Word Celebrity Blog

James Maitland Stewart

James Stewart was raised in Indiana, Pennsylvania, his father was the proud owner of the town’s hardware store. His father worked tirelessly to make the store a success, and believed that one day his son Jimmy would take over the business that had been in the family for three generations. Starting at age 10, he expected young Jimmy to come to the store after school to help out and learn the ropes.

Jimmy  often told people “My earliest memories are of hardware smells. The dry aroma of coiled rope. The sweet smell of linseed oil and baseball gloves. The acid tang of open nail kegs. When I open my nose, they all come back to me.”




















Young Jimmy (far right) stands outside the J.M. Stewart Co. Hardware store in Indiana. The store was owned by Jimmy;s father, Alexander (at rear in doorway).


Alexander Stewart was an Ivy League educated man who had served in both the Spanish-American War and World War I and presided over his family with manly bearing. Jimmy idolized his father and wanted to fulfill his expectations and make him proud. When he said he wanted to be a pilot and attend the Naval Academy, he acquiesced to his father’s desire that he follow in his footsteps and attend Princeton.

























Upon graduation, Jimmy Stewart planned to continue his education by getting a masters degree in architecture. He would then be expected to come home to Indiana, take over the hardware store, and perhaps expand into the home building business.






















But after Princeton, Jimmy Stewart joined an acting company for what started as a summer stint. When he made the decision to keep on acting instead of returning to school in the fall, his father was not at all pleased with the change in plans. Jimmy remembered: “Dad was upset. My father didn’t like it at all-till the day he died he didn’t like it…he kept shaking his head, saying, ‘No Stewart has ever gone into show business!’” “My mother approved, my father just didn't accept the idea of my being an actor. I think that's the reason he kept the hardware store in operation, because I think he was pretty sure that I was going to be found out sooner or later, and he wanted to have a job for me to come back to.”


























Alexander Stewart never completely warmed up to the idea of his son being an actor. Even after the huge success of Jimmy’s first breakout film, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, He called Jimmy and told him to quit the movie nonsense and come back home to get married, start a family, and help run the store. It was a plea Jimmy would hear for pretty much the rest of his life.


























Jimmy respected his father but he was his own man with his own dreams and his own life to lead. Although he was tempted to return to the quiet life of Pennsylvania throughout his whole life, his passion for acting kept him making movies into his old age.

When Henry Fonda moved to Hollywood in 1934, he was again a roommate with Stewart in an apartment in Brentwood] and the two gained a reputation as playboys. Once married, both men's children noted that their favorite activity when not working seemed to be quietly sharing time together while building and painting model airplanes, a hobby they had taken up in New York, years earlier.


























When Jimmy Stwart won the Best Actor Oscar in 1940 for his role in "The Philadelphia Story," he sent it to his father saying, "It belongs to us both." His dad, who owned a hardware store, kept it on a shelf or in the store window for 25 years where it could be viewed by the customers.

I grew up about an hour's drive from the hometown of Jimmy Stewart - Indiana, Pennsylvania. I never had the opportunity of meeting Jimmy, but, I knew his father, Alex Stewart, who ran the local hardware store in which you could see Jimmy's Oscar statue for "The Philadelphia Story" in the front window.

During one of our conversations, he mentioned that as a small boy Jimmy had been very impressed with the family’s military background which dated back to the Civil War.

As it was getting closer to the day that America would inevitably becomr involved in WWII, Jimmy Stewart
wanted to be a part of the service as well. He tried to enlist, hoping his private pilot license would gain him a position as fighter pilot.



























The United States Army Air Corps had strict height and weight requirements for new recruits and Stewart was five pounds underweight for his height. To get up to 148 pounds he sought out the help of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's trainer, Don Loomis, who was legendary for his ability to add or subtract pounds in his studio gymnasium. Jimmy Stewart again attempted to enlist in the United States Army Air Corps but still came in under the weight requirement by an ounce. He persuaded the enlistment officer to run new tests, this time passing the weigh-in by one ounce. Jimmy Stewart successfully enlisted in the Army in March 1941. Pearl Harbor was attacked 8 months later. He is recognized as the first major American movie star to wear a
military uniform in World War II.

Throughout Jimmy Stewart’s military career, he insisted on not being treated special which resulted in him steadily working his way from private to colonel in four years. He first, started out as an instructor for new pilots.

