What do you think?
Rate this book
Jimmy Stewart: A Biography
Jimmy Stewart’s all-American good looks, boyish charm, and deceptively easygoing style of acting made him one of Hollywood’s greatest and most enduring stars. Despite the indelible image he projected of innocence and quiet self-assurance, Stewart’s life was more complex and sophisticated than most of the characters he played. With fresh insight and unprecedented access, bestselling biographer Marc Eliot finally tells the previously untold story of one of our greatest screen and real-life heroes.
Born into a family of high military honor and economic success dominated by a powerful father, Stewart developed an interest in theater while attending Princeton University. Upon graduation, he roomed with the then-unknown Henry Fonda, and the two began a friendship that lasted a lifetime. While he harbored a secret unrequited love for Margaret Sullavan, Stewart was paired with many of Hollywood’s most famous, most beautiful, and most alluring leading ladies during his extended bachelorhood, among them Ginger Rogers, Olivia de Havilland, Loretta Young, and the notorious Marlene Dietrich.
After becoming a star playing a hero in Frank Capra’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington in 1939 and winning an Academy Award the following year for his performance in George Cukor’s The Philadelphia Story, Stewart was drafted into the Armed Forces and became a hero in real life. When he returned to Hollywood, he discovered that not only the town had changed, but so had he. Stewart’s combat experiences left him emotionally scarred, and his deepening darkness perfectly positioned him for the ’50s, in which he made his greatest films, for Anthony Mann (Winchester ’73 and Bend of the River) and, most spectacularly, Alfred Hitchcock, in his triple meditation on marriage, Rear Window, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Vertigo, which many film critics regard as the best American movie ever made.
While Stewart's career thrived, so did his personal life. A marriage in his forties, the adoption of his wife’s two sons from a previous marriage, and the birth of his twin daughters laid the foundation for a happy life, until an unexpected tragedy had a shocking effect on his final years.
Intimate and richly detailed, Jimmy Stewart is a fascinating portrait of a multi-faceted and much-admired actor as well as an extraordinary slice of Hollywood history.
Born into a family of high military honor and economic success dominated by a powerful father, Stewart developed an interest in theater while attending Princeton University. Upon graduation, he roomed with the then-unknown Henry Fonda, and the two began a friendship that lasted a lifetime. While he harbored a secret unrequited love for Margaret Sullavan, Stewart was paired with many of Hollywood’s most famous, most beautiful, and most alluring leading ladies during his extended bachelorhood, among them Ginger Rogers, Olivia de Havilland, Loretta Young, and the notorious Marlene Dietrich.
After becoming a star playing a hero in Frank Capra’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington in 1939 and winning an Academy Award the following year for his performance in George Cukor’s The Philadelphia Story, Stewart was drafted into the Armed Forces and became a hero in real life. When he returned to Hollywood, he discovered that not only the town had changed, but so had he. Stewart’s combat experiences left him emotionally scarred, and his deepening darkness perfectly positioned him for the ’50s, in which he made his greatest films, for Anthony Mann (Winchester ’73 and Bend of the River) and, most spectacularly, Alfred Hitchcock, in his triple meditation on marriage, Rear Window, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Vertigo, which many film critics regard as the best American movie ever made.
While Stewart's career thrived, so did his personal life. A marriage in his forties, the adoption of his wife’s two sons from a previous marriage, and the birth of his twin daughters laid the foundation for a happy life, until an unexpected tragedy had a shocking effect on his final years.
Intimate and richly detailed, Jimmy Stewart is a fascinating portrait of a multi-faceted and much-admired actor as well as an extraordinary slice of Hollywood history.
480 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
105 people are currently reading
1678 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 144 reviews
February 2, 2010
I couldn't even finish this book. At first, I was impressed with the minute details of Jimmy Stewart's life that the author brought to light; and the book itself being a hefty tome, I was excited at the prospect of learning everything there is to know about such a brilliant actor.
What made me give up the book about a quarter of the way through was the author's odd preoccupation with Jimmy Stewart's sexuality and sex life. While sex may sell, I think that some of the insinuations were completely unnecessary. Often times they came so far out of left field that it felt somewhat creepy.
What made me give up the book about a quarter of the way through was the author's odd preoccupation with Jimmy Stewart's sexuality and sex life. While sex may sell, I think that some of the insinuations were completely unnecessary. Often times they came so far out of left field that it felt somewhat creepy.
March 28, 2009
The author seemed more interested in gossiping about celebrity sex lives and telling the entire storyline of Stewart's movies than in adding anything worthwhile to the reader's understanding of the man or the actor.
Jimmy Stewart was a great actor and a good man, and despite the author's lack of interest in that, it's still obvious.
I thought the author used a lot of other people's books and interviews, rather than doing any investigating himself. The only thing I know he did was watch Stewart's movies. And wrote down every detail in them.
If you don't know the ending of some of the movies, do not read this book.
Jimmy Stewart was a great actor and a good man, and despite the author's lack of interest in that, it's still obvious.
I thought the author used a lot of other people's books and interviews, rather than doing any investigating himself. The only thing I know he did was watch Stewart's movies. And wrote down every detail in them.
If you don't know the ending of some of the movies, do not read this book.
October 2, 2017
This writer has an annoying style that focuses on sexual gossip and fails to go into depth on significant moment's in Jimmy Stewart's life. It's a broad overview that touches on things lightly, then goes off on a tangent to discuss the homosexuality of a co-star or the history of a director. There are entire sections of the book that don't need to be there, and at over 400 pages it could lose about one-third of the content while making a better read.
There are some interesting highlights to the actor's life, but most of this comes from second-hand accounts that are usually unattributed. The author goes overboard mentioning gays in Hollywood (and throws Cary Grant in the equation often) but keeps claiming that Stewart was straight even though he slept in the same bed with other men, was best friends with gay Hollywood men, and didn't get married until he was in his 40s. The author also paints Stewart's dad like a caricature who ignores his son's success while the rest of the Stewart family is ignored.
Where there should have been depth there is a great lack of detail, and the portions that have a lot of detail should have been edited or cut. The writer is out of his league, wanting to be part film critic, part psychologist, part sexual voyeur. And none of that works when it comes to Jimmy Stewart's rather dull and average life.
There are some interesting highlights to the actor's life, but most of this comes from second-hand accounts that are usually unattributed. The author goes overboard mentioning gays in Hollywood (and throws Cary Grant in the equation often) but keeps claiming that Stewart was straight even though he slept in the same bed with other men, was best friends with gay Hollywood men, and didn't get married until he was in his 40s. The author also paints Stewart's dad like a caricature who ignores his son's success while the rest of the Stewart family is ignored.
Where there should have been depth there is a great lack of detail, and the portions that have a lot of detail should have been edited or cut. The writer is out of his league, wanting to be part film critic, part psychologist, part sexual voyeur. And none of that works when it comes to Jimmy Stewart's rather dull and average life.
January 28, 2018
Too much amateur Freudian analysis to rank this any higher.
July 15, 2007
Mark Eliot created some waves in "classic film star fans'" world when he published Cary Grant: A Biography a few years ago. Suffice to say, the only reason I was tempted by the biography on James (Jimmy) Stewart was out of my admiration for the actor--not the book's author.
Despite my apprehension, I was pleasantly surprised by Jimmy Stewart: A Biography. Although one must always be wary of any biography written on any celebrity--especially one who is dead and especially described in a book not officially endorsed by his family--this biography revealed a refreshingly complex Stewart. Whereas Eliot showed narrow scope and excessive, if not obsessive, theorizing about Grant's sexuality that destroyed any vision for well-roundedness for the book and took away much of its appeal, the Stewart biography offers us a portrait of Jimmy Stewart the son, actor, friend, husband, father, and all-American hero. It's utterly refreshing, too, to read an account on an actor who was inarguably simple, but not simple-minded; private, but not snobbish; gracious and friendly, and never fake. Eliot gives us a Stewart who is neither perfect or deeply flawed, but a human being who just happened to be an actor. There are several points that may make one cringe (regarding sexuality--Eliot seems to have a fetish for such things that does not seem likely to go away in any of the biographies he writes; the Freudian-inspired digressions more often than not bore or distract us, rather than offer insight), but in the end, we admire Stewart and respect and appreciate the man and actor more than ever. Men like this don't exist anymore--in Hollywood or in the "peon" sphere.
Read about Stewart's upbringing in Pennsylvania and his youth spent in his father's harware store; his mediocre performances at Yale and dreams to be an engineer; his "starving artist" days in New York City with roommate Henry Fonda; the move out to California and entrance into the Hollywood "factory"; his Oscar award nominations and win; his long-term bachelorhood; Stewart's astounding heroism in World War II; and finally, his devotion to his wife and family up until his final days in California. Plenty of charming quotes and stories fill the pages to keep one entertained--I was hooked and couldn't put this book down for about a day and a half.
In a way, this book breeds a very nostalgic emotion that is caught somewhere between regret and longing, even in those who were born after the era described. Fans of Stewart and the "studio system" era of Hollywood and film-making will certainly appreciate this book.
Despite my apprehension, I was pleasantly surprised by Jimmy Stewart: A Biography. Although one must always be wary of any biography written on any celebrity--especially one who is dead and especially described in a book not officially endorsed by his family--this biography revealed a refreshingly complex Stewart. Whereas Eliot showed narrow scope and excessive, if not obsessive, theorizing about Grant's sexuality that destroyed any vision for well-roundedness for the book and took away much of its appeal, the Stewart biography offers us a portrait of Jimmy Stewart the son, actor, friend, husband, father, and all-American hero. It's utterly refreshing, too, to read an account on an actor who was inarguably simple, but not simple-minded; private, but not snobbish; gracious and friendly, and never fake. Eliot gives us a Stewart who is neither perfect or deeply flawed, but a human being who just happened to be an actor. There are several points that may make one cringe (regarding sexuality--Eliot seems to have a fetish for such things that does not seem likely to go away in any of the biographies he writes; the Freudian-inspired digressions more often than not bore or distract us, rather than offer insight), but in the end, we admire Stewart and respect and appreciate the man and actor more than ever. Men like this don't exist anymore--in Hollywood or in the "peon" sphere.
Read about Stewart's upbringing in Pennsylvania and his youth spent in his father's harware store; his mediocre performances at Yale and dreams to be an engineer; his "starving artist" days in New York City with roommate Henry Fonda; the move out to California and entrance into the Hollywood "factory"; his Oscar award nominations and win; his long-term bachelorhood; Stewart's astounding heroism in World War II; and finally, his devotion to his wife and family up until his final days in California. Plenty of charming quotes and stories fill the pages to keep one entertained--I was hooked and couldn't put this book down for about a day and a half.
In a way, this book breeds a very nostalgic emotion that is caught somewhere between regret and longing, even in those who were born after the era described. Fans of Stewart and the "studio system" era of Hollywood and film-making will certainly appreciate this book.
March 13, 2014
Just . . . smarmy, which is not a word that I think most people would use in connection with Stewart. Eliot spends a lot of time making not-so-veiled insinuations about the sex lives of Golden Age Hollywooders. When he isn't sniggering behind his hand, so to speak, he gives his interpretations of films in the Stewart canon. The interpretations are, shall we say, murky? I stayed to the end because, you know, Jimmy Stewart, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and It's a Wonderful Life, but a more fastidious reader may want to keep a bottle of Lysol nearby.
October 20, 2017
Decent biography would have gotten 4 stars from me except for some pretty glaring factual errors - that could have, SHOULD have been caught by an editor, especially for a book being touted by TCM - that throw the rest of the book into question. I almost excused it for the first one, but by the third....well....here they are:
1) The author incorrectly states that AUNTIE MAME won best picture for 1958 when GIGI was the Best Picture winner for that year. This one is the worst of the bunch. A so-called Movie Biographer should have known this. An editor of a motion picture based book should have caught this immediately.
