- James Stewart was a very famous actor
- He is considered one of the best to this day
- Learn more about his career in memoriam below
Born on May 20th, 1908, James Maitland Stewart grew up in a family of five in Indiana, Pennsylvania. During his studies at Princeton University in 1928, Stewart was interested in aviation design and majored in architecture. While he excelled in his studies, he also developed an interest in the university's drama and music clubs.
In Memoriam: James Stewart's Career Highlights
During the summer of 1932, James became part of the University Players in Massachusetts, a summer stock theatre where Stewart participated in multiple productions. His performances gained praise and led him to other various theatres in New York. Thus, by 1935, James was offered a seven-year contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Meyers (MGM), which he naturally signed.
He went on to star in MANY films throughout the remainder of the 1930s, including Small Town Girl (1936), After the Thin Man (1936), Seventh Heaven (1937), and Navy Blue and Gold (1937), to name a few!
While he loaned out to different production companies, such as 20th Century-Fox, he was still a rather minor star in Hollywood. It wasn't until the loan of Columbia Pictures where his career really took off! He was cast in Frank Capra's You Can't Take It With You (1938) which won an Academy Award for Best Picture.
In 1939, he starred in another Capra film, also alongside Jean Arthur in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. He received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
Also Interesting:
A true legend
James Stewart and the 1940s
In 1940, James starred in the box-office hit, The Philadelphia Story, opposite Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant, where Stewart won an Oscar for Best Actor! However, it was in 1941 where his acting career took a pause, as James enlisted himself in the US Army to combat in World War II. He served in the Air Corps and didn't officially retire until May 1968. He received the United States Air Force Distinguished Service Medal upon his retirement in the service.
After his war experiences in 1945, Stewart returned to acting but no longer with MGM. He made his debut again in Frank Capra's famed It's a Wonderful Life (1946), which received five Oscar nominations, including a nomination for Best Actor for Stewart. His career remained successful, even until the 1980s! He would star in many Western films and receive many awards and accolades.
James Stewart married actress and model Gloria Hatrick McLean in 1949, and eventually adopted her two sons from her previous marriage.
She tragically died due to lung cancer in February 1994. Depressed without his beautiful wife, Stewart isolated himself in his Beverly Hills home until a heart attack took his life on July 2nd, 1997.
Here are James Stewart's most remembered films:
- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
- The Philadelphia Story (1940)
- It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
- Rope (1948)
- Harvey (1950)
- Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
- Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1963)
- The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence (1963)
Rest in peace, James.
