James Stewart

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May 20, 1908

July 2, 1997

James Maitland Stewart

Gloria Hatrick (1949–1994) (her death)

Did we miss any?

The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies (1995) (TV)
A Century of Cinema (1994)
Goof Troop (1 episode, 1992)
Glenn Miller: America's Musical Hero (1992) (TV)
Movie Memories with Debbie Reynolds (1991) TV series (1991)
American Masters (1 episode, 1991)
Yellow Ribbon Party (1991) (TV)
Grace Kelly: The American Princess (1991)
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker (1991)
Frank Capra's 'It's a Wonderful Life': A Personal Remembrance (1991)
An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991) (voice)
My Secret Identity (1 episode, 1991)
A Conversation with Dinah (1989) TV series (1990)
Night of 100 Stars III (1990) (TV)
The Making of 'It's a Wonderful Life' (1990) (TV)
John Ford (1990) (TV)
The Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park Grand Opening (1989) (TV)
The 61st Annual Academy Awards (1989) (TV)
Wogan (1 episode, 1988)
Christmas in Washington (1988) (TV)
The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts (1987) (TV)
A Beverly Hills Christmas (1987) (TV)
Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood (1987) (TV)
The 13th Annual People’s Choice Awards (1987) (TV)
All-Star Party for Joan Collins (1987) (TV)
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life (1987) (TV)
North and South, Book II (6 episodes, 1986)
George Burns' 90th Birthday Party: A Very Special Special (1986) (TV)
The American Film Institute Salute to Billy Wilder (1986) (TV)
All-Star Party for Clint Eastwood (1986) (TV)
The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts (1985) (TV)
The American Film Institute Salute to Gene Kelly (1985) (TV)
The 57th Annual Academy Awards (1985) (TV)
Night of 100 Stars II (1985) (TV)
All-Star Party for Burt Reynolds (1984) (TV)
All-Star Party for Lucille Ball (1984) (TV)
Olympic Gala (1984) (TV)
Today (1 episode, 1984)
Cinéma cinémas (1 episode, 1984)
Palace of Dreams (1984) (uncredited)
The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts (1983) (TV)
George Burns Celebrates 80 Years in Show Business (1983) (TV)
James Bond: The First 21 Years (1983) (TV)
Right of Way (1983) (TV)
All-Star Party for Carol Burnett (1982) (TV)
The American Film Institute Salute to Frank Capra (1982) (TV)
Night of 100 Stars (1982) (TV)
Parkinson (2 episodes, 1973-1982)
The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson (8 episodes, 1970-1981)
The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts (1981) (TV)
High Hopes: The Capra Years (1981) (TV)
The American Film Institute Salute to Fred Astaire (1981) (TV)
All-Star Inaugural Gala (1981) (TV)
The American Film Institute Salute to James Stewart (1980) (TV)
Bob Hope's Overseas Christmas Tours: Around the World with the Troops - 1941-1972 (1980) (TV)
Mr. Krueger's Christmas (1980) (TV)
Afurika monogatari (1980)
The American Film Institute Salute to Alfred Hitchcock (1979) (TV)
V.I.P.-Schaukel (1 episode, 1979)
The Mike Douglas Show (1 episode, 1978)
General Electric's All-Star Anniversary (1978) (TV)
The Carol Burnett Show (1 episode, 1978)
The Magic of Lassie (1978)
The Big Sleep (1978)
The American Film Institute Salute to Henry Fonda (1978) (TV)
NBC: The First Fifty Years - A Closer Look, Part Two (1978) (TV)
Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Jimmy Stewart (1978) (TV)
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Frank Sinatra (1977) (TV)
Airport '77 (1977)
The Shootist (1976)
CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years (1976) (TV)
An All-Star Tribute to John Wayne (1976) (TV)
The American Film Institute Presents a Salute to William Wyler (1976) (TV)
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Bob Hope (1974) (TV)
ABC's Wide World of Entertainment (1 episode, 1974)
That's Entertainment! (1974)
The Dean Martin Show (6 episodes, 1967-1974)
The World at War (1 episode, 1974)
Hawkins (5 episodes, 1973-1974)