2) The author incorrectly refers to Cinerama (for HOW THE WEST WAS WON) as CinemaScope. Huge difference there.
3) The author states that James Stewart voiced Fievel in AN AMERICAN TALE: FIEVEL GOES WEST when in fact Stewart voiced an old hound-dog sheriff by the name of Wylie Burp. Having an elderly man voice a child mouse? Yeah...don't think so.
1) The author incorrectly states that AUNTIE MAME won best picture for 1958 when GIGI was the Best Picture winner for that year. This one is the worst of the bunch. A so-called Movie Biographer should have known this. An editor of a motion picture based book should have caught this immediately.
2) The author incorrectly refers to Cinerama (for HOW THE WEST WAS WON) as CinemaScope. Huge difference there.
3) The author states that James Stewart voiced Fievel in AN AMERICAN TALE: FIEVEL GOES WEST when in fact Stewart voiced an old hound-dog sheriff by the name of Wylie Burp. Having an elderly man voice a child mouse? Yeah...don't think so.
February 2, 2012
I adore Jimmy Stewart, so it was almost a sure bet that I would love his biography. However, you never know, given what secrets and sorry personality traits that biographers may reveal about their subjects, if you'll end up liking the person or not! I'm happy to report that I still adore Jimmy Stewart. He was Hollywood royalty back in the Golden Age of Hollywood and no one deserved it more than he did. I doubt there was anyone who didn't like the affable Mr. Stewart. No sordid affairs, no drug or alcohol problems, just a hard working, patriotic guy. Jimmy not only found success in his acting career, but in his Army career as well, rising to the rank of Brigadier General and the recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross (only the 2nd flier in WWII to receive this honor). As is common with many artists, Jimmy did have minor bouts with depression and some disagreements with his best friend, the Left-leaning Henry Fonda, over politics. But for a person to become and remain a Hollywood Icon and come out respected, with a relatively non-blemished reputation is nearly unheard of. His story was at once remarkable and unremarkable, but even more than that, it was refreshing.
February 24, 2025
This book seemed to have a good balance between personal details and body of his work .
April 25, 2020
Awful. I was looking for a biography of Jimmy Stewart. What I got was a rambling story of everything except valid and interesting information about the man. There was plenty of innuendo without supporting facts, and I now have the backstory almost every person Jimmy Stewart ever met. However it was when the author got the storyline of "It's A Wonderful Life" wrong and misquoted the inscription in the book Clarence gives to George Bailey at the end of the movie that I had had enough. Wikipedia would have even gotten that correct.
Fortunately this was a garage sale find so I am not out much money. I usually donate my used books to my local bookstore, but I will be using this one for fire starters at my next 'shelter-in-place' camfire!
Fortunately this was a garage sale find so I am not out much money. I usually donate my used books to my local bookstore, but I will be using this one for fire starters at my next 'shelter-in-place' camfire!
April 25, 2014
Eliot did not do justice to Jimmy Stewart at all in this "biography!" Eliot seemed more interested in creating innuendo and accused relationships rather than writing about the great man Jimmy Stewart. If he had factual information about anything it may have been better served, but assumptions and fantasies of debauchery are not worth anyone's time. There are much better books out there that truly record the life of one of Americas past heroes.
August 18, 2024
Two of my favorite films starred Jimmy Stewart. One is Delmar Daves' ground breaking 1950 western, ''Broken Arrow,'' the beautiful, haunting tragedy of Cochise and the Apache people, which gave us for the first time a stirring true picture of native Americans. The other is Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 masterpiece, ‘’Vertigo,’’ hailed by some as the greatest American film ever made.
