James Stewart
One of the most beloved actors in show business, (especially by Joy) James "Jimmy" Stewart was born on May 20, 1908 in Indiana, Pennsylvania to parents who owned a hardware store. Jimmy was expected to take over the business, but his dream was to have a career in aviation.
Stewart would attend Princeton, University where he joined the University Players, a summer stock company in which he played several bit parts. Henry Fonda and Margaret Sullivan had also been members of that same performing troupe. Stewart graduated from Princeton in 1932 and was convinced that he should continue his acting career.
Hollywood Star Playhouse was a dramatic radio anthology and featured James Stewart in a role that was to later spin off into its own show. The Six Shooter was the episode and Stewart later became the star of the NBC series.
The Six Shooter was a radio western drama aired in 1953 that starred James Stewart as Britt Ponset, the Texas plainsman who wandered through the western territories, leaving behind a trail of still-remembered legends.
His distinctive voice made Stewart a radio natural and carried the show to popularity even though at that time radio was somewhat past its peak – with the onset of television. When Chesterfield became interested in sponsoring The Six Shooter, Stewart opted out because he didn’t want his image to be associated with cigarettes.
Stewart played the role of a paralyzed war veteran on an episode of Suspense, the radio crime drama. The episode was called Mission Completed and Stewart’s character murders a man who resembles the man who tortured him in a Japanese prison camp. He also starred in another episode of Suspense called Consequence.
The Silver Theater, a Hollywood drama radio show was first aired in 1937 and was launched with a four-part epic called First Love. The episodes starred James Stewart opposite Rosalind Russell.
Russell played the part of a girl who was trying to make it big in Hollywood and Stewart was a “love interest” that she met. In a technique new to radio, Russell and Stewart were asked not to merely read their lines at the microphone, but to memorize and “play” the roles.
Stewart became a hero during World War II, so it was natural when he joined the cast of Plays for Americans, realistic stories of the war. The first radio broadcast of the series was on July5, 1942 and also starred Bette Davis, Mercedes McCambridge and Robert Taylor. All the major film stars of the era played parts in this wartime show.
In 1946 James Stewart starred in the hit film It's A Wonderful Life as George Bailey a frustrated businessman who is on the verge of ending his life when an angel shows him what life would be like for the people of Bedford Falls if he had never been born. Lux Radio Theater recreated the film for radio in 1947 with James Stewart and Donna Reed both in their original roles. This is Joy's favorite film and she believes that everyone should be humbled by this at least once a year!
Along with Suspense and Lux Radio Theater other old time radio shows that Stewart appeared in include Screen Guild Theater, Good News, Bill Stern Sport Newsreel, Cavalcade of America, Academy Award Theater and Family Theater.
Stewart’s lifetime accomplishments are too many to mention. After retiring, he donated all of his films and records to the Brigham Young University library. He was a multimillionaire by then.
Stewart was married in 1949 to Gloria Hatrick McLean and had two children, Judy and Kelly. He also adopted her two boys from a previous marriage – Michael and Ronald.
James Stewart passed away on July 2, 1997 after losing his best friends, Henry Fonda and Grace Kelly. He was described as “a kind, soft-spoken man and a true professional” by his friends.
Happy listening my friends,
