Why does rockford hold onto women's arms all the time?

It was an old fashioned gesture. You see it in all the old black and white movies.

Jimmy was a gentleman if not a scholar. Chivalry helped him get all of that top shelf tail.

Touching while talking to her used to be a normal gesture that nobody, including women, thought anything about one way or the other. It takes an authentic 21st century PC clown to regard it as some kind of sexual assault.

He had a bad hip or leg injury that nearly cost him the series. He might have needed them to help prop him up.

The women might have been uncomfortable and pulled away, if it wasn't James Garner getting too close!

In the show and in most of his screen roles, he came across as both sexy and immensely likable, a sadly rare and desirable combination of qualities. He was such a charmer, someone who was appealing whether you wanted him as a friend, a lover, a husband, or just someone who makes every party he attends more fun. Definitely someone who might be able to push boundaries a little if he felt like doing so, because he seemed so good-natured he'd win everyone's trust without seeming to try.