James Stewart.

I had been in love with him my whole life he reminded me very much of my dad it was my idol whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends it is the right of the people to alter or abolish Hamid or he's enjoyed this unbelievable popularity with people he's like mr. everyman now you listen to me I don't want any plastics I don't want any ground floors and I don't want to get married ever at anyone you understand that I want to do what I want to do and your and your you were never really sure if he was doing this scene or not because he's exactly off the scheme the way he is on from simple beginnings in small-town America he has become an international superstar and his movies have become timeless images of the American Way of life yet Jimmy Stewart never strayed from the values of his youth he grew larger than life by being down-to-earth playing the everyman as the leading man he was the quintessence of the American if we are not like Jimmy Stewart they would like to Kings Maitland Stewart was born on May 20th 1908 in the comfortable middle-class town of Indiana Pennsylvania the eldest of three children his early years were formed by strong values of family faith and friendship Jimmy's mother Bessie was a pillar of the community and active in the Presbyterian Church his father Alex owned a hardware store that was a local institution for half a century Alex Stewart was the character in chief of Indiana and I mean the stories a legion about his boisterous ways I mean this was a man who would go in to a bar and say you know like come on over to my house for breakfast tomorrow and 40 people would show up at his wife's door when Jimmy was six Alex Stewart was sufficiently prosperous to move to a rambling house overlooking the town where a musical evening has brought the family together in saw Jimmy's younger sisters played violin and piano Kinney played an accordion presented to him by his father they were carnivals that came through twice a year in Indiana and on one occasion one of the performers was an accordion Asst he was down on his luck he went into Alex's store he swapped the accordion for some money and that was the first time that Jimmy Stewart got his hands on an accordion and there was something that he didn't let go of for the rest of his life but in 1917 the family's fun-filled evenings would change dramatically America was entering World War one and a Stewart had fought in every conflict since the American Revolution Alex Stewart was not one we left behind now lonely for his father the youngster was proud of the steward legacy of sacrifice valor and patriotism family tradition also led to prep school that Mercersburg Academy at a 1928 Princeton University his father's alma mater with his father's approval Jimmy majored in architecture and his trusty accordion won him a coveted membership in the Princeton triangle Club it was also in college that Jimmy Stewart discovered the theater he never had any ambition to be an actor there was only other people who saw on him something that was quite rare and persuaded him by the summer of 1932 Jimmy graduated from Princeton and his academic achievement earned him a scholarship in architecture but the real world outside Princeton's ivy-covered walls held little promise the Great Depression had squeezed America dry and even with an advanced degree jobs were hard to come by any hope of Jimmy's joining the family business turned to ashes when in 1929 the Stuart hardware store burned to the ground with few other options Jimmy took his accordion and headed to New England he joined at Little Theatre group up in Massachusetts in the summer of 1932 as a as a musician he was quite a musician Joshua Logan an up-and-coming writer and director invited Jimmy to join the University players for their summer season among the youthful troupe of stock players Jimmy met two who would become his lifelong friends Margaret Sullavan and Henry Fonda in the fall of 1932 the ambitious University players received the invitation of their dreams their summer stock production of Carrie nation a play about prohibition had been a rousing success and the producers were willing to mount a full-scale production a cast included a 24-year old actor whose small role playing a policeman would suddenly become his big break on Broadway the Great White Way of the 1930s was home to theater thinkers such as Noel Coward Lunt and Fontanne and Helen Hayes but the university players would not be in their neighborhood for long within weeks of Kerry nation's opening nights the Prohibition drama seemed about as fresh as yesterday's Franklin Delano Roosevelt won the presidential election and promised to repeal prohibition as the nation topped off its class ticket sales for Kerry nation dried up the university players moved out Jimmy however was bitten by the theater bug and remained in New York moving into a two room apartment with his friend Henry Fonda between auditions they hosted the Thursday night beer club where for a couple of bucks Henry Fonda would grill you a hobo steak and Jimmy Stewart what entertain Jimmy would play the accordion the piano and Henry would sing along and question either one of them could really sing but they would just have a good time doing that and they they just