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James
Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was
an American film actor beloved for his persona as an
average guy who faces adversity and tries to do the
right thing, an image which was largely reflected in
his own personality.
Stewart
was born in Indiana, Pennsylvania. He was studying
architecture at Princeton University when fellow
classmate Joshua Logan convinced him to join the
newly-formed University Players in Massachusetts,
where he first met Henry Fonda and Margaret Sullavan,
among others. Stewart was already a Broadway veteran
when Hollywood beckoned. He won the Academy Award
for Best Actor in 1940 for his role in The
Philadelphia Story, in which he co-starred with Cary
Grant and Katharine Hepburn. He was awarded the
American Film Institute's lifetime achievement award
in 1980, as well as an Honorary Academy Award for 50
years of memorable performances in 1985.
Stewart
spoke in a hemming-and-hawing style which was
sometimes hard on sound men but came through as
sincerity to his audience. His career was therefore
built around playing a clean-cut person with good
values (although he did play the occasional baddie).
His hesitating style gave his characters a natural
feel not seen in many movies of his time. His early
career is perhaps most notable for the films he made
with director Frank Capra, including You Can't Take
It With You (1938) and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
(1939). His portrayal of George Bailey in Capra's
It's a Wonderful Life (1946), his first film after
returning from the war, was a defining performance
in his career.
Stewart
on cover of Life magazine in 1945Already a pilot,
Stewart signed up for the U.S. Army Air Force a year
before Pearl Harbor was attacked. Initially rejected
for being too skinny, he gained weight and
successfully reapplied. His first posting was at
Moffett Field, California. American celebrities who
served in World War II were generally kept out of
harm's way and used for publicity purposes; Stewart
objected to this special treatment, requesting the
same combat duty as other pilots. By the end of the
war, he had flown 20 missions over Europe with the
8th Air Force, piloting a B-24 Liberator. Among his
decorations were the Air Medal, the Distinguished
Flying Cross, the Croix de Guerre and 7 battle
stars. Stewart was reluctant though to speak of the
missions he flew this may have been due to his
dislike of violence.
After WWII, he remained in the
United States Air Force Reserves, achieving the rank
of Brigadier General on July 23, 1959. His final
mission was a bombing run over North Vietnam in a
B-52 during the Vietnam War that he specifically
requested as a close for his military career. He
retired from the Air Force on May 31, 1968.
As an
aviator, he was an appropriate choice to play
Charles Lindbergh, in The Spirit of St. Louis
(1957), and appeared in other aviation films such as
The Flight of the Phoenix (1965). In an episode of
The World at War (1974), he was one of several
former airmen interviewed about his World War II
career.
A
ladies' man, Stewart finally settled down at age 41,
marrying former model Gloria Hatrick McLean on
August 9, 1949, and was devoted to her until her
death. He adopted her two sons; one of them, Ronald,
died on June 8, 1969 in Vietnam. On May 7, 1951,
their twin daughters Judy and Kelly were born.
Later
in his career, Stewart tried for a slight change of
image; although still the hero, he began to play
more challenging parts with a harder edge. He
starred in four highly regarded Alfred Hitchcock
films: Rope (1948), Rear Window (1954), The Man Who
Knew Too Much (1956), and Vertigo (1958). He also
starred in many classic westerns, and in Harvey
(1950), Anatomy of a Murder (1959), and the title
role in The Glenn Miller Story (1953). It is
possible that some of this change of image came from
the fact that a critic stated that the role of
Elwood P. Dowd in Harvey (1950) was too easy a role
for him, so he began taking roles some would think
unusual for him.
In his
later years Stewart became a familiar figure on
Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show, reading poems he
had written.
Jimmy
Stewart is interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park
Cemetery in Glendale, California.
For his
contribution to the recording industry, Jimmy
Stewart has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at
1708 Vine Street. In 1972, he was inducted into the
Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National
Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma.
A
museum dedicated to his life, The Jimmy Stewart
Museum, is located in his hometown of Indiana,
Pennsylvania. There is also a statue of Indiana's
favorite son on the lawn in front of the Indiana
County Courthouse which was dedicated May 20, 1983
in celebration of Stewart's 75th birthday.
Stewart
died on July 2, 1997 from a pulmonary embolism
following respiratory problems. His The Big Sleep
co-star Robert Mitchum died the day before.
*
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Date Article Copied:
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