Rockford's fee will have to skyrocket to $1,300 a day... plus expenses
- alanscaia
- Jan 15
- 2 min read
An associate sent me a text today alerting me the Rockford Files was being rebooted. Sure, this was a show that had wrapped up before I was born, but it still plays an active role in my life.
Papa Scaia would watch reruns sometimes when I was a li'l rapscallion. I didn't pay much attention at the time, what with me running elaborate Indy 500 simulations or city traffic jams with dozens of Matchbox cars on the living room floor, but eventually, the idea of a misunderstood genius who does whatever it takes to get the job done spoke to me. Jim Rockford may have been a malcontent who refused to abide the system, but the system was flawed, and he always found a workaround.
As an homage to Jim Rockford, my outgoing voicemail message mimics the intro to the show.
I thought it might be too obscure a reference. In fact, one person recently said she liked the "cool music" when she left a message but didn't get the historical significance.
But several associates picked right up on it. This is how you know you've got the right friends. A couple folks said it brought back their own memories of watching with their families. That's nice to hear... although a show about an ex-con private investigator working with other ex-cons who get shot at fairly consistently may not have been ideal family television.
"But Scaia, you ruggedly handsome lummox," you're, of course, hollering at your screen. "Everybody knows Rockford was falsely accused!"
My apologies. Some day, I might have kids, and if so, Jim Rockford will help them learn right from wrong (and the ladies of the Metroplex think, in unison, "Maybe a guy who spends this much time talking about this work of James Garner isn't the one for me").
A public relations associate consistently introduces himself as Angel when he leaves a voicemail.
One day, I was waiting for an interview from a political muckity-muck. I'm declining to name the muckity-muck to prevent the blog from devolving into an elaborate comments section.
But the muckity-muck's press handler gave him my cell phone number by mistake. I was patiently awaiting his call to the newsroom and not paying attention to my cell, so he went to voicemail. When we did connect, he commented that he thoroughly enjoyed the reference and asked if I drive a gold Firebird.
It's also an homage to NewsRadio. WNYX owner Jimmy James also uses the same gimmick.
Perhaps at this time of political division, Jim Rockford can bring us all together. We can learn the important role played by the justice system (he was, to my recollection, quite vocal about how he was pardoned and not just paroled), the need for people to work together and think critically to solve problems, and the need for an independent federal reserve (Rockford charged $200 a day plus expenses in 1974. The Minneapolis Fed provided me with the comparable value today).
Now that I'm a trendsetter, follow me for more pop culture buzz.
Comments