liked to be together because they could discuss the theater they could discuss the movies they had all these things in common it was a time of low rent and high aspirations and a string of small roles rescued Jimmy from eviction earning him another minor run on the Broadway stage and another week's rent and his friend the Henry Fonda was almost annoyed that he had to beat the bushes to find work and get parts in plays while Jimmy Stewart just seemed to amble into a producer's office and get offered a part 1934 was Stewart's banner year on Broadway a 26 year old actor received applause from critics for his moving portrayal of an Irishman and the powerful drama yellow jack there he caught the eye of a Hollywood talent scout well he got into Holi was almost as easily as he got on Broadway they like the look of him and they offered him you know a short-term contract come out and work and of course coming to California in the mid-30s was coming to an entirely different world has had no relationship to his East Coast upbringing or New York theater it was a gamble Jimmy Stewart felt he had to take for the first time acting had become the most important aspect of his life in 1935 Clark Gable was the king of Hollywood Shirley Temple was America's little darling and 27 year old Jimmy Stewart arrived at the Pasadena train station to meet his best friend Henry Fonda the way just started his own movie career at 20th Century Fox the pair moved in together as they had in New York and said about dating a different movie star for every day of the week Fonda already had a reputation as a man about town and under his guidance Jimmy Stewart soon caught up Stewart in the pond there were double dares there are stories of Olivia de Havilland Ginger Rogers and already young so that in a sense they were yes they were the two studs on the city when asked about these love affairs Stewart would only say these women were great dancers and I love to dance now under contract to metro-goldwyn-mayer Jimmy's first assignment was a small role in the murder man starring Spencer Tracy only the sharpest of eyes would hatch to me in the movie trailer the all-american boy from Pennsylvania had broken into the movies and he was about to become a movie star what would happen if you didn't take this train Givi Stewart had met Margaret Sullivan while they were both in summer stock in 1936 she lobbied the studio brass to cast him as her co-star and next time we love he also helped him turn his off-screen awkwardness into an unscreened asset Sullivan taught him how to relate to the camera and how to use his body if sometimes it still seemed too awkward than use the awkwardness and it was obviously generally a sense of teaching him to be comfortable with himself I want you to know that I'm well naturally I realize that you've been living your own life and I want you to know that I realized that well what I'm trying to say is there I don't want you to feel that I expect anything of you amid rumors that Sullivan's interest in Stewart went beyond the merely professional she coached him day and night but the Pera never became a romantic item at least not in public perhaps because Sullivan was once briefly married to Stewart's best friend Henry Fonda next time we love created an avalanche of opportunities consume Stewart was appearing on screen with Eleanor Powell Joan Crawford and Myrna Loy the glimmer of the Stewart to come is immediate when you see this guy because he looks different he speaks differently he has a different persona there's something about this guy that is not like anybody else enthusiastic em GM executives saw there could be more to Jimmy Stewart than it earlier met their eyes in his case he was about six for three and probably 150 pounds that's not good on camera so they wanted to build him up so they put him through a physical exercises camp gymnasiums there they had teachers and anything that they felt an act and needed in the way of education or development the studio would give him the promising young actor caught the attention of director Frank Capra who was getting ready to film you can't take it with you I think my father saw in Jimmy the perfect hero for many of his stories the person who who could come from small-town Middle America sort of everyman be honest trustworthy not very sophisticated and yet he could rise up to the occasion a mouse in this place a mouse what do you mean a mouse a rat that long with hair on it a rat but Harold about six of them where go starring Gene Autry the film was a runaway hit earning Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director a 1938 its success led to a follow up with Capra mr. Smith goes to Washington I think there was a lot of trust between them father trusted him I know he trusted my father so that when they worked together there was a very strong bond one example of the creative bond between actor and director was this scene where the idealistic senator must filibuster his jaded colleagues if you think I'm going back there and tell those boys in my state and say look now let's forget about it forget all this stuff I've been telling you about this land you live in is a lot of hooey this isn't your country belongs to a lot of James Taylor's oh no not me and anybody here the things I'm