Jimmy Stewart Biography

(born May 20, 1908, Indiana, Pennsylvania, U.S.—died July 2, 1997, Beverly Hills, California) major American motion-picture star known for his portrayals of diffident but morally resolute characters.

Stewart graduated from Princeton University with a degree in architecture and became part of the University Players at Falmouth, Massachusetts, joining such future film actors as Henry Fonda and Margaret Sullavan. During the years 1932–33, Stewart appeared in a few unsuccessful Broadway plays in which he was usually singled out for praise by New York critics. These positive reviews led to a motion-picture contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1934; after a couple of uncredited bit parts, he made his film debut in The Murder Man (1935) with Spencer Tracy. At first, Stewart's slow, halting line delivery (perhaps his most readily identifiable trademark) and angular features made him difficult to typecast. His naive, engaging manner, however, led to quick acceptance by the moviegoing public. Stewart was loaned to Columbia for two Frank Capra films that proved pivotal in his career: You Can't Take It with You (1938) and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), which brought him his first Oscar nomination for his portrayal of a shy, idealistic young senator fighting corruption in Congress. He won an Oscar the following year for another film classic, The Philadelphia Story (1940).

Sensing America's eventual involvement in the war in Europe, Stewart enlisted in the armed forces in March 1941. An avid pilot in civilian life, he was assigned to the Air Corps and logged more than 1,800 hours of flight time in bomber missions. Before he returned to civilian life in 1945, he had risen to the rank of colonel and had been decorated several times. His first film upon returning to Hollywood was Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (1946), for which Stewart received his third Oscar nomination. Though the film generated mediocre box office at the time of its release, it has since become one of the most beloved films of all time, largely because of its numerous television showings since the 1970s. In 1999 it ranked 11th on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 greatest movies of all time.

As he approached age 40, it was clear that Stewart could no longer maintain the “naive young innocent” persona he had established in his prewar films. His collaborations with directors Alfred Hitchcock and Anthony Mann helped toughen his image and broaden his appeal. Of Stewart's Hitchcock films, the experimental Rope (1948) and The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) are well-regarded, and Rear Window (1954) and Vertigo (1958) rank as masterpieces. For Hitchcock, Stewart embodied an American Everyman, albeit one whose private quirks and obsessions threatened a tragic outcome. The films Stewart made for Mann proved the actor capable of rugged western roles, especially in the classics Winchester '73 (1950) and The Man from Laramie (1955). Stewart and Mann collaborated on eight films, including six westerns and the sentimental biopic The Glenn Miller Story (1954), which was one of Stewart's most popular movies.