Stevens, Ray (1939-)

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Stevens, Ray (1939-)

One of the most universally recognized and loved movie stars of the twentieth century, the prolific and popular career of iconic actor Jimmy Stewart spanned six decades, from the 1930s to the 1980s, as well as many filmmaking genres, from comedy to serious drama, from the dark Westerns of the 1950s to the brilliant suspense of Alfred Hitchcock. No matter what part Jimmy Stewart played, audiences responded to the gangly, good-looking actor, believing that underneath it all, he was always a good man, as his "aw shucks" personality endeared him to fans around the world.

Born in the small town of Indiana, Pennsylvania, to Elizabeth and Alexander Stewart, James Maitland Stewart was raised in a loving middle class home. His father was the proprietor of the local J.M. Stewart Hardware Store (which would become famous as the home of Stewart's Academy Award, which stayed in the store window for many years), and by all accounts Jimmy had a happy and normal childhood. Upon graduation from high school, he decided, with encouragement from his very practical father, to study civil engineering and architecture at Princeton University, from which he graduated in 1932 with honors. While at college, however, he became involved in the theater group, the Triangle Club, where he met fellow student (and future director), Joshua Logan. After graduation Logan invited Stewart to join the University Players, his summer stock theater company in Massachusetts.

After making his professional debut with the Players, Stewart abandoned architecture forever, much to his parents' displeasure. He eventually moved to Broadway to appear in the production, Carry Nation, which was not successful. His next role, however, was in Goodbye Again, in which he had appeared in Massachusetts. This production was a hit, earning Stewart excellent notices, and by 1934 he was working steadily, when he was hired by producer/director Guthrie McClintic, husband of stage actress Katharine Cornell, to appear in the play Yellow Jack. Stewart received rave reviews. It was during this production that Stewart also appeared in his first motion picture, a small uncredited role in Art Trouble.

In 1935, while Stewart was visiting his family, he received an offer from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to appear in a small role in Murder Man starring Spencer Tracy. MGM signed him to a standard seven-year contract and put him in several productions, but his first real break came when an old friend from his University Player days, actress Margaret Sullavan, insisted on him as her co-star in Next Time We Love (1935). A second break came when Stewart played opposite Eleanor Powell in Born to Dance, where he introduced the Cole Porter song, "Easy to Love." While his singing was unremarkable, Born to Dance was one of the biggest hits of 1936. Stewart continued to appear in films such as After the Thin Man and Seventh Heaven.

It was a film released in 1939 that finally made Stewart a major star. He had worked with director Frank Capra previously on the classic comedy, You Can't Take it With You. When Capra needed a leading man for his new picture, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, he wanted no one else for the role of the idealistic young man who is thrust into the corrupt world of Washington politics. The film and Stewart were a sensation, although many political figures denounced the inference that the government of the United States might contain corrupt elements. For his performance, Stewart won the New York Film Critic's Best Actor Award. He was also nominated for an Academy Award, but was a surprising loser to Robert Donat in Goodbye, Mr. Chips. The following year he costarred with Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant in The Philadelphia Story and took home an Oscar for that performance, though many felt it was a consolation prize for Mr. Smith.

In 1941 America entered World War II, which put a temporary hold on Stewart's career. He was one of the very first movie stars to enlist in the military, earning a distinguished record as an Air Force pilot and commander and becoming one of the highest ranking officers in the U.S. Auxiliary Air Force, rising to the rank of colonel.

For his first film project after the war, Stewart chose to work with Frank Capra again. It's a Wonderful Life is now considered a classic and a Christmas staple, but when it was originally released the audience and critics alike did not particularly care for it. Capra and Stewart were disappointed with the reception the picture received and both maintained in later years that it was their favorite film.

The late 1940s saw many changes in the life of Jimmy Stewart. First, at the age of 41, Stewart married Gloria McLean and became an instant father to Gloria's children from a previous marriage. He also decided that his career needed to take a different direction. This led to two successful collaborations each with directors Anthony Mann and Alfred Hitchcock. The results were some of Stewart's darkest and most critically acclaimed works—Winchester 73 and Broken Arrow with Mann, and Rear Window and Vertigo with Hitchcock. The latter is considered by many to be Stewart's finest performance and Hitchcock's masterpiece.

After the 1950s Stewart continued to do film work, although good roles became more infrequent. By the 1970s, he had turned to television, appearing in two shorted-lived television series, The Jimmy Stewart Show (1971-1972) and Hawkins (1973-1974). He also did several made-for-television movies, such as Mr. Krueger's Christmas in 1980 and Right of Way with Bette Davis in 1983. In 1980 he received the American Film Institutes Lifetime Achievement Award.His last film performance was as the voice of the gunfighting dog, Wylie Burp in An American Tail: Fievel Goes West. Stewart continued to be active until the death of his wife, Gloria, in 1994. His health began failing soon after and he died in 1997.

Jimmy Stewart will long be remembered as exemplifying the best of America. His heroic roles and his devotion to his family made Americans feel he was a part of their own family, making him one of the best-loved figures of twentieth-century American popular culture.

—Jill A. Gregg