James Stewart
American actor and military officer (1908-1997) · United States · Actors · Died at 89
James Stewart is read about 5,684 times a day, in 89 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 15 October 2026
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Something wrong?That halting drawl carried an entire American ideal - the decent man in over his head who finds his spine. Stewart made doubt look heroic, and for half a century Hollywood built its moral center around his face.
A life in dates
La Classe américaineFilm, Jacques (archive footage)1987“If you can do a part and not have the acting show.”In their words13 March 1987A definition of good acting, given in an interview on WNET TV (13 March 1987); sometimes quoted as "It’s well done if you can do a part and1985Presidential Medal of FreedomAward
North and SouthSeries, 1985Miles Colbert1984Academy Honorary AwardAwardGolden Boot AwardsAward1983Kennedy Center HonorsAward1982Honorary Golden BearAward1980AFI Life Achievement AwardAward1978
The Big SleepFilm, General Sternwood1976
The ShootistFilm, Dr. Hostetler1975
People's Choice AwardsSeries1973
The Dean Martin Celebrity RoastsSeries1970“When I got back from the war in 1946 people didn't want the Mr. Smith kind of movie any more, and I refused to make war pictures.”In their words29 June 1970On how he started doing westerns, as quoted in "Innocent Revisited" in TIME magazine (29 June 1970)“I've always been skeptical of people who say they lose themselves in a part.”In their words29 June 1970As quoted in "Innocent Revisited" in TIME magazine (29 June 1970)1968SAG-AFTRA Life Achievement AwardAward
Bandolero!Film, 1968Mace Bishop1965
The Dean Martin ShowSeries1964Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille AwardAward
Cheyenne AutumnFilm, 1964Wyatt Earp1961
Two Rode TogetherFilm, Marshal Guthrie McCabe1960
My Three SonsSeries, James Stewart1957
The Spirit of St. LouisFilm, Charles Augustus 'Slim' Lindbergh1956
Tony AwardsSeries1955
The Man from LaramieFilm, Will Lockhart1954The George Gobel ShowSeries1953
The Naked SpurFilm, Howard Kemp1950
The Colgate Comedy HourSeries
Broken ArrowFilm, 1950Tom Jeffords1946
It's a Wonderful LifeFilm, George Bailey1944
Golden Globe AwardsSeries1941Academy Award for Best ActorAward1939
Destry Rides AgainFilm, Tom Destry Jr.1936
After the Thin ManFilm, David Graham1908Born20 May 1908Also in Deutsch
Photos 12
In their own words 10
, I'm going to be with Gloria now.
I've sort of gotten into the habit of looking for the vulnerable guy, the guy who makes mistakes, the guy who can't figure things out all the time but keeps at it.
Hollywood dishes out too much praise for small things I won't let it get me, but too much praise can turn a fellow's head if he doesn't watch his step.
Filmography 40
THThe Bloody Hundredth
MMMy Scientology MovieLALa Classe américaine
AWAn American Tail: Fievel Goes WestTSThe Big Sleep
AIAirport '77TSThe Shootist
TCThe Cheyenne Social ClubBABandolero!
TPThe Flight of the Phoenix
SHShenandoahCACheyenne Autumn
TVThe Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
HWHow the West Was Won
MVMr. Hobbs Takes a VacationTTTwo Rode Together
AMAnatomy of a Murder
VEVertigo
BCBell, Book and CandleTLThe Spirit of St. Louis
TMThe Man Who Knew Too MuchTLThe Man from Laramie
RWRear Window
TCThe Far Country
TSThe Glenn Miller StoryTSThe Naked Spur
TEThe Greatest Show on Earth
BRBend of the RiverBABroken Arrow
HAHarvey
WIWinchester '73
RORope
CNCall Northside 777ILIt's a Wonderful Life
TSThe Philadelphia Story
TCThe Shop Around the Corner
MWMr. Smith Goes to WashingtonDADestry Rides Again
YYYou Can't Take It with YouAMAfter the Thin Man225 credits on file
Television 24
TPTalking Pictures
PAParkinsonNSNorth and South
THThe Kennedy Center HonorsPAPeople's Choice Awards
DIDinah!TRThe Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
GPGreat PerformancesTSThe Dean Martin Show
TCThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
TSThe Mike Douglas ShowMSMy Three Sons
STStartimeTATony Awards
MPMGM Parade
TOThe Oscars
WLWhat's My Line?THThe Colgate Comedy Hour
TPThe Jack Benny Program
TSThe Ed Sullivan ShowGAGolden Globe AwardsAwards
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Born in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Stewart acted at Princeton, then moved to Broadway with Carry Nation in 1932. His first film role came in The Murder Man in 1935, but the breakthrough arrived with Frank Capra's You Can't Take It with You in 1938. He won the Oscar for The Philadelphia Story in 1940, then left for World War II as a private pilot - he flew combat missions, commanded the 703d Bombardment Squadron, and rose to deputy commanding officer of the 2nd Bombardment Wing by 1947. He returned to star in It's a Wonderful Life in 1946, a flop that became a classic after its copyright lapsed in the 1970s. The second act belonged to Hitchcock: Rope, Rear Window, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Vertigo. He kept working through Anatomy of a Murder and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance in 1962, then retired from the Air Force Reserve as a brigadier general in 1968. Eighty films across five decades, and the AFI called him the third-greatest male actor in American history.
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