Joseph Rockford

Joseph "Rocky" Rockford, is the father of James Scott Rockford.

Background Information[]

Rocky served in the US Navy (Seabees).^{[citation needed]}

During the course of the series, he works as a semi-retired truck driver.^{[citation needed]}

He keeps constantly nagging his son to find a stable (and less dangerous) job. Nevertheless, he constantly becomes involved in his son's cases, and sometimes even hires him for himself.

Notes[]

In the 1974 pilot, he was portrayed by Robert Donley who played him more like a small-time grifter. He even tried (albeit unsuccessfully) to run a minor scam on his son.
In the series, he was portrayed by Noah Beery Jr. The series' version of Rocky was a more honest and reliable father, albeit sometimes gullible and too trusting.
'Joseph', the name given to Jim's father was from co-writer Stephen J. Cannell's father, but rather than Joseph or Joe, he was most often called "Rocky", a nickname derived from his last name, not his first.
The character Joseph "Rocky" Rockford was ranked number forty-five in TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" (June 20, 2004 issue).

Appearances[]

Pilot[]

[000] The Rockford Files (March 27, 1974)

Syndicated Version Retitled "Backlash of the Hunter"

Season 1 (1974–75)[]

[101] The Kirkoff Case (September 13, 1974)
[102] The Dark and Bloody Ground (September 20, 1974)
[103] The Countess (September 27, 1974)
[104] Exit Prentiss Carr (October 4, 1974)
[105] Tall Woman in Red Wagon (October 11, 1974)
[106/107] This Case Is Closed (October 18, 1974)
[108] The Big Ripoff (October 25, 1974)
[109] Find Me If You Can (November 1, 1974)
[110] In Pursuit of Carol Thorne (November 8, 1974)
[111] The Dexter Crisis (November 15, 1974)
[112] Caledonia - It's Worth a Fortune (December 6, 1974)
[113] Profit and Loss, Part 1 (December 20, 1974)
[114] Profit and Loss, Part 2 (December 27, 1974)
[115] Aura Lee, Farewell (January 3, 1975)
[116] Sleight of Hand (January 17, 1975)
[117] Counter Gambit (January 24, 1975)
[118] Claire (January 31, 1975)
[119] Say Goodbye to Jennifer (February 7, 1975)
[120] Charlie Harris at Large (February 14, 1975)
[121] The Four Pound Brick (February 21, 1975)
[122] Just by Accident (February 28, 1975)
[123] Roundabout (March 7, 1975)

Season 2 (1975–76)[]

[201] The Aaron Ironwood School of Success (September 12, 1975)
[202] The Farnsworth Stratagem (September 19, 1975)
[203] Gearjammers, Part 1 (September 26, 1975)
[204] Gearjammers, Part 2 (October 3, 1975)
[205] The Deep Blue Sleep (October 10, 1975)
[206] The Great Blue Lake Land and Development Company (October 17, 1975)
[207] The Real Easy Red Dog (October 31, 1975)
[208] Resurrection in Black and White (November 7, 1975)
[209] Chicken Little Is a Little Chicken (November 14, 1975)
[210] 2 Into 5.56 Won't Go (November 21, 1975)
[211] Pastoria Prime Pick (November 28, 1975)
[212] The Reincarnation of Angie (December 5, 1975)
[213] The Girl in the Bay City Boys Club (December 19, 1975)
[214] The Hammer of C Block (January 9, 1976)
[215] The No-Cut Contract (January 16, 1976)
[216] A Portrait of Elizabeth (January 23, 1976)
[217] Joey Blue Eyes (January 30, 1976)
[218] In Hazard (February 6, 1976)
[219] The Italian Bird Fiasco (February 13, 1976)
[220] Where's Houston? (February 20, 1976)
[221] Foul on the First Play (March 12, 1976)
[222] A Bad Deal in the Valley (March 19, 1976)

Season 3 (1976–77)[]

