James (Jimmy) Stewart

James (Jimmy) Stewart

By Tom Kirvan

An acclaimed American actor known for his distinctive drawl, Academy Award-winning actor James (Jimmy) Stewart ranks among the finest movie stars of all time, with a career that spanned six decades.

Born in Indiana, Pa. on May 20, 1908, Stewart began his acting career while studying architecture at Princeton University, making his Broadway debut in “Carry Nation,” a 1932 play that told the story of the American temperance advocate and ax-wielding woman who would go to any length to save people from the evils of alcohol.

While Stewart wouldn’t go to such extremes in pursuit of his acting career, he did show a certain doggedness that helped him land a key role in “You Can’t Take It with You” in 1938 and then “The Philadelphia Story,” a 1940 romantic comedy for which he received the Academy Award for Best Actor. He would go on to receive four other Oscar nods for his performances in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “Harvey,” and the 1959 mystery “Anatomy of a Murder.”

James (Jimmy) Stewart*

In “Anatomy,” Stewart portrayed a down-on-his-luck small town lawyer in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan who represents an Army lieutenant accused of killing a local barkeeper that the defendant said raped his wife. The movie was based on a best-selling book written by John Voelker, who wrote under the pen name of Robert Traver. The movie, which was filmed in various sites around the Upper Peninsula, featured an all-star cast headed by Stewart, George C. Scott, Ben Gazzara, Eve Arden, and Lee Remick. The American Bar Association rated it as one of the 12 best trial movies of all time, while a UCLA law professor called it “probably the finest pure trial movie ever made.”

For Stewart, the movie was one of his favorites, ranking up there with “Vertigo,” “Rear Window,” and “The Spirit of St. Louis,” a film that depicted the heroics of aviator Charles Lindbergh.

Stewart was an Army veteran of World War II, commanding the 703rd Bombardment Squad from 1941-47 before transferring to the Air Force Reserve from which he retired in 1968 as a brigadier general. A bachelor until 1949, Stewart married former model Gloria McLean and the couple had twin daughters. His wife died in 1994, while Stewart passed away three years later at the age of 89, leaving behind such sayings as:

“Never treat your audience as customers, always as partners.”
“I have my own rules and adhere to them. The rule is simple but inflexible. A James Stewart picture must have two vital ingredients. It will be clean and it will involve the triumph of the underdog over the bully.”
“We all look the same with our helmets on.”
“Fear is an insidious and deadly thing. It can warp judgment, freeze reflexes, breed mistakes. Worse, it’s contagious.”

*Studio publicity still, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons