James Stewart (1908 – 1997) was a prolific American actor who appeared in a variety of film roles in Hollywood, primarily of the Golden Age of Hollywood. From the beginning of his film career in 1934 through his final theatrical project in 1991, Stewart appeared in more than 92 films, television programs, and short subjects.
Stewart received several awards and nominations for his work. In 1999, he was ranked third by the American Film Institute on its "AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars" list.
Eleven of his films have been preserved in the United States National Film Registry. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for The Philadelphia Story whilst roles in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, It's a Wonderful Life, Harvey and Anatomy of a Murder earned him Academy Award nominations. He also won a Golden Globe Award for his role in the television series Hawkins.
Stewart made his mark in screwball comedies, suspense thrillers, westerns and family comedies.[1] He worked multiple times with directors, such as Anthony Mann (Winchester '73, Bend of the River, Thunder Bay, The Naked Spur, The Glenn Miller Story, The Far Country, The Man from Laramie and Strategic Air Command), Alfred Hitchcock (Rope, Rear Window, The Man Who Knew Too Much and Vertigo), John Ford (Two Rode Together, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and Cheyenne Autumn) and Frank Capra (It's a Wonderful Life, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and You Can't Take It with You).
Directors with whom he also worked include Henry Hathaway (Call Northside 777 and How the West Was Won), Frank Borzage (The Mortal Storm), Ernst Lubitsch (The Shop Around the Corner), Billy Wilder (The Spirit of St. Louis) and Otto Preminger (Anatomy of a Murder).
Actors with whom Stewart worked include Lionel Barrymore, Ward Bond, Walter Brennan, Raymond Burr, Harry Carey, John Dall, Charles Drake, Dan Duryea, Frank Faylen, Henry Fonda, Clark Gable, Ben Gazzara, Farley Granger, Cary Grant, Tom Helmore, Charlton Heston, Rock Hudson, Todd Karns, Arthur Kennedy, Karl Malden, Lee Marvin, Bernard Miles, Thomas Mitchell, Robert Mitchum, Frank Morgan, Harry Morgan, Arthur O'Connell, William Powell, Claude Rains, Oliver Reed, Edward G. Robinson, Mickey Rooney, Robert Ryan, George C. Scott, Robert Taylor, Spencer Tracy, Henry Travers, John Wayne, Richard Widmark and Cornel Wilde.
Actresses with whom Stewart worked include June Allyson, Eve Arden, Jean Arthur, Carroll Baker, Joan Chandler, Claudette Colbert, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Doris Day, Brenda de Banzie, Marlene Dietrich, Peggy Dow, Joan Fontaine, Barbara Bel Geddes, Paulette Goddard, Gloria Grahame, Jean Harlow, Katharine Hepburn, Josephine Hull, Betty Hutton, Grace Kelly, Hedy Lamarr, Dorothy Lamour, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, Agnes Moorehead, Kim Novak, Cathy O'Donnell, Maureen O'Hara, Eleanor Powell, Donna Reed, Lee Remick, Debbie Reynolds, Thelma Ritter, Ginger Rogers, Rosalind Russell, Margaret Sullavan, Shelley Winters and Natalie Wood.
