Los Angeles private investigator Jim Rockford, with Noah Beery Jr. in the supporting role of his father, Joseph "Rocky" Rockford. The show was created by Roy Huggins and Stephen J. Cannell, who wanted to create a similar show in a modern-day detective setting.
Producers Roy Huggins and Stephen J. Cannell devised the Rockford character as a departure from typical television detectives. In the series storyline, James Scott "Jim" Rockford had served time in California's San Quentin Prison in the 1960s due to a wrongful conviction. His jobs as a private investigator barely allow him to maintain his weathered mobile home.