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.
Twelve 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.
Film career Directors Stewart made his mark in screwball comedies, suspense thrillers, westerns and family comedies. 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 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.
Feature films
Year Film Role Director Notes 1935 The Murder Man Shorty Tim Whelan 1936 Next Time We Love Christopher Tyler Edward H. Griffith First significant role (first time second-billed) Rose Marie John Flower W. S. Van Dyke Wife vs. Secretary Dave Clarence Brown Small Town Girl Elmer Clampett William A. Wellman Speed Terry Martin Edwin L. Marin First starring role (first time top-billed) The Gorgeous Hussy Roderick "Rowdy" Dow Clarence Brown Born to Dance Ted Barker Roy Del Ruth After the Thin Man David Graham W. S. Van Dyke 1937 Seventh Heaven Chico Henry King The Last Gangster Paul North Sr. Edward Ludwig Alternative title: Another Public Enemy Navy Blue and Gold John "Truck" Cross/John Cross Carter Sam Wood 1938 Of Human Hearts Jason Wilkins Clarence Brown Vivacious Lady Prof. Peter Morgan Jr. George Stevens The Shopworn Angel Pvt. William "Texas" Pettigrew H. C. Potter You Can't Take It with You Tony Kirby Frank Capra 1939 Made for Each Other John Horace "Johnny" Mason John Cromwell The Ice Follies of 1939 Larry Hall Reinhold Schünzel 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 ActorNominated—Academy Award for Best Actor Destry Rides Again Thomas Jefferson Destry Jr. George Marshall 1940 The Shop Around the Corner Alfred Kralik Ernst Lubitsch The Mortal Storm Martin Breitner Frank Borzage No Time for Comedy Gaylord "Gay" Esterbrook William Keighley The Philadelphia Story Macaulay "Mike" Connor George Cukor 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 Robert Z. Leonard Final film before World War II service 1946 It's a Wonderful Life George Bailey Frank Capra Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor 1947 Magic Town Lawrence "Rip" Smith William A. Wellman 1948 Call Northside 777 P. J. McNeal Henry Hathaway On Our Merry Way Slim King VidorLeslie FentonJohn HustonGeorge Stevens Rope Rupert Cadell Alfred Hitchcock You Gotta Stay Happy Marvin Payne H. C. Potter 1949 The Stratton Story Monty Stratton Sam Wood Malaya John Royer Richard Thorpe 1950 Winchester '73 Lin McAdam Anthony Mann Broken Arrow Tom Jeffords Delmer Daves Harvey Elwood P. Dowd Henry Koster Nominated—Academy Award for Best ActorNominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama The Jackpot William J. 'Bill' Lawrence Walter Lang 1951 No Highway in the Sky Theodore Honey Henry Koster 1952 The Greatest Show on Earth Buttons Cecil B. DeMille 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 1954 The Glenn Miller Story Glenn Miller Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor The Far Country Jeff Webster 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 1956 The Man Who Knew Too Much Dr. Benjamin "Ben" McKenna Alfred Hitchcock 1957 The Spirit of St. Louis Charles Lindbergh Billy Wilder Night Passage Grant McLaine James Neilson 1958 Vertigo Det. John "Scottie" Ferguson Alfred Hitchcock San Sebastián International Film Festival Award for Best Actor Bell, Book and Candle Shepherd "Shep" Henderson Richard Quine 1959 Anatomy of a Murder Paul Biegler Otto Preminger Laurel Award for Top Male Dramatic PerformanceNew York Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActorVenice Film Festival – Volpi CupNominated—Academy Award for Best ActorNominated—BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actor The FBI Story John Michael "Chip" Hardesty Mervyn LeRoy 1960 The Mountain Road Major Baldwin Daniel Mann 1961 Two Rode Together Marshal Guthrie McCabe John Ford Nominated—Laurel Award for Top Action Performance (3rd place) 1962 The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance Ransom Stoddard Bronze Wrangler for Theatrical Motion Picture Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation Roger Hobbs Henry Koster Silver Bear for Best ActorNominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyNominated—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 Wyatt Earp John Ford 1965 Dear Brigitte Prof. Robert Leaf Henry Koster Shenandoah Charlie Anderson Andrew McLaglen The Flight of the Phoenix Capt. Frank Towns Robert Aldrich 1966 The Rare Breed Sam Burnett Andrew McLaglen 1968 Firecreek Johnny Cobb Vincent McEveety Bandolero! Mace Bishop Andrew McLaglen 1970 The Cheyenne Social Club John O'Hanlan Gene Kelly 1971 Fools' Parade Mattie Appleyard Andrew McLaglen Alternative title: Dynamite Man from Glory Jail 1976 The Shootist Dr. E. W. Hostetler Don Siegel 1977 Airport '77 Philip Stevens Jerry Jameson 1978 The Big Sleep General Sternwood Michael Winner The Magic of Lassie Clovis Mitchell Don Chaffey 1980 The Green Horizon The Old Man Susumu Hani Alternative titles: A Tale of Africa, アフリカの物語 (final live action role) 1991 An American Tail: Fievel Goes West Wylie Burp Phil NibbelinkSimon Wells Voice (final film role) I denotes film preservation in the National Film Registry.
Box office ranking For a number of years exhibitors voted James Stewart as among the most popular stars in the country: 1940 – 11th (US) 1941 – 13th (US) 1948 – 25th (US) 1949 – 11th (US)Hope Tops Crosby At the Boxoffice By Richard L. Coe. The Washington Post (1923–1954) [Washington, D.C] 30 Dec 1949: 19. 1950 – 5th (US), 7th (UK) 1951 – 16th (US), 2nd (UK) 1952 – 6th (US), 8th (UK) 1953 – 7th (US) 1954 – 4th (US), 2nd (UK) 1955 – 1st (US), 2nd (UK) 1956 – 3rd (US), 2nd (UK) 1957 – 7th (US) 1958 – 9th (US) 1959 – 3rd (US) 1960 – 18th (US) 1961 – 22nd (US) 1962 – 13th (US) 1963 – 14th (US) 1964 – 23rd (US) 1965 – 8th (US) 1966 – 16th (US) 1970 – 17th (US)
Television appearances 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 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 seriesGolden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama 1978 The Carol Burnett Show Himself single episode CBS Television seriesSeries 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 filmNominated—CableACE Award for Actor in a Dramatic or Theatrical Program 1986 North and South, Book II Miles Colbert ABC Miniseries
Documentaries and short subjects
Incomplete listing.
Year Movie Role Director Notes 1934 Art Trouble Mr. Burton Ralph Staub Uncredited; Shemp Howard short 1935 Important News Cornelius "Corn" Stevens Edwin Lawrence — 1938 Hollywood Goes to Town Himself 1939 Hollywood Hobbies 1942 Fellow Americans Narrator for the USAAF Winning Your Wings John Huston Owen Crump(uncredited) 1943 Screen Snapshots: Hollywood in Uniform Himself — 1946 American Creed 1947 Thunderbolt! Narrator John SturgesWilliam Wyler for the USAF 1948 10,000 Kids and a Cop Charles Barton — 1954 Tomorrow's Drivers 1956 Screen Snapshots: Hollywood, City of Stars Himself 1957 The Heart of Show Business Narrator 1961 X-15 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 Peter Bogdanovich 1971 The American West of John Ford Denis Sanders 1974 The World at War - "12. Whirlwind" Thames Television ITV series Just One More Time — That's Entertainment! Himself and Archive Footage Jack Haley, Jr. 1976 An All-Star Tribute to John Wayne Himself N/A 1983 James Bond: The First 21 Years 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
See also List of film collaborations