| Year | Film | Role | Director | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1935 | The Murder Man | Shorty | |||
| 1936 | Next Time We Love | Christopher Tyler | First significant role (first time second-billed) | ||
| Rose Marie | John Flower | ||||
| Wife vs. Secretary | Dave | ||||
| Small Town Girl | Elmer Clampett | ||||
| Speed | Terry Martin | First starring role (first time top-billed) | |||
| The Gorgeous Hussy | Roderick "Rowdy" Dow | Clarence Brown | |||
| Born to Dance | Ted Barker | ||||
| After the Thin Man | David Graham | W. S. Van Dyke | |||
| 1937 | Seventh Heaven | Chico | |||
| The Last Gangster | Paul North Sr. | Alternative title: Another Public Enemy | |||
| Navy Blue and Gold | John "Truck" Cross/John Cross Carter | ||||
| 1938 | Of Human Hearts | Jason Wilkins | Clarence Brown | ||
| Vivacious Lady | Prof. Peter Morgan Jr. | ||||
| The Shopworn Angel | Pvt. William "Texas" Pettigrew | ||||
| You Can't Take It with You | Tony Kirby | ||||
| 1939 | Made for Each Other | John Horace "Johnny" Mason | |||
| The Ice Follies of 1939 | Larry Hall | ||||
| It's a Wonderful World | Guy Johnson | W. S. Van Dyke | |||
| Mr. Smith Goes to Washington | Jefferson Smith | Frank Capra | New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor | ||
| Destry Rides Again | Thomas Jefferson Destry Jr. | ||||
| 1940 | The Shop Around the Corner | Alfred Kralik | |||
| The Mortal Storm | Martin Breitner | ||||
| No Time for Comedy | Gaylord "Gay" Esterbrook | ||||
| The Philadelphia Story | Macaulay "Mike" Connor | Academy Award for Best Actor | |||
| 1941 | Come Live with Me | Bill Smith | Clarence Brown | ||
| Pot o' Gold | James Hamilton "Jimmy" Haskel | George Marshall | |||
| Ziegfeld Girl | Gilbert "Gil" Young | Final film before World War II service | |||
| 1946 | It's a Wonderful Life | Frank Capra | Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor | ||
| 1947 | Magic Town | Lawrence "Rip" Smith | William A. Wellman | ||
| 1948 | Call Northside 777 | P.J. McNeal | |||
| On Our Merry Way | Slim | King Vidor Leslie Fenton John Huston George Stevens | |||
| Rope | Rupert Cadell | ||||
| You Gotta Stay Happy | Marvin Payne | H.C. Potter | |||
| 1949 | The Stratton Story | Monty Stratton | Sam Wood | ||
| Malaya | John Royer | ||||
| 1950 | Winchester '73 | Lin McAdam | |||
| Broken Arrow | |||||
| Harvey | Elwood P. Dowd | Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama | |||
| The Jackpot | William J. 'Bill' Lawrence | ||||
| 1951 | No Highway in the Sky | Theodore Honey | Henry Koster | ||
| 1952 | The Greatest Show on Earth | Buttons | |||
| Bend of the River | Glyn McLyntock | Anthony Mann | |||
| Carbine Williams | David Marshall "Marsh" Williams | Richard Thorpe | |||
| 1953 | The Naked Spur | Howard Kemp | Anthony Mann | ||
| Thunder Bay | Steve Martin | Anthony Mann | |||
| 1954 | The Glenn Miller Story | Anthony Mann | Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor | ||
| The Far Country | Jeff Webster | Anthony Mann | |||
| Rear Window | L.B. "Jeff" Jefferies | Alfred Hitchcock | |||
| 1955 | The Man from Laramie | Will Lockhart | Anthony Mann | ||
| Strategic Air Command | Lt. Col. Robert "Dutch" Holland | Anthony Mann | |||
| 1956 | The Man Who Knew Too Much | Dr. Benjamin "Ben" McKenna | Alfred Hitchcock | ||
| 1957 | The Spirit of St. Louis | ||||
| Night Passage | Grant McLaine | ||||
| 1958 | Vertigo | Det. John "Scottie" Ferguson | Alfred Hitchcock | San Sebastián International Film Festival Award for Best Actor | |
| Bell, Book and Candle | Shepherd "Shep" Henderson | ||||
| 1959 | Anatomy of a Murder | Paul Biegler | Laurel Award for Top Male Dramatic Performance New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Venice Film Festival – Volpi Cup Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor | ||
| The FBI Story | John Michael "Chip" Hardesty | ||||
| 1960 | The Mountain Road | Major Baldwin | |||
| 1961 | Two Rode Together | Marshal Guthrie McCabe | Nominated—Laurel Award for Top Action Performance (3rd place) | ||
| 1962 | The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance | Ransom Stoddard | John Ford | Bronze Wrangler for Theatrical Motion Picture | |
| Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation | Roger Hobbs | Henry Koster | Silver Bear for Best Actor Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Nominated—Laurel Award for Top Male Comedy Performance (3rd place) | ||
| How the West Was Won | Linus Rawlings | Henry Hathaway | |||
| 1963 | Take Her, She's Mine | Frank Michaelson | Henry Koster | Nominated—Laurel Award for Top Male Comedy Performance (4th place) | |
| 1964 | Cheyenne Autumn | John Ford | |||
| 1965 | Dear Brigitte | Prof. Robert Leaf | Henry Koster | ||
| Shenandoah | Charlie Anderson | ||||
| The Flight of the Phoenix | Capt. Frank Towns | ||||
| 1966 | The Rare Breed | Sam Burnett | Andrew McLaglen | ||
| 1968 | Firecreek | Johnny Cobb | |||
| Bandolero! | Mace Bishop | Andrew McLaglen | |||
| 1970 | The Cheyenne Social Club | John O'Hanlan | |||
| 1971 | Fools' Parade | Mattie Appleyard | Andrew McLaglen | Alternative title: Dynamite Man from Glory Jail | |
| 1976 | The Shootist | Dr. E.W. Hostetler | |||
| 1977 | Airport '77 | Philip Stevens | |||
| 1978 | The Big Sleep | General Sternwood | |||
| The Magic of Lassie | Clovis Mitchell | ||||
| 1980 | The Green Horizon | The Old Man | Alternative title: A Tale of Africa | ||
| 1991 | Wylie Burp | Voice (final film role) | |||
| I denotes film preservation in the National Film Registry. | |||||
For a number of years exhibitors voted James Stewart as among the most popular stars in the country:
Stewart had made guest appearances on television, The Jack Benny Program, in the 1950s, but first starred in Flashing Spikes, an hour-long episode of Alcoa Premiere directed by John Ford. In the early 1970s, he transitioned his career from cinema to television. For the series Hawkins, Stewart received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama. In 1972, Stewart reprised his role from the film Harvey in a television film of the same name.
