Friday, May 4, 2012

James Stewart

     I have a lot of classic actors, actresses and also directors that I adore. I love Bette Davis, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, Gregory Peck, Alfred Hitchcock, Lauren Bacall, Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Anne Baxter, Montgomery Clift, Farley Granger, Robert Mitchum and my absolute favorite, Jimmy Stewart. He is a lot of things, great actor, boy next door, handsome, funny, nice, war hero, family man, and very slim. His different characters, through the years, have made people feel comfortable and also made his characters feel rather familiar.



     He made quite a stir in movie history. His most famous movies include It's a Wonderful Life, Rear Window, and Vertigo. The first movie I ever saw him in, well two, Harvey, and An American Tail: Fievel Goes West. Other famous movies include all of his Alfred Hitchcock movies were: Rear Window, Vertigo, Rope and The Man Who Knew Too Much. He was also big in the early years of movies. Not the silent era but early in the 1900s. His first big break, was one of the Thin Man series. After the Thin Man. Which was made in 1936. He then went on to make movies with his first love, Margaret Sullivan, who married his long time best friend, Henry Fonda. The two of them, Margaret and Jimmy, made quite a few movies together. Including, The Shopworn Angel, The Shop Around the Corner, and The Mortal Storm. He also made movies along side the director, Frank Capra. Those movies included: You Can't Take It with You, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and It's a Wonderful Life. 

     Jimmy Stewart was born on May 20, 1908 in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and then died on July 2, 1997, in Los Angeles, California. His full name was James Maitland Stewart. In high school he played, not only the accordion but also football, and also ran track. If football did not make that man a true american, then his love for his country made another big obvious answer of his true feelings toward America. He joined the Air Force, while still an actor, where he made a lot of money, making a lot of movies. He had a safe job, and was also safe in California during the war. Instead, he took a chance, and became a pilot for the air force. He had to eat a lot of his favorite food to reach the required weight. Before he was too thin, his favorite food was a good ol' tuna sandwich. He retired from the air force in 1959.

     If you want to get a little more Jimmy Stewart, you can pick up his biography, Jimmy Stewart. You can go to his museum (like I did ;)) which is located in Indiana, Pennsylvania and completely worth it, you can watch his movies, look up some of his interviews on YouTube, and also find that he is very poetic. Some of his writings have been in Soup for the Soul, the dog ones. He has a poem he wrote for his dog Bo, the name of the poem is Bo, and also he told another story of how he hated a dog for killing a dog he knew and loved.

     He was amazing and well loved. Not only by a lot of movie fans, but also the actors and actresses he worked with, and directors he worked with too. He had a lot of friends and succeeded in life. He ended up getting married, when he was in his early forties. Had children, and had passed away at an old age with family around him.

2 comments:

  1. Lovely tribute. My favorite actor, too. :) Some of the earlier movies that he appeared in are hard to come by, and I haven't seen them all yet.

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  2. Thank you so much, I'm glad to hear I could make a good tribute to such an amazing man.

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