James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997), also known as Jimmy Stewart, was an American actor and military officer. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality he portrayed both on and off the screen, he epitomized the "American ideal" in the twentieth century. In 1999, the American Film Institute (AFI) ranked him third on its list of the greatest American male actors.
SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY
You Can't Take it With You (1939)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1940)
The Philadelphia Story (1941)
It's a Wonderful Life (1947)
The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
How the West Was Won (1964)
10 FUN FACTS!
Jimmy Stewart had a degree in architecture from Princeton University.
He was also the head male cheerleader at Princeton.
During his university years, Jimmy met a young Henry Fonda. They started as roommates and remained best friends for the rest of their lives.
He also served in the US Air Force during World War II.
Jimmy won only one Oscar in his career, a Best Actor award for The Philadelphia Story. It sat on display in his father's hardware store in Indiana, Pennsylvania for 25 years.
You can visit a statue of Jimmy Stewart in his hometown of Indiana. A 9-foot-tall bronze statue of the late actor stands outside the county courthouse, close to the nearby Jimmy Stewart Museum.
He was dubbed "The Great American Bachelor" because he remained unmarried until he was in his 40s.
Jimmy also had a secret talent: he could play the accordion.
He was also a talented poet. He even wrote a book of poetry, which included an ode to his beloved dog, Beau. He read it on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and both he and Carson ended the performance in tears.
A patriot through and through, Jimmy was descended from veterans of the American Revolution, the War of 1812 and the American Civil War.
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