Just One More Time (1974) (uncredited)
The American Film Institute Salute to John Ford (1973) (TV)
Hawkins on Murder (1973) (TV)
Harvey (1972) (TV)
The Jimmy Stewart Show (20 episodes, 1971-1972)
The Julie Andrews Hour (1 episode, 1972)
The American West of John Ford (1971) (TV)
Directed by John Ford (1971) (uncredited)
The Pet Set (1 episode, 1971)
Fools' Parade (1971)
The Cheyenne Social Club (1970)
Film Night (1 episode, 1970)
The 24th Annual Tony Awards (1970) (TV)
Bandolero! (1968)
Firecreek (1968)
The 39th Annual Academy Awards (1967) (TV)
The Rare Breed (1966)
The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)
Shenandoah (1965)
Dear Brigitte (1965)
Cheyenne Autumn (1964)
The Jack Benny Program (7 episodes, 1952-1964)
Password (2 episodes, 1963-1964)
The 36th Annual Academy Awards (1964) (TV)
The World's Greatest Showman: The Legend of Cecil B. DeMille (1963) (TV)
What's My Line? (1 episode, 1963)
The Dick Powell Show (1 episode, 1963)
Take Her, She's Mine (1963)
How the West Was Won (1962)
Alcoa Premiere (1 episode, 1962)
Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
X-15 (1961) (voice)
Two Rode Together (1961)
The 33rd Annual Academy Awards (1961) (TV)
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood (1960) (TV)
The Jack Benny Program (1 episode, 1960)
The Mountain Road (1960)
Startime (1 episode, 1959)
The FBI Story (1959)
Lux Playhouse (1 episode, 1959)
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars (1 episode, 1959)
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
The Ed Sullivan Show (3 episodes, 1953-1959)
Bell Book and Candle (1958)
Vertigo (1958)
The 30th Annual Academy Awards (1958) (TV)
The Heart of Show Business (1957)
General Electric Theater (3 episodes, 1955-1957)
Night Passage (1957)
The Spirit of St. Louis (1957)
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
The Man from Laramie (1955)
Arthur Godfrey and His Friends (1 episode, 1955)
Strategic Air Command (1955)
The Colgate Comedy Hour (1 episode, 1955)
The George Gobel Show (1 episode, 1955)
The Far Country (1954)
Rear Window (1954)
The Glenn Miller Story (1954)
Tomorrow's Drivers (1954)
Thunder Bay (1953)
The Naked Spur (1953)
The 25th Annual Academy Awards (1953) (TV)
Carbine Williams (1952)
Bend of the River (1952)
The Greatest Show On Earth (1952)
No Highway (1951)
The Jackpot (1950)
Harvey (1950)
Broken Arrow (1950)
Winchester '73 (1950)
Malaya (1949)
The Stratton Story (1949)
You Gotta Stay Happy (1948)
Rope (1948)
On Our Merry Way (1948)
Call Northside 777 (1948)
10,000 Kids and a Cop (1948)
Thunderbolt (1947)
Magic Town (1947)
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
American Creed (1946)
Screen Snapshots Series 23, No. 1: Hollywood in Uniform (1943)
Winning Your Wings (1942)
Screen Snapshots Series 21, No. 7 (1942)
Fellow Americans (1942) (voice)
Breakdowns of 1941 (1941) (uncredited)
Ziegfeld Girl (1941)
Pot o' Gold (1941)
Come Live with Me (1941)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
No Time for Comedy (1940)
The Mortal Storm (1940)
The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Destry Rides Again (1939)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
It's a Wonderful World (1939)
The Ice Follies of 1939 (1939)
Made for Each Other (1939)
Hollywood Hobbies (1939) (uncredited)
Screen Snapshots Series 18, No. 8 (1939)
Hollywood Goes to Town (1938)
Screen Snapshots Series 17, No. 12 (1938)
You Can't Take It with You (1938)
The Shopworn Angel (1938)
Vivacious Lady (1938)
Of Human Hearts (1938)
Navy Blue and Gold (1937)
The Last Gangster (1937)
Seventh Heaven (1937)
After the Thin Man (1936)
Born to Dance (1936)
The Gorgeous Hussy (1936)
Speed (1936)
Small Town Girl (1936)
Important News (1936) (uncredited)
Wife vs. Secretary (1936)
Next Time We Love (1936)
Rose-Marie (1936)
The Murder Man (1935)
Art Trouble (1934) (uncredited)

Academy Awards

1985 Won Honorary Award for his fifty years of memorable performances for his high ideals both on and off the screen, with respect and affection of his colleagues.