The Army, afraid that losing Jimmy Stewart in combat would be a heavy blow to American morale, was intent on keeping him from shipping out. Stewart grew increasingly exasperated as the other men were shipped overseas while he was left to train more pilots, make recruitment films, and be trotted out in uniform for various publicity events. Jimmy Stewart continually and persistently implored his commanding officers to put him on active duty.







 When Stewart joined the 445th in Sioux City, he so impressed Colonel Robert Terrill, Commanding Officer of the 445th Bombardment Group that in a matter of weeks the Colonel put him in command of the 703rd Bomb Squadron division, consisting of a dozen B-24 bombers and 350 soldiers and flyers. One of his crew sergeants was future actor Walter Mathau.

In late November 1943, Stewart led his B-24 squadron on the “southern route” to England — Florida; Puerto Rico; Brazil; Dakar, Africa; and the long flight over the Atlantic from Marrakech, Morocco, to Prestwick, Scotland.




















Once in Britain, Jimmy Stewart flew missions as dangerous as any other Airman. leading squadrons on bombing runs into Germany and occupied France. As a means to inspire his new group, Stewart flew as command pilot in the lead B-24 on numerous missions deep into Nazi-occupied Europe. These missions went uncounted  at Stewart's orders. His "official" total is listed as 20 and are limited to those with the 445th. The B-24s were Besieged on each mission by the German Luftwaffe. Stewart's plane escaped many narrow misses. Many of his fellow airmen were not so lucky. He watched the planes as they fell from the sky, hoping to see parachutes.

Home base in England for the 445th was Tibenham, less than 100 miles from London. Terrell had his crews in the air immediately. In 18 days, the 445th flew seven missions, and, of these, Stewart flew four. He spent his entire combat tour assigned to B-24 Liberator units in the 8th Air Force, rising from squadron operations officer to wing commander.
























He was promoted to squadron commander and major in January 1944, and continued to fly a heavy combat schedule, including Brunswick in February, for which the 8th U.S. Army Air Force commander, Gen. Jimmy Doolittle, awarded James Stewart the Distinguished Flying Cross (his first of two).

























Stewart twice received the Distinguished Flying Cross for actions in combat and was awarded the Croix de Guerre. He also received the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters. In July 1944, after flying 20 combat missions, Jimmy Stewart was made chief of staff of the 2nd Combat Bombardment Wing of the Eighth Air Force. Before the war ended, he was promoted to colonel, one of only a few Americans to rise from private to colonel in four years.





















At the beginning of June 1945, James Stewart was the presiding officer of the court martial of a pilot and navigator who were charged with dereliction of duty when they accidentally bombed the Swiss city of Zurich the previous March - the first instance of US personnel being tried over an attack on a neutral country. The Court acquitted the accused.


























Jimmy Stewart insisted that he was just one of the boys, no more important than any other serviceman. THe refused to talk to reporters about his war experiences or appear in any kind of publicity event that capitalized on his service. He also refused to act in movies that depicted combat, leading him to turn down lucrative roles in big movies like Midway and The Longest Day. He explained, “They’re just hardly ever the way it really is.”



















Stewart adopted her two sons, Michael and Ronald, and with Gloria he had twin daughters, Judy and Kelly, on May 7, 1951. The couple remained married until her death from lung cancer on February 16, 1994. Ronald McLean was killed in action on June 8, 1969, at the age of 24, while serving as a Marine Corps Lieutenant in Vietnam. Dr. Kelly Stewart is an anthropologist at the University of California, Davis.

One of his best friends was Henry Fonda, despite the fact that the two men had very different political ideologies. A political argument in 1947 resulted in a fist fight between them, but the two apparently maintained their friendship by never discussing politics again. There is brief reference to their political differences in character in their movie The Cheyenne Social Club. However, in the last years of his life, his political views may have taken a more moderate turn, as he supported moderate Republicans

Stewart continued to play an active role in the United States Air Force Reserve after the war, achieving the rank of Brigadier General on 23 July 1959. Stewart did not often talk of his wartime service, perhaps due to his desire to be seen as a regular soldier doing his duty instead of as a celebrity. He did appear on the TV series, The World At War to discuss the 14 October, 1943 bombing mission to Schweinfurt, which was the center of the German ball bearing manufacturing industry. This mission is known in USAF history as Black Thursday due to the incredibly high casualties it sustained; in total 60 aircraft were lost out of 291 dispatched, as the raid consisting entirely of B17s was unescorted all the way to Schweinfurt and back due to the current escort aircraft available lacking the range.