I loved this biography for its keen understanding of a star who always felt more like a cherished friend. The author's deeply felt connection with Stewart’s life and films produce an enthralling reading experience. Despite some bizarre interpretations of a few of Stewart's films, such as his take on ''Winchester 73,'' the book is a deeply moving portrait of a man we revered because of his honesty, humility and courage throughout life.
His performing accomplishments were stellar by any measure. As an actor he worked under some of the great film makers - Ernst Lubitcsh, Frank Capra, George Cukor, Alfred Hitchcock, Delmar Daves, Anthony Mann and John Ford - and made film classics: ''Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,'' ''The Philadelphia Story,'' ''The Mortal Storm,'' ''Destry Rides Again,'' ''The Shop Around the Corner,'' ''It's a Wonderful Life,'' ''Rear Window,'' ''Broken Arrow,'' ''Winchester 73,'' ''The Man From Laramie,'' ''Vertigo,'' ''The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.’’ Always without frills and never wavering from his homespun roots and his iconic American values, Jimmy Stewart’s portrayals pierced hearts and won millions of fans through the decades.
His life away from cameras was no less striking. A highly decorated hero of World War 2, he flew some of the most dangerous and violent combat missions of the war. Returning home and for the rest of his life, he suffered from severe PTSD. He declined to ever talk about his experiences with friends or family, and despite lucrative offers, steadfastly refused to make a film about war.
In 1980 the American Film Institute honored Jimmy with its Lifetime Achievement Award:
’’Then Frank Capra, hunched with age…came to the micrrophone and, before a hushed audience, managed to say the following: ’There is a higher level than great performances in acting. A level where there is no acting at all. The actor disappears and there’s only a real live person on the screen. A person audiences care about immediately. There are only a few actors, very few, capable of achieving this highest level of the actor’s art. And that tall stringbean sitting right over there, he’s one of them.’
’Those words brought Jimmy to tears, as he stood with the rest of the crowd to a standing ovation for Capra while the aged director slowly left the stage….''
This is a book about America as much as it is about Jimmy Stewart. His life as well as his films reflect core values of 20th century American culture. Perhaps they also reflect dreams of an America still longing to be born.
Jimmy Stewart was the real thing. His is a life worth knowing, and this is a book worth reading.
richflandersmusic.com
''UNDER THE GREAT ELM - A Life of Luck & Wonder''
I loved this biography for its keen understanding of a star who always felt more like a cherished friend. The author's deeply felt connection with Stewart’s life and films produce an enthralling reading experience. Despite some bizarre interpretations of a few of Stewart's films, such as his take on ''Winchester 73,'' the book is a deeply moving portrait of a man we revered because of his honesty, humility and courage throughout life.
His performing accomplishments were stellar by any measure. As an actor he worked under some of the great film makers - Ernst Lubitcsh, Frank Capra, George Cukor, Alfred Hitchcock, Delmar Daves, Anthony Mann and John Ford - and made film classics: ''Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,'' ''The Philadelphia Story,'' ''The Mortal Storm,'' ''Destry Rides Again,'' ''The Shop Around the Corner,'' ''It's a Wonderful Life,'' ''Rear Window,'' ''Broken Arrow,'' ''Winchester 73,'' ''The Man From Laramie,'' ''Vertigo,'' ''The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.’’ Always without frills and never wavering from his homespun roots and his iconic American values, Jimmy Stewart’s portrayals pierced hearts and won millions of fans through the decades.
His life away from cameras was no less striking. A highly decorated hero of World War 2, he flew some of the most dangerous and violent combat missions of the war. Returning home and for the rest of his life, he suffered from severe PTSD. He declined to ever talk about his experiences with friends or family, and despite lucrative offers, steadfastly refused to make a film about war.
In 1980 the American Film Institute honored Jimmy with its Lifetime Achievement Award:
’’Then Frank Capra, hunched with age…came to the micrrophone and, before a hushed audience, managed to say the following: ’There is a higher level than great performances in acting. A level where there is no acting at all. The actor disappears and there’s only a real live person on the screen. A person audiences care about immediately. There are only a few actors, very few, capable of achieving this highest level of the actor’s art. And that tall stringbean sitting right over there, he’s one of them.’