1960 Nominated Oscar Best Actor in a Leading Role for: Anatomy of a Murder (1959)

1951 Nominated Oscar Best Actor in a Leading Role for: Harvey (1950)

1947 Nominated Oscar Best Actor in a Leading Role for: It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

1941 Won Oscar Best Actor in a Leading Role for: The Philadelphia Story (1940)

1940 Nominated Oscar Best Actor in a Leading Role for: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

American Film Institute

1980 Won Life Achievement Award

BAFTA Awards

1960 Nominated BAFTA Film Award Best Foreign Actor for: Anatomy of a Murder (1959) USA

1955 Nominated BAFTA Film Award Best Foreign Actor for: The Glenn Miller Story (1954) USA

Berlin International Film Festival

1982 Won Honorary Golden Berlin Bear

1962 Won Silver Berlin Bear Best Actor for: Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962)

CableACE Awards

1984 Nominated ACE Actor in a Dramatic or Theatrical Program for: Right of Way (1983) (TV)

Film Society of Lincoln Center

1990 Won Gala Tribute

Golden Apple Awards

1970 Won Golden Apple Male Star of the Year Together with Robert S. Young

Golden Boot Awards

1985 Won Golden Boot

Golden Globes, USA

1974 Won Golden Globe Best TV Actor – Drama for: "Hawkins" (1973)

1965 Won Cecil B. DeMille Award

1963 Nominated Golden Globe Best Motion Picture Actor - Musical/Comedy for: Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962)

1951 Nominated Golden Globe Best Motion Picture Actor – Drama for: Harvey (1950)

Hasty Pudding Theatricals, USA

1971 Won Man of the Year

Laurel Awards

1967 Nominated Golden Laurel Male Star 13th place

1966 Nominated Golden Laurel Male Star 15th place

1965 Won Golden Laurel Male Star

1964 Nominated Golden Laurel Top Male Comedy Performance for: Take Her, She's Mine (1963) 4th place

1964 Nominated Golden Laurel Top Male Star 11th place

1963 3rd place Golden Laurel Top Male Comedy Performance for: Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962)

1964 Nominated Golden Laurel Top Male Star 12th place

1962 Nominated Golden Laurel 3rd place Top Action Performance for: Two Rode Together (1961)

1962 Nominated Golden Laurel Top Male Star 14th place

1961 Nominated Golden Laurel Top Male Star 11th place

1960 Won Golden Laurel Top Male Dramatic Performance for: Anatomy of a Murder (1959)

1960 Nominated Golden Laurel Top Male Star 4th place

1959 Nominated Golden Laurel Top Male Star 6th place

1958 Nominated Golden Laurel Top Male Star 5th place

National Board of Review, USA

1990 Won Career Achievement Award

New York Film Critics Circle Awards

1959 Won NYFCC Award Best Actor for: Anatomy of a Murder (1959)

1939 Won NYFCC Award Best Actor for: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

Palm Springs International Film Festival

1992 Won Desert Palm Achievement Award

Photoplay Awards

1949 Won Most Popular Male Star for: The Stratton Story (1949)

San Sebastián International Film Festival

1958 Won Zulueta Prize Best Actor for: Vertigo (1958). Tied with Kirk Douglas for The Vikings (1958)

Screen Actors Guild Awards

1969 Won Life Achievement Award

ShoWest Convention, USA

1990 Won Lifetime Achievement Award

Venice Film Festival

1959 Won Volpi Cup Best Actor for: Anatomy of a Murder (1959)

Walk of Fame

Star on the Walk of Fame Motion Picture At 1700 Vine Street

Western Heritage Awards

1963 Won Bronze Wrangler Theatrical Motion Picture for: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). Shared with: Willis Goldbeck (producer) | John Ford (director) | James Warner Bellah (writer) | Lee Marvin, Edmond O'Brien, Vera Miles & John Wayne (actors)

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Sometimes I wonder if I'm doing a Jimmy Stewart imitation myself.

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.

I don't act. I react.

The big studios were an ideal way to make films - because they were a home base for people. When you were under contract, you had no chance to relax.