Fittingly, he was identified only as "James Stewart, Squadron Commander" in the documentary.















 In 1966, Brigadier General James Stewart rode along as an observer on a B-52 Stratofortress bombing run during the Vietnam War; he also flew combat duty missions during that conflict. At the time of his B-52 mission, he refused the release of any publicity regarding his participation as he did not want it treated as a stunt, but as part of his job as an officer in the Air Force Reserve.

When America employed the draft for The Vietnam War, a lot of young men dodged the draft. James Stewart has been quoted as saying, “I hate them! I absolutely hate them! Whether right or wrong, their country was at war and their country asked them to serve, and they refused and ran away. Cowards, that’s what they were.” Stewart himself flew with missions during that same war as well. His stepson, 1st Lt. Ronald McLean, was killed at age 24 in the Vietnam War when his unit was ambushed while on a reconnaissance patrol near the DMZ.

























By the end of James Stewart’s military career, he had risen to the rank of Brigadier General and remains to be one of the few men to rise from private to colonel in four years. Steward has been the recipient of the Croix de Guerre award, Presidential Medal of Freedom, Distinguished Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, as well as receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross twice and the Air Medal four times.

He served as Air Force Reserve commander of Dobbins Air Force Base in the early 1950s and after 27 years of service, until he was forced into retirement and left the Air Force with the rank of Brigadier General. He officially retired from the military  on 31 May 1968.

























When Jimmy Stewart was first sent to Europe to fly bombing missions, his father gave him a letter in which he wrote, "Jim, I'm banking on the enclosed copy of the 91st Psalm. The thing that takes the place of fear and worry is the promise of these words. I am staking my faith in these words. I feel sure that God will lead you through this mad experience. God bless you and keep you. I love you more than I can tell you. Dad."

Stewart carried the letter with him for the rest of his life, and the words from the Psalm that his father gave him are written on his grave marker: "For He shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways."

























Indiana Free Library and the Jimmy Stewart Museum, Indiana, Pennsylvania


The Indiana County Airport in his hometown was re-named the Jimmy Stewart Airport. His military uniform and decorations can be seen at the Jimmy Stewart Museum in Indiana, PA.

























James Stewart was active in philanthropic affairs over the years. His signature charity event, "The Jimmy Stewart Relay Marathon Race", held each year since 1982, has raised millions of dollars for the Child and Family Development Center at St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California.

Stewart was a lifelong supporter of Scouting. He was a Second Class Scout when he was a youth, an adult Scout leader, and a recipient of the prestigious Silver Buffalo Award from the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). In later years, he made advertisements for BSA, which led to him sometimes incorrectly being identified as an Eagle Scout.[78] (Jefferson Smith in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, was also the leader of the "Boy Rangers", a fictional organization patterned after cub scouts.) An award for Boy Scouts, "The James M. Stewart Good Citizenship Award" has been presented since May 17, 2003.



















One of Stewart's lesser-known talents was his homespun poetry. He once read a poem that he had written about his dog, entitled "Beau," while on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. By the end of this reading, Carson's eyes were welling with tears.  This was later parodied on a late 1980s episode of the NBC sketch show Saturday Night Live, with Dana Carvey as Stewart reciting the poem on Weekend Update and bringing anchor Dennis Miller to tears.

























In addition to poetry, Jimmy Stewart would talk during Tonight Show appearances about his avid gardening. He purchased the house next door to his own home at 918 North Roxbury Drive, razed the house, and installed his garden in the lot.


























Shortly before his 80th birthday, he was asked how he wanted to be remembered. He replied "As someone who 'believed in hard work and love of country, love of family and love of community.'"


























Jimmy Stewart died at his home of a pulmonary blood clot at the age of eighty nineon July 2, 1997. Hiss funeral service was held at The Presbyterian Church which was the family church in Beverly Hills. The Stewart family sat in the same pew for forty years. Here he was married and where his wife's funeral was held a few years prior to his own.  He is interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California


















"America lost a national treasure today," President Bill Clinton said on the day Stewart died. "Jimmy Stewart was a great actor, a gentleman and a patriot."

 He was presented a Life Achievement Award by The American Film Institute. His movie "It's A Wonderful Life" has become a classic and part of the American Christmas tradition with a showing by almost every TV station in the land on Christmas day. He was awarded the Medal of Freedom, "America's highest Civilian Honor."