OKPOP Museum Honors Beloved Oklahoma Native James Garner

The OKPOP museum is honoring a movie and TV star from Oklahoma with help from his daughter.

James Garner was born in Norman, and his daughter explained why Oklahoma means so much to the family.

The OKPOP museum has been patiently waiting to welcome people through its front doors. It finally got to do that for a couple of hours on Friday while honoring an Oklahoma native.

"It's wonderful to see this space filled with people as we honor Oklahoma's Own James Garner," said Abby Kurin with the OKPOP Foundation.

While dozens of people came to see Garner's memorabilia from his time on set in the Rockford Files and Maverick, his daughter Gigi reminisced on her father's love for the Sooner state.

"My dad always spoke about the resilience of the Oklahomans, and he always brought up the fact in almost every interview that he was from Oklahoma. He was so proud of it," Gigi said.

OKPOP has several of Garner's items, like pictures, props, and his suit from his time on Maverick. It's also displaying the Purple Heart he received after serving in the Korean War.

Gigi said she loves sharing her father's things and wants them to stay in the state he loved.

"I'm just glad that I can continue his legacy by having his things here in his home state," said Gigi.

Gigi lives in California but said it's critical for her to stay attached to this state even though she wasn't born here.

"My dad was most proud of being an Oklahoman, and I want to make sure people know that, they recognize that, and they remember that," she said.

She believes people will enjoy getting to see her father's things but wants them to remember his legacy another way.

"One of the most important things that my dad was interested in was making sure people remembered him with a smile."

She hopes that once the OKPOP museum eventually opens, people will do just that.

If you weren't able to catch Garner's memorabilia on display Friday, you can check it out in the Imagined Worlds exhibit when the OKPOP museum opens.