[301] The Fourth Man (September 24, 1976)
[302] The Oracle Wore a Cashmere Suit (October 1, 1976)
[303] The Family Hour (October 8, 1976)
[304] Feeding Frenzy (October 15, 1976)
[305] Drought at Indianhead River (November 5, 1976)
[306] Coulter City Wildcat (November 12, 1976)
[307] So Help Me God (November 19, 1976)
[308] Rattlers' Class of '63 (November 26, 1976)
[309] Return to the Thirty-Eighth Parallel (December 10, 1976)
[310] Piece Work (December 17, 1976)
[311] The Trouble with Warren (December 24, 1976)
[312] There's One In Every Port (January 7, 1977)
[313] Sticks and Stones May Break Your Bones, but Waterbury Will Bury You (January 14, 1977)
[314] The Trees, the Bees and T.T. Flowers, Part 1 (January 21, 1977)
[315] The Trees, the Bees and T.T. Flowers, Part 2 (January 28, 1977)
[316] The Becker Connection (February 11, 1977)
[317] Just Another Polish Wedding (February 18, 1977)
[318] New Life, Old Dragons (February 25, 1977)
[319] To Protect and Serve, Part 1 (March 11, 1977)
[320] To Protect and Serve, Part 2 (March 18, 1977)
[321] Crack Back (March 25, 1977)
[322] Dirty Money, Black Light (April 1, 1977)

Season 4 (1977–78)[]

[401] Beamer's Last Case (September 16, 1977)
[402] Trouble in Chapter 17 (September 23, 1977)
[403] The Battle of Canoga Park (September 30, 1977)
[404] Second Chance (October 14, 1977)
[405] The Dog and Pony Show (October 21, 1977)
[406] Requiem for a Funny Box (November 4, 1977)
[407] Quickie Nirvana (November 11, 1977)
[408] Irving the Explainer (November 18, 1977)
[409] The Mayor's Committee from Deer Lick Falls (November 25, 1977)
[410] Hotel of Fear (December 2, 1977)
[411] Forced Retirement (December 9, 1977)
[412] The Queen of Peru (December 16, 1977)
[413] A Deadly Maze (December 23, 1977)
[414] The Attractive Nuisance (January 6, 1978)
[415] The Gang at Don's Drive-In (January 13, 1978)
[416] The Paper Palace (January 20, 1978)
[417] Dwarf in a Helium Hat (January 27, 1978)
[418] South by Southeast (February 3, 1978)
[419] The Competitive Edge (February 10, 1978)
[420] The Prisoner of Rosemont Hall (February 17, 1978)
[421/422] The House on Willis Avenue (February 24, 1978)

Season 5 (1978–79)[]

[501] Heartaches of a Fool (September 22, 1978)
[502] Rosendahl and Gilda Stern Are Dead (September 29, 1978)
[503] The Jersey Bounce (October 6, 1978)
[504] White on White and Nearly Perfect (October 20, 1978)
[505] Kill the Messenger (October 27, 1978)
[506] The Empty Frame (November 3, 1978)
[507] A Three-Day Affair with a Thirty-Day Escrow (November 10, 1978)
[508] A Good Clean Bust with Sequel Rights (November 17, 1978)
[509/510] Black Mirror (November 24, 1978)
[511] A Fast Count (December 1, 1978)
[512] Local Man Eaten by Newspaper (December 8, 1978)
[513] If the French Heel is Back, Can the Nehru Jacket Be Far Behind? (January 5, 1979)
[514] The Battle-Ax and the Exploding Cigar (January 12, 1979)
[515] Guilt (January 19, 1979)
[516] The Deuce (January 26, 1979)
[517] The Man Who Saw the Alligators (February 10, 1979)
[518] The Return of the Black Shadow (February 17, 1979)
[519] A Material Difference (February 24, 1979)
[520/521] Never Send a Boy King to Do a Man's Job (March 3, 1979)
[522] A Different Drummer (April 13, 1979)

Season 6 (1979–80)[]

[601] Paradise Cove (September 28, 1979)
[602/603] Lions, Tigers, Monkeys and Dogs (October 12, 1979)
[604] Only Rock 'n' Roll Will Never Die, Part 1 (October 19, 1979)
[605] Only Rock 'n' Roll Will Never Die, Part 2 (October 26, 1979)
[606] Love Is the Word / Some Things You Can Tell Yourself (November 9, 1979)
[607] Nice Guys Finish Dead (November 16, 1979)
[608] The Hawaiian Headache (November 23, 1979)
[609] No Fault Affair (November 30, 1979)
[610] The Big Cheese (December 7, 1979)
[611] Just a Coupla Guys (December 14, 1979)
[612] Deadlock in Parma (January 10, 1980)