James Stewart
b.5/20/1908 Indiana, PA
d.7/02/1997
Played accordion as a child and learned magic so he could host shows which he produced for the neighborhood and community Enrolled at Princeton University as an architecture student but switched to acting and performed at the University Playhouse Moved to New York where he received leading roles on Broadway (many with Henry Fonda) in the early 1930s Settles in Hollywood in 1935 and is cast in his first movie “The Murder Man” World War II: Enlisted in Army but was rejected because he was underweight so he gained ten pounds and enlisted with the Army Air Force Rising in rank from Private to Lieutenant, he was assigned to the 703rd Bomb Squadron of the 445th Bomb Group as pilot aboard B-24 Liberator bombers over Europe and promoted to Colonel by the end of the war Recipient of two Distinguished Flying Crosses and the French Croix de Guerre Remained in the Reserves after the war and was named Commander of the 2nd Combat Bombing Wing of the 8th Air Force in 1946 and promoted to Commanding Officer of Dobbins Air Force Base where he was awarded rank of Brigadier General in 1959 Was named as crewman to a B-52 Stratofortress bomb squadron and flew active duty combat mission during the Vietnam War Retired from the Air Force Reserves as an Oscar winning actor and Major General in 1968 Academy Award Best Actor “The Philadelphia Story” 1940 Academy Award nomination Best Actor “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” 1939 Academy Award nomination “Best Actor “It’s A Wonderful Life” 1947 Academy Award Lifetime Achievement 1985 The Presidential Medal of Freedom 1985
Filmography:
The Murder Man, Rose Marie, Speed, Seventh Heaven, Navy Blue and Gold, You Can’t Take it with You, It’s A Wonderful World, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Dusty Rides Again, The Philadelphia Story, It’s a Wonderful Life, The Stratton Story, Broken Arrow, The Greatest Show on Earth, The Glenn Miller Story, Rear Window, Strategic Air Command, The Man Who Knew too Much, The Spirit of St. Louis, Night Passage, Victory, Anatomy of a Murder, The FBI Story, X-15, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, How the West Was Won, Cheyenne Autumn, Shenandoah, Flight of the Phoenix, Airport ‘77
The Glenn Miller Story
Strategic Air Command
