James Maitland “Jimmy” Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive drawl voice and down-to-earth persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics. He was known for portraying the American middle class man with everyday life struggles.
Jimmy Stewart was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime Achievement award. Stewart was named the third greatest male screen legend in cinema history by the American Film Institute. He was a major Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract star. He also had a noted military career and was a World War II and Vietnam War veteran, who rose to the rank of Brigadier General in the United States Air Force Reserve.
The actor Cary Grant said of Stewart’s acting technique:
Jimmy Stewart had the ability to talk naturally. He knew that in conversations people do often interrupt one another and it’s not always so easy to get a thought out. It took a little time for the sound men to get used to him, but he had an enormous impact. And then, some years later, Marlon came out and did the same thing all over again—but what people forget is that Jimmy did it first.
Jimmy Stewart was almost universally described by his collaborators as a kind, soft-spoken man and a true professional. Joan Crawford praised the actor as an “endearing perfectionist” with “a droll sense of humor and a shy way of watching you to see if you react to that humor.
In December 1996, Jimmy Stewart was due to have the battery in his pacemaker changed, but opted not to, preferring to let things happen naturally. In February 1997, Stewart was hospitalized for an irregular heartbeat. On June 25, a thrombosis formed in his right leg, leading to a pulmonary embolism seven days later. Surrounded by his children on July 2, 1997, Stewart died at the age of 89 at his home in Beverly Hills, California, with his final words to his family being “I’m going to be with Gloria now!” President Bill Clinton commented that America had lost a “national treasure … a great actor, a gentleman and a patriot