gonna do that they got another thing huh with Capra he found he could share the idealized concept of America and expose the bad things that's all right I just wanted to find out whether you still had faces and prove it goodness and the long run works out and that that was the fire under him when he saw in Capra scripts the opportunity to develop a character Jimmy went so far as to risk his voice for the sake of realism the doctor told him that he could put some kind of tincture of something like merthiolate or something like that which was used on on his vocal cords it would irritate them enough so that he would be hoarse there's no place out there for graft or greed or lies or compromise with human liberties if that's what the grown-ups have done with this world that was given to them then we better get those boys camp started fast and see what the kids can do the result was an unforgettable performance that earned the 31 year old Jimmy Stewart his first Oscar nomination doctor in 1940 Stewart was chosen by Katharine Hepburn to join her and Cary Grant in the Philadelphia Story but I think it was people like Hepburn who said to look Jenny you're capable of much more than you're doing I want you to play this part and when she says I want you she gets him and he turns out to be quite wonderful in the pot not wounded sir but it seems the lemon she hit the water the wine hit her now look here Connor a likely story Connor hello Dexter apart earned Stuart another Oscar nomination for Best Actor in 1940 and ironically put him in competition with his closest friend Henry Fonda was also nominated that year for The Grapes of Wrath but a Jimmy the greatest prize was friendship when he did win the Oscar he said the statuette should have gone to Fonda I think it a little bit fuddled because he was so surprised to get it he was not expecting to win he truly expected Henry Fonda to get the Oscar that year if Jimmy's parents had any qualms about their son's career choice they were now over them they proudly displayed the Oscar in the window of the family's rebuilt hardware store they were very proud people so to have an Oscar in the window of Little Shop in its small town in Pennsylvania it was really quite remarkable now 32 years old and handsomely paid by Hollywood Jimmy owned a single-engine Stinson 105 airplane and indulged his love of flying in 1940 the idyllic calm of his hometown was once again disturbed by events far away in Europe Adolphe Hitler had begun his evil rise to power like millions of other Americans Jimmy wanted to stop the Nazis he chopped up flight time in his plane dreaming of one day becoming a combat pilot it seemed as if he would get his chance when more than a year before Pearl Harbor in October of 1940 he was drafted but there was an obstacle as embarrassing as it was persistent the angular actor found himself on the light end of the scale of once again regulations dictated he could not fight until he fattened up he really felt that this was something he had to so he built himself up just as I did when he first got to MGM he had bring his weight up to par he did the same thing with the service after lifting weights and forcing himself to read a lot of tuna sandwiches one of his favorite foods Stewart met the weight requirement by a matter of ounces America's everyman was going to war when he got into the Air Force he was good enough as a pilot to be an instructor he was training bomber crews once of course he got to England with the 8th Air Force going up real bombing raids you've got to be a good pilot he knew exactly what he was time a Stewart risked his life in the flack filled skies over Germany he was comforted by the 91st psalm a copy of which his father had slipped into his uniform pocket along with this note I dear Jim boy soon after you read this letter you will be on your way to the worst sort of danger I feel sure that God will lead you through this man experience god bless you and keep you I love you more than I can tell you Dan well I think the war brought him closer to his father than anything else because the father realized he had a son in peril I mean fathers were losing sons by the thousands every month of that war as a pilot and later commander of a bomber wing Stewart flew more than 20 perilous combat missions for his extraordinary bravery under fire he received the Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster may 8th 1945 the war in Europe was over it was time to go home Colonel James Stewart had served for years and had received $21 per month they covet of more than eleven thousand dollars a month from his wages as a movie star but every month he dutifully sent his agent a commission check of two dollars and ten cents as America breathed the sigh of relief so did the MGM brass their top box office attraction Jimmy Stewart was returning unscathed when he came back from the war he had it written into his contracts immediately after the war that none of the publicity could ever refer to his war record they were parallel existences they were never to cross well the actors and other film people who had served in the Second World War particularly in combat they came back with very different views about life it had matured them in many ways they they wanted to come back to pictures