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James Stewart was an American actor, known for his role as Mike Connor in the 1940 movie "The Philadelphia Story." Here are 50 interesting facts about the Academy Award winning actor
- He was nominated for 5 Academy Awards during his acting career spanning 60 years, including in 1940 when he won the Best Actor award for “The Philadelphia Story”.
- He was however not happy to receive the Best Actor Award for his performance in “The Philadelphia Story” since he had initially felt miscast. He thought Henry Fonda for “The Grapes of Wrath” should have won.
- He kept his Oscar that he won in 1941 on the window of his father’s hardware store in Philadelphia Street in Indiana. The word Philadelphia on the Oscar is misspelled.
- He was born as James Maitland Stewart on 20 May, 1908, in Indiana Pennsylvania to Elizabeth Ruth Jackson and Alexander Maitland Stewart.
- His mother was an excellent Pianist while his father maintained a Hardware store which was in the family for three generations. Young Stewart was expected to carry forward the family business.
- He is the eldest of the 3 children with Virginia and Mary being his two younger sisters.
- He had also worked as brick loader for a local construction company and had also painted lines on highways during his summer breaks.
- His first on stage appearance was for the play “The Wolves” at Mercersburg. He graduated from Mercersburg Academy prep school in 1928.
- Influenced by the legendary flight of Charles Lindbergh in 1927, 19 year old Stewart was dreaming and preparing to become an aviator. However on his father’s insistence he enrolled at Princeton University in 1928.
- He was awarded a scholarship for graduate studies on the basis of his excellent thesis on airport design. However he was attracted towards drama and music at the Princeton University.
- Both his grandfathers were part of the Civil War and even his father was part of Spanish –American war and World War I. His family members were in the infantry during wars but he chose to be a Flier during World War II.
- In 1935 he got his private pilot certificate and by 1938 he received his commercial pilot certificate. He often flew to visit his parents in Pennsylvania navigating by the railway tracks.
- Citing the need for more trained pilots during War, he along with Hollywood celebrities invested in a Pilot training school in Grendale, Arizona named the “Thunderbird Field”. It later became part of US Army Air Force training facility.
- He became the first American movie star to wear Military uniform for World War II. He was inducted into the US Army on 22 March, 1941.
- He was initially rejected from Army due to him being under weight for his height. He sought the help of Don Loomis, trainer of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to improve his weight to 143 pounds.
- The USAAF needing 100,000 new recruits to win the war shot scenes of Lieutenant Stewart in his pilot flight jacket in the short film “Winning Your Wings”. The result was 150,000 new recruits.
- He flew with his combat crew to his first combat mission on 13 December, 1943. The mission was to bomb U-boats in Kiel, Germany followed by another mission in Bremen. He led his group in both the missions.
- He was honored with Distinguished Flying Cross for his achievements as deputy commander of the 2nd Combat Bombardment Wing in February 1944. He flew 2 more missions that week.
- He was presiding officer during court martial of a pilot and a navigator on June 1945. They were charges with accidentally bombing Zurich in Switzerland. This being the first instance of a US personal tried for an attack on neutral country.
- He also served as Air Force reserved commander of Dobbins Air Force Base. He was promoted to colonel in 1953.
- He was promoted to Brigadier General on 23 July, 1959.
- He also took part in Arc Light bombing mission in Vietnam War. He was a non-duty observer in a B-52 bomber on 20 February, 1966.
- He retired from Air Force on 31 May, 1968, after completion of 27 years of service.
- He married former model Gloria Hatrick McLean on 9 August, 1949. He was 41 at that time.
- He has 2 twin daughters: Judy and Kelly born on 7 May, 1951. He also adopted McLean’s sons Michael and Ronald post marriage.
- The couple remained married until her death on 16 February, 1994 at the age of 75. Their son Ronald, at the age of 24 was killed in action in Vietnam on 8 June, 1969.
- “The James M. Stewart Good Citizenship Award”, an award for Boy Scouts is being presented since 2003.
- He is also a recipient of Silver Buffalo Award presented by Boy Scouts of America.
- One of his other talents as a poet came to the light when he recited his homespun poem on his dog titled “Beau” on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson”. By the end of it Carson was on tears.
- Once he bought the neighboring house at 918 North Roxbury Drive, completely razed the house and put up his own garden there.
- He actively supported Republican Party and campaigned for Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagon.
- Henry Fonda, a fellow actor has been his best friend despite having different political ideologies. As said by Stewart “Our views never interfered with our feeling for each other, we just didn’t talk about certain things. I can’t remember ever having an argument with him- ever!”
- After moving to Hollywood Henry Fonda would spend time together with Stewart building and painting model airplanes. The two had taken up this hobby together, years earlier.
- Stewart was hospitalized in December 1995 after falling over. He was due for a battery change in his pacemaker in December 1996, but opted for natural things to happen.
- His final words at the death bed were “I am going to be with Gloria now”. He died on 2 July 1997 at the age of 89.
- Stewart’s father was very much offended by the movie “Anatomy of a Murder” and deemed it as “a dirty picture”. He advertised in the local newspaper urging people to not watch it. Stewart was nominated for best actor at the Oscars for this movie.
- In the movie “Rear Window” he uses a 400 mm prime telephoto lens which on magnification would definitely require a tripod for effective viewing.
- Grace Kelly may have been too beautiful and friendly for Stewart’s wife and the studio. She was known to have affairs with the leading men and has confessed to gossip columns that she finds Stewart more masculine and attractive.
- “Vertigo” became the last movie where Alfred Hitchcock and Stewart worked together. The movie was a commercial failure and Hitchcock blamed it on lead actor for looking too old and not able to attract audiences anymore.
- After the death of Stewart “Vertigo” was re-released in Castro Theatre in San Francisco. It did more business than any other movie that weekend.
- “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” was to be the sequel of “Mr. Deeds goes to Town” and Gary Cooper was to reprise his role. However he was not available and Stewart was borrowed from MGM. He won his first Oscar nomination.
- For the crucial last scene in “Mr. Smith goes to Washington” where his throat becomes hoarse, they used mercuric chloride periodically. Both Frank Capra and Stewart admitted during an interview.
- In “The Man Who Knew Too Much” Stewart’s fingers were painted white so that he would leave white marks on the other man. Actually the scene required a black substance to be painted on a character who is disguising as a Moroccan. They could not find such substance which would come off easily.
- “You are not a coward, you are not a coward” were the lines John Ford whispered in Stewart’s ear. Stewart kept on fumbling with his lines during the stagecoach holdup scene in “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” and those soothing words made him nail the take.
- Out of frustration John Ford shouted “Great, so this is what my career has come to- directing two deaf hairpieces!” on the sets of “Two Rode Together”. Stewart and Richard Widmark wore hairpieces and both had hearing problems.
- The movie was a critical and commercial failure and the lead character’s age were blamed for it. Stewart was 52 and Widmark was 45 during “The Two Together”.
- Stewart was 54 at the time of “How the West Was Won” in 1962. However he was cast as a 28 year old. He felt miscast in the movie but was offered the role since Gary Cooper, the initial choice died before filming began.
- He played as Lt. Colonel in the movie “Strategic Air Command” where as he held a higher rank of Colonel at that time in the US Air Force Reserve.
- During the premier of “The Glenn Miller Story” in 1954 Glenn Miller’s mother was also present. She thought the movie was good but also opined that her son was good looking than the lead character Stewart.
- “Rope” in 1948 was the first movie with Hitchcock which Stewart felt miscast as a professor. He makes his first appearance after 28 minutes into the movie.