’Those words brought Jimmy to tears, as he stood with the rest of the crowd to a standing ovation for Capra while the aged director slowly left the stage….''
This is a book about America as much as it is about Jimmy Stewart. His life as well as his films reflect core values of 20th century American culture. Perhaps they also reflect dreams of an America still longing to be born.
Jimmy Stewart was the real thing. His is a life worth knowing, and this is a book worth reading.
richflandersmusic.com
''UNDER THE GREAT ELM - A Life of Luck & Wonder''
February 10, 2023
I very much enjoyed reading this! I learned quite a bit about Hollywood in the 30s, 40s, and 50s. I do have to say I enjoyed the second half of the book more than the first half; I was a little skeptical, but as the story progressed it became more sincere. When I first bought this book I was unsure whether I wanted to read it or not because we know actors as characters in some of our favorite stories, but when we read further into their real lives we find disappointment. With Jimmy Stewart, on the other hand, I did not find the expected disappointment. Though no one is perfect and he didn't always make wise decisions, I was pleasantly surprised.
Here's to "a wonderful life."
Here's to "a wonderful life."
Read
November 19, 2023cried at the end because i am the world’s biggest sap
August 19, 2014
I once asked a young, new college grad employee if she knew who the actor James Stewart was. She drew a blank until I mentioned the movie IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE and she said, "oh, that guy." Unfortunately, under-thirties and even most gen-xers are ignorant of older cinema, pre-Spielberg/Lucas, in the same way that my generation, the baby boomers, was ignorant of the silent era of film. The young employee didn't know who James Stewart was in the same way I didn't know who Francis X. Bushman was when I was her age.
Marc Eliot has written a great biography of the iconic actor James Stewart. Eliot's book has great appeal to me as a film buff. He not only follows Stewart's career from struggling stage actor to tyro moving up the ladder in filmdom to WWII military hero to major Hollywood movie star, he loads his narrative with context by giving the reader plenty of info on other film world issues during Stewart's life. Especially noteworthy is the author's generous ink used on Stewart's best friend and co-icon, Henry Fonda.
Stewart's greatest decade in film was the 1950s. It was in this decade that Stewart teemed up with directors Anthony Mann and Alfred Hitchcock. Mann's collaboration with Jimmy produced some of the best "adult" themed westerns of the day: WINCHESTER 73; BEND OF THE RIVER; THE NAKED SPUR; THE FAR COUNTRY and THE MAN FROM LARAMIE. Hitchcock and Stewart's joint effort gave us true thriller classics in REAR WINDOW and VERTIGO and the lesser THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH.
Consider too that Stewart was nominated for a best acting Oscar for Otto Preminger's adult courtroom drama ANATOMY OF A MURDER (1959) and it's easy to pick the 50's as Jimmy's best decade in film. The 1960's and 70's were less kind to him. He did team up with the film-history important director John Ford for three films, but only one of those films is deemed a classic today, THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE. He made a memorable Civil War melodrama in SHENANDOAH, but Eliot gives this movie almost no discussion. Eliot also ignores the entertaining comedy western THE CHEYENNE SOCIAL CLUB that teamed Stewart with Fonda to good, comedic effect.
There are some personal revelations about Jimmy Stewart that informed this reviewer's knowledge about one of his favorite actors. For one, Stewart lost his virginity rather late (in his late twenties, if I remember) to the actress Ginger Rodgers. Another: Stewart, who flew bombers against Germany during the war, was shell shocked by the time the war was over. He made a vow to himself never to act in a war movie, even though he was a war hawk personally and later would voice his support for the Vietnam conflict (and therefore create a strained relationship for a while with his good buddy, and liberal, Henry Fonda.)