that were not as fanciful something with a greater edge of reality to them as Stewart decided what to do next Frank Capra invited him over to his home to hear an idea for a film my father starts to tell him this story and he says now you're on this bridge and and you're about to commit suicide and just before you are jumping off the bridge a little funny little fellow he jumps in oh gosh I gotta save him so he go in and save him and it turns out he's your guardian angel and then and he gets that gets about that far he says Jesus isn't very good is it I don't know and and Jimmy of course said oh no Frank no not fine I'll be in your movie about an angel or whatever you want me to be and I want to be the film would be called It's a Wonderful Life and for Jimmy Stewart it would become the most challenging and one of the most memorable roles of his career Christmas 1946 It's a Wonderful Life Frank Capra's first production under is here in Liberty films banner opens in New York City what is it you want Barry what do you want you you want the moon just say the word and I'll throw a lasso around and pull it down hey that's a pretty good idea I'll give you the moon all right how take it one of my favorite scenes dramatically that anybody has ever done it was Jimmy and it's a wonderful life when he's praying at the bar and he's praying for God to save him the film's engaging theme of redemption through faith did not prevent its being unfairly branded as a critical and box office disaster contrary to a lot of people's sort of myth the film did okay it didn't do great it did okay got pretty good reviews it was nominated for three Academy Awards despite Hollywood's doubts that Stewart could recapture his pre-war screen momentum it's a wonderful life earned the 38 year old actor his third Best Actor Academy Award nomination the print in the concrete at Grauman's Chinese Theater Jimmy Stewart goes through the ceremony that attends the brilliant success of the premiere of the great new 20th Century Fox film drama called Northside 777 all Northside 777 brought a new and tougher Jimmy Stewart to the screen remember that if I ever catch your lyin I'll blast you so hard you would even get a parole here 33 years but it wasn't until 1949 that he had his first post-war box-office hit with co-star June Allyson I think this is the first time I was ever really completely telling died I had seen Jimmy in movies but I had never met him and he asked for me to do the strength change the Stratton story was drawn from the life story of baseball player Monty Stratton it became a major league pitcher despite having an artificial leg you've just lost yourself a catcher cinematic chemistry brew box office success the Stuart Allison partnership was so credible that many fans were convinced the still single Stuart should have married his charming co-star I would get calls and they'd say why did you marry that that magic power Lisa's married Jimmy Stewart and he'd get calls anything why did why did you let her marry him but it was a real-life pairing in 1949 that would put one of Hollywood's most eligible bachelors out of circulation on August 9th the 41 year old Stewart married Gloria Patrick McLain a former model from Larchmont New York with Gloria came two young sons Ronald and Michael from a previous marriage she was a classy dame in the best sense of the word probably one of the most beautiful women you'd ever want to meet and funny so funny you could just see the sparks between them within months of their marriage the Stewart's received news that Gloria was pregnant Laurie and I worried expecting our children at exactly the same time and we had the same doctor as I came around the corner in my car I saw a gloria crossing the street and she wasn't looking at the cars and all the cars were screeching you all and finally I kind of pulled over to it I stopped I said gorya are you all right she said you'll never believe it I said what she's not gonna have twins on May 7th 1951 the Stewart's twin daughters Kelli and Judy were born well it came a little late in his life to be the father of infants but I think it amused him as much is it he loved having the kids while Stewart wrangled toddlers at home he often wrangled horses at work appearing in numerous westerns including Broken Arrow co-starring Debra Paget underneath the affable easygoing guy there was a man of anger who really could explode who could be forceful even vengeful and he was capable of playing that part stupid you may come in careful don't get trampled on now the 1950s also marked a period of remarkable versatility for Stewart who was equally effective in breezy comedies like the jackpot anok whimsical Harvey one of Stewart's personal favorites was a good fit for a 42 year old actor making a graceful transition from playing idealistic young men to mature character roles I think he fell into those characterizations you easily adapted to them I don't think there was a problem for him mainly because there was not there was never a problem for James Stewart the actor James Stewart the actor seized on parts Stewart the actor welcomed the challenge of doing an entire movie in clown makeup 1952 s the greatest show on earth while making the film he gave advice to a young Charlton Heston who had