Mr. Garrison served as an adviser to the film, which drew heavily from "On the Trail of Assassins," one of three books he wrote about the case. In conjunction with the release of the movie, Time Warner published a paperback edition of the book, which promptly jumped to the top of best-seller lists.

Mr. Garrison also landed an acting role in the film, playing Chief Justice Earl Warren, the head of the commission whose very conclusions Mr. Garrison had denounced as "totally false." Indicted in '73

The period between the original events and the release of "J.F.K." were troubled years for Mr. Garrison. Initially he sought to try Mr. Shaw on new perjury charges, but the courts stopped him from proceeding.

Then, in 1973, Mr. Garrison himself was indicted on Federal charges of taking bribes to protect illegal pinball gambling. Conducting his own defense, he won acquittal.

But the trial hurt him politically and left him only a month to campaign for his fourth term as the New Orleans District Attorney. He lost that bid for re-election by 2,221 votes, ending his 12 years in that office. The victor was Harry Connick Sr., father of the singer Harry Connick Jr. Mr. Garrison next ran for State Supreme Court judge and lost.

Resurrecting his public career in 1978, he won election to a seat on Louisiana's Court of Appeal for the Fourth Circuit. He remained on the bench until last year, when he quit three weeks before the mandatory retirement age of 70 because of failing health.

An imposing figure, Mr. Garrison was 6 feet 6 inches tall, spoke in a booming voice and had a slightly walleyed look.