Eliot documents Stewart's "comeback" in the 70s. Jimmy became something of hot news in the pop world during this time because his Christmas movie, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, became a yearly TV perennial, along with THE WIZARD OF OZ and THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. and the rediscovery of the comedy fantasy HARVEY (1950), generally unliked during its initial release, but appreciated by a new audience. And Hitchcock's REAR WINDOW and VERTIGO were rereleased to theaters and TV to give a shot to both Alfred and Jimmy's reputations. (VERTIGO, like HARVEY and IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, was not highly thought of by audiences and critics alike when first released. Its reputation has grown dramatically in recent years. Last year a British film institution named VERTIGO as the greatest film ever, supplanting Orson Welles' CITIZEN KANE.)
There are aspects of Stewart's career that Eliot does not discuss. For instance, Maureen O'Hara, in her autobiography, noted that Stewart used his pull with a director as, well JAMES STEWART, to dump a scene he shared with O'Hara presumably because she held her own with him in it. She stated that if you worked on a James Stewart movie, he made you know it was HIS movie. Hints and rumors over the years about Jimmy's perfectionism are not addressed in Eliot's book, as well as similar hints and rumors concerning Stewart's alleged (and disappointing if true) racism are not brought up.
And there is a little trivial issue that I've often wonder about and it is not in Eliot's book too. Who got top billing for THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERY VALANCE? If you watch the movie, you will see that John Wayne's name appears before Stewart's does. Yet if you look at the print ads, or the trailers advertising the film, James Stewart's name always appears first. For that film, and that actor, I personally think the print ads and trailers got it right.
Marc Eliot has written a great biography of the iconic actor James Stewart. Eliot's book has great appeal to me as a film buff. He not only follows Stewart's career from struggling stage actor to tyro moving up the ladder in filmdom to WWII military hero to major Hollywood movie star, he loads his narrative with context by giving the reader plenty of info on other film world issues during Stewart's life. Especially noteworthy is the author's generous ink used on Stewart's best friend and co-icon, Henry Fonda.
Stewart's greatest decade in film was the 1950s. It was in this decade that Stewart teemed up with directors Anthony Mann and Alfred Hitchcock. Mann's collaboration with Jimmy produced some of the best "adult" themed westerns of the day: WINCHESTER 73; BEND OF THE RIVER; THE NAKED SPUR; THE FAR COUNTRY and THE MAN FROM LARAMIE. Hitchcock and Stewart's joint effort gave us true thriller classics in REAR WINDOW and VERTIGO and the lesser THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH.
Consider too that Stewart was nominated for a best acting Oscar for Otto Preminger's adult courtroom drama ANATOMY OF A MURDER (1959) and it's easy to pick the 50's as Jimmy's best decade in film. The 1960's and 70's were less kind to him. He did team up with the film-history important director John Ford for three films, but only one of those films is deemed a classic today, THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE. He made a memorable Civil War melodrama in SHENANDOAH, but Eliot gives this movie almost no discussion. Eliot also ignores the entertaining comedy western THE CHEYENNE SOCIAL CLUB that teamed Stewart with Fonda to good, comedic effect.
There are some personal revelations about Jimmy Stewart that informed this reviewer's knowledge about one of his favorite actors. For one, Stewart lost his virginity rather late (in his late twenties, if I remember) to the actress Ginger Rodgers. Another: Stewart, who flew bombers against Germany during the war, was shell shocked by the time the war was over. He made a vow to himself never to act in a war movie, even though he was a war hawk personally and later would voice his support for the Vietnam conflict (and therefore create a strained relationship for a while with his good buddy, and liberal, Henry Fonda.)
Eliot documents Stewart's "comeback" in the 70s. Jimmy became something of hot news in the pop world during this time because his Christmas movie, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, became a yearly TV perennial, along with THE WIZARD OF OZ and THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. and the rediscovery of the comedy fantasy HARVEY (1950), generally unliked during its initial release, but appreciated by a new audience. And Hitchcock's REAR WINDOW and VERTIGO were rereleased to theaters and TV to give a shot to both Alfred and Jimmy's reputations. (VERTIGO, like HARVEY and IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, was not highly thought of by audiences and critics alike when first released. Its reputation has grown dramatically in recent years. Last year a British film institution named VERTIGO as the greatest film ever, supplanting Orson Welles' CITIZEN KANE.)