embarrassed himself while shooting his first big scene I leaped out of the Jeep okay and tripped in the ring curb and fell flat in my face in the sawdust and Jimmy who'd been silent till then he said well Chuck he said tell me get better from here 1953 Jimmy Stewart was juggling career and family concerns once again his mother had passed away and his relationship with his father became more protective life's experiences had seasoned him as an actor and even though he was never a matinee idol Studios continued to offer him strong material yes but there must be some what's glad gran-gran who popular Glenn Miller story short adept at character study he was truly Greg Miller I had never met Glenn Miller but when he put those glasses on and he conducted his office journey he talked about the sound I felt that he was Glenn Miller but the likeable Glenn Miller turned into an obsessive voyeur in 1954 s rear window Alfred Hitchcock's latest essay in suspense first I watched them just to kill time but then I couldn't take my eyes off him just a hugh will be able to hollywood whispered that stuart would be using his binoculars to get an eyeful of the hypnotically beautiful Grace Kelly Gloria Stewart insisted however that the more glamorous Jimmy's leading ladies the more attention she got at home they live such rather pristine lives certainly by Hollywood standards they were not part of the social set here they didn't go to parties they didn't razzmatazz they became you know very respectable upper-class Beverly Hills people in 1956 48 year-old Jimmy Stewart was at the top of his profession but while he appeared in popular films like the spirit of st. Louis and Alfred Hitchcock's the man who knew too much and would continue as a top box-office draw into the 1960s the new decade would see his personal life touched by tragedy if I could just find the key the beginning and put it together I'm mad that would explain it would vertigo alfred hitchcock's dark drama of a tormented man's obsession was the most unlikely of Jimmy Stewart vehicles ironically Jimmy jumped at the chance to play the role what is saying in vertigo is an invention on the part of Jimmy Stewart he liked the concept of this tormented character and I'm sure he discussed it with Hitchcock but Hitchcock was never an actor's director if he realized that the actor could give him what he wanted he let him go by playing men obsessed with dark impulses on screen as the 1950s edged toward the 1960s Stewart continued to lead a remarkably unremarkable life off-screen his warriors comfortably behind him he was now a devoted husband and father was conservative politics stood in sharp contrast to those of his best friend Henry Fonda they were as different as you could possibly be I mean Henry is a Democrat Jimmy's Republican can we had more marriages Jimmy had one marriage and two beautiful daughters twin daughters but they were the best of friends Stewart and Fonda would spend hours building model airplanes and flying kites fashions they had pursued since their early days in Hollywood these two men would sit around and I'd watch them making these incredible things that a balsa wood and paper and in four hours maybe say six words I have a 20-7 dad know that goes into B 14 that's a this is the conversation in 1959 Jimmy received the Best Actor nomination for his performance in anatomy of a murder his competition was Charlton Heston Jimmy took hold of my elbow he said Chuck I hope you win I really mean it to this day I can't tell that story without breaking up because he meant extraordinary Jimmy got his wish Eston won the Oscar for Ben Hur in 1961 Jimmy Stewart's father Alex died of cancer the 90 first song was read at his funeral the same scripture that Alex had slipped into his son's pocket when Jimmy went off to war it was around that time that he took off for the first time in in 27 28 years of working and just had to stop he had to withdraw it crushed him and crushed him a great deal when he returned to work Stewart showed amazing range and undiminished charisma in films like How the West was won the man who shot Liberty valance mr. Hobbs takes a vacation and dear Bridget co-starring a freckle-faced ten-year-old named Billy Mumy he immediately made me feel really comfortable you know in the relationship of father and son in the film you know he played the accordion so we had these scenes where we played live musically and we used to kind of jam a little bit he'd play chord Union I'd play cello even when the cameras weren't rolling we continued with our jams for a while that was fun I liked that a lot we're simply a family that happens to love music wouldn't you say so yes sir well that's all that really matters son that's all that matters to love it that doesn't matter how many mistakes you make as long as you've got it here and you know what this is your shirt dear Bridget featured an appearance by voluptuous screen siren Brigitte Bardot who's off screen discipline differed markedly from Stewart's as nice as she was and she was great but when whenever she was not absolutely needed in the cameras weren't rolling she was escorted by her entourage off to her trailer and she was kept very private away from everything and mr. Stewart was always there just hanging out with everyone