If I had my career over again? Maybe I'd say to myself, "Speed it up a little".

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Actor James Stewart was the son of Elizabeth Ruth (née Jackson) and Alexander Maitland Stewart, who owned a hardware store, which had been in the family for three generations.

He was educated at a local prep school, Mercersburg Academy, where he was a keen athlete, musician and sometime actor.

He attended Princeton University from 1925 to 1929, graduating with a bachelor's degree in architecture.

He was the first movie star to enter the service for World War II, joining a year before Pearl Harbor was bombed. He was initially refused entry into the Air Force because he weighed 5 pounds less than the required 148 pounds, but he talked the recruitment officer into ignoring the test. He eventually became a colonel (active duty) and then a brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. He had earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, the French Croix de Guerre, and other decorations. He served in the Air Force Reserve before retiring as a brigadier general. (Walter Matthau was a sergeant in his unit active-duty unit during World War II).

Medals Awarded

Distinguished Service Medal

Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf cluster

Air Medal with three Oak Leaf clusters

Army Commendation Medal

American Defense Service Medal

European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with three Service Stars

World War II Victory Medal

Armed Forces Reserve Medal

French Croix de Guerre with Palm

Presidential Medal of Freedom

Stewart was a staunch supporter of the Republican Party and actively campaigned for Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. He was a hawk on the Vietnam War, and maintained that his adopted son, Ronald, did not die in vain.

He never took an acting lesson.

He played the accordion.

Deliberately exaggerated his accent in films after he returned from World War II, because several directors told him he needed to create a persona in order to sell his films to the public, particularly with the rising popularity of television.

He wore the same hat in all of his westerns.

In 1938, Stewart had a brief, tumultuous romance with Hollywood queen Norma Shearer, whose husband, Irving Thalberg, head of production at MGM, had died two years earlier.

One of his best friends was fellow actor Henry Fonda, despite the fact that the two had very different political ideologies. A political argument in 1947 resulted in a fist fight between them, but they maintained their friendship by never discussing politics again.

He had a dislike of Hollywood war movies, explaining that they were hardly ever accurate.

Stewart wore a toupee and had hearing problems.

Underwent surgery for skin cancer in 1983.

The James Stewart Museum was dedicated in Indiana, Pennsylvania on Saturday, May 20th, 1995.

Stewart never recovered from his wife's death and he vowed to make no further public appearances after her funeral service. Thereafter, he spent most of his time in his bedroom.

He had undergone surgery for skin cancer in 1983. In April 1993 he underwent heart surgery and had a pacemaker installed. On January 31, 1997, he tripped over a plant in his bedroom and was rushed to a hospital for stitches to close a bloody gash in his forehead. There it was discovered that he had skin cancer which appeared to be untreatable. He was sent home.

On July 2, 1997, an embolism lodged in his lungs. The clot caused a heart attack that killed him instantly.

He is interred at the Forest Lawn Cemetery, Glendale, California, in the Wee Kirk O'the Heathers Churchyard , on the left side, up the huge slope, to the left of the Taylor Monument, in space 2, lot 8.

Salary

Art Trouble (1934) $50/day

The Murder Man (1935) $350/week

Rose-Marie (1936) $350/week

Next Time We Love (1936) $350/week

Wife vs. Secretary (1936) $350/week

Important News (1936) $350/week

Small Town Girl (1936) $350/week

Speed (1936) $350/week

The Gorgeous Hussy (1936) $350/week

Born to Dance (1936) $350/week

After the Thin Man (1936) $350/week

Seventh Heaven (1937) $350/week

The Last Gangster (1937) $350/week

Navy Blue and Gold (1937) $350/week

Of Human Hearts (1938) $350/week

Vivacious Lady (1938) $350/week

The Shopworn Angel (1938) $350/week

You Can't Take It with You (1938) $350/week

Made for Each Other (1939) $350/week

The Ice Follies of 1939 (1939) $350/week

Lux Radio Theater (1930's-1940's) $5,000 per performance

The Philadelphia Story (1940) $3,000/week

Rope (1948) $300,000

Winchester '73 (1950) $600,000

Harvey (1950) $200,000 + % net profits

The Greatest Show On Earth (1952) $50,000

The Shootist (1976) $50,000

Right of Way (1983) (TV) $250,000

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