| Year | Show | Role | Run | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Lux Playhouse | Narrator | single episode | Narrator for the episode Cowboy Five Seven, which documented a Strategic Air Command crew at Westover Air Force Base | |
| 1962 | Flashing Spikes | Slim Conway | single episode | Part of the Alcoa Premiere anthology series, directed by John Ford and featuring John Wayne (billed as "Michael Morris") | |
| 1971 | The Jimmy Stewart Show | Prof. James K. Howard | 1971–1972 | NBC Television series | |
| 1972 | Harvey | Elwood P. Dowd | — | PBS Television film | |
| 1973 | Hawkins | Billy Jim Hawkins | 1973–1974 | CBS Television series Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama | |
| 1978 | The Carol Burnett Show | Himself | single episode | CBS Television series Series finale ("A Special Evening with Carol Burnett") | |
| 1980 | Mr. Krueger's Christmas | Mr. Krueger | — | NBC Television film | |
| 1982 | The American Film Institute Salute to Frank Capra | Himself – Host | — | American Film Institute Television film | |
| 1983 | Right of Way | Teddy Dwyer | — | HBO Television film Nominated—CableACE Award for Actor in a Dramatic or Theatrical Program | |
| 1986 | North and South, Book II | Miles Colbert | — | ABC Miniseries |
Incomplete listing.
| Year | Movie | Role | Director | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1934 | Art Trouble | Mr. Burton | Uncredited; Shemp Howard short | ||
| 1935 | Important News | Cornelius "Corn" Stevens | Edwin Lawrence | — | |
| 1938 | Hollywood Goes to Town | Himself | — | ||
| 1939 | Hollywood Hobbies | Himself | — | ||
| 1942 | Fellow Americans | Narrator | for the USAAF | ||
| Winning Your Wings | Narrator | for the USAAF | |||
| 1943 | Screen Snapshots: Hollywood in Uniform | Himself | — | ||
| 1946 | American Creed | Himself | — | ||
| 1947 | Thunderbolt! | Narrator | for the USAF | ||
| 1948 | 10,000 Kids and a Cop | Narrator | — | ||
| 1954 | Tomorrow's Drivers | Narrator | — | ||
| 1956 | Screen Snapshots: Hollywood, City of Stars | Himself | — | ||
| 1957 | The Heart of Show Business | Narrator | — | ||
| 1961 | X-15 | Narrator | for the United States Air Force USAF | ||
| 1962 | "The Convair B-58 Hustler Supersonic Bomber - Champion of Champions" | Narrator and USAF Reserve Brig. General | — | ||
| 1971 | Directed by John Ford | Himself | — | ||
| 1971 | The American West of John Ford | Himself | — | ||
| 1974 | The World at War - "12. Whirlwind" | Himself | Thames Television ITV series | ||
| Just One More Time | Himself | — | |||
| That's Entertainment! | Himself and Archive Footage | — | |||
| 1976 | An All-Star Tribute to John Wayne | Himself | N/A | — | |
| 1983 | James Bond: The First 21 Years | Himself | N/A | — | |
| 1987 | James Stewart: A Wonderful Life | Himself and Archive Footage | David Heeley | — | |
| 1993 | John Ford | Himself | N/A | — | |
| 1994 | A Century of Cinema | Himself and Archive Footage | Caroline Thomas | — |