else being a totally normal guy a Jimmy Stewart movie now had a wistful air of nostalgia to it the star aging as gracefully as the characters he played turning 60 in 1968 Stuart retired from the Air Force Reserves having been awarded the rank of brigadier-general thousands of demonstrators opposed to the Vietnam War assembled in the nation's capital for a mass protest that same year anti-vietnam war protesters were causing Americans to question the small-town values and staunch patriotism Jimmy Stewart held dear a Stewart's association with the military continued and his stepson Ronald MacLean became a lieutenant in the US Marines in support of their son and United States troops Jimmy and Gloria joined in a USO tour of military bases in the winter of 1969 hollywood's ambassador shook hands with 12,000 soldiers on the tour snapped photographs of many more and promised to call anxious relatives back in the States then just three months after the stewards visited their son lieutenant McClane was struck down by enemy forces when the one young man was killed in Vietnam that well if it was as it was Jimmy son and I heard that he was absolutely devastated that wounded him greatly but he also expressed pride in the fact that the son had served and done his duty suddenly and particularly for Gloria spacious house in Beverly Hills seemed haunted by painful memories escape from grief came in the form of a job offer Jimmy felt he could not refuse a revival of Harvey on Broadway the theatre legend Helen Hayes he loved the role and the city that had seen the blossoming of his theater career now one of the entertainment industries elder statesmen Stewart took on a variety of television and film projects with a powerful personal meaning such as the HBO movie right-of-way with Betty Davis which told the story of a senior couples right to die philanthropic causes drew Jimmy's attention and his checkbook and as Jimmy gave of himself Hollywood gave back in 1985 he received an honorary Oscar to celebrate a half-century in show business President Reagan bestowed upon him America's highest award for artists at the Kennedy Center Honors stuartt even found time to write a best-selling book of poems and gloria inspired him to tour africa in support of animal rights but in 1982 the death of Stuart's best friend Henry Fonda that forced him to confront his own mortality they were really great friends and when Henry got sick Jimmy was there almost every day they were really really close with his children grown and 78 films to his credit Jimmy felt it might be time to slow down and step out of the spotlight but his fans were not ready to let him leave by the 1980s it's a wonderful life and become a television staple at Holiday time appreciative new audiences revisited the little town of Bedford Falls thanks in large part to Jimmy Stewart's compelling performance as George Bailey to my big brother George the richest man in town like the character he played in It's a Wonderful Life Jimmy Stewart had a chance to look back over his own wonderful life on the town fathers of Indiana Pennsylvania has celebrated their favorite son with a Jimmy Stewart Museum but no amount of appreciation for Stewart's half-century of movie magic could soften the blow when in 1994 he lost the love of his life Gloria Stewart died of cancer they had been married 44 years friends remember Jimmy always felt that Gloria could do no wrong and never tired of telling her how wonderful she looked everybody was aware and devastated devastated because we miss her and devastated for Jimmy they were quite wonderful together I think that part of his life stopped I think the same thing happened to Jimmy that happened to me when my late husband passed away he just done you can't get started again though Jimmy Stewart took solace in frequent visits from his children and Ram Sharan Gloria's death left him with a terrible emptiness he lived the last few years of his life far from the glare of the spotlight reflecting in solitude about his life's journey July 2nd 1997 at his home he died peacefully in his sleep he was 89 years old his fans gathered for outpourings of love and affection all Hollywood born the loss of an important talent but the memory of Jimmy Stewart will never fade the light of his life will forever shine on repeated screenings of his films many of which have become American classics Jimmy Stewart once summed up his word by saying I think it's wonderful to have been able to give people little pieces of time Oh Jimmy Stewart really never left that little town in Pennsylvania in terms of its values and what he believed about life and how you should myth it's not a movie star and yet he's one of the biggest movie stars we've ever had want me to kiss her huh he's a powerful guy you listen to him when he talks not because you have to because you want to and it's worth it's worth it I'm gonna stay right here and fight for this he was surely and remains the best light actor in films I can't imagine anyone else he isn't icon and he is an institution and I think they'd be better people in this world if they'd studied Jimmy Stewart

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Id: EVn-NCXXoRo

Length: 43min 55sec (2635 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 12 2013