There are aspects of Stewart's career that Eliot does not discuss. For instance, Maureen O'Hara, in her autobiography, noted that Stewart used his pull with a director as, well JAMES STEWART, to dump a scene he shared with O'Hara presumably because she held her own with him in it. She stated that if you worked on a James Stewart movie, he made you know it was HIS movie. Hints and rumors over the years about Jimmy's perfectionism are not addressed in Eliot's book, as well as similar hints and rumors concerning Stewart's alleged (and disappointing if true) racism are not brought up.
And there is a little trivial issue that I've often wonder about and it is not in Eliot's book too. Who got top billing for THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERY VALANCE? If you watch the movie, you will see that John Wayne's name appears before Stewart's does. Yet if you look at the print ads, or the trailers advertising the film, James Stewart's name always appears first. For that film, and that actor, I personally think the print ads and trailers got it right.
May 19, 2010
I should have known better with this biographer (who also wrote "Walt Disney: Hollywood's Dark Prince"). He seems much more interested in Stewart's sins than in anything else. Biographers have amazing power when you think about it, both in the events they choose to include and leave out of the biography, as well as in how they write about what they do include. I was disappointed to read about how ugly a place Hollywood was even back in the 20's and 30's. I will say that Stewart comes out of these pages looking like a saint compared to the rest of Hollywood during that time. He didn't get married till he was 40, but he stayed faithful to his wife, which is more than just about any other actor at that time could say.
I was impressed with his WWII experience. He refused to be just a PR guy when he joined the military (instead of being drafted). He ended up as a commander of a fleet of bombers going over Germany. Some nights before a bombing run, he would be up late with almost immobilizing terror. He didn't want his men to see him afraid, because it would shake their confidence. Then they would all die. So he thought back to the words of his father (who fought in WWI)--that the only way to get rid of fear is to give it to God. He did, and he attributed that to saving his life, as well of the lives of many of his men.
I am not done reading about Jimmy Stewart, who is still one of my heroes.
I was impressed with his WWII experience. He refused to be just a PR guy when he joined the military (instead of being drafted). He ended up as a commander of a fleet of bombers going over Germany. Some nights before a bombing run, he would be up late with almost immobilizing terror. He didn't want his men to see him afraid, because it would shake their confidence. Then they would all die. So he thought back to the words of his father (who fought in WWI)--that the only way to get rid of fear is to give it to God. He did, and he attributed that to saving his life, as well of the lives of many of his men.
I am not done reading about Jimmy Stewart, who is still one of my heroes.
August 22, 2012
I am absolutely furious about this book. I quit reading about half-way through.
I read it through the section about It's a Wonderful Life (chapter 13). In that chapter, I found three mistakes - not minor details, but major, provable points, including misquoting Zuzu and misquoting the inscription in the book in the last scene - within four paragraphs. If Eliot's work is that shoddy in four paragraphs, how can I trust the rest of the information in the book?
Avoid this at all costs!!!!!!!!!!
I read it through the section about It's a Wonderful Life (chapter 13). In that chapter, I found three mistakes - not minor details, but major, provable points, including misquoting Zuzu and misquoting the inscription in the book in the last scene - within four paragraphs. If Eliot's work is that shoddy in four paragraphs, how can I trust the rest of the information in the book?
Avoid this at all costs!!!!!!!!!!
June 28, 2017
Interesting and apparently well-researched book, but I was put off by the number of typos and errors: "riding" instead of "ridding," "in vein" instead of "in vain," missing words, and the like. Gloria's maiden name was not Maitland, as was stated in the beginning; Kelly was not Ronald's stepsister, she was his half-sister; and "Auntie Mame" never won the Oscar for best picture. All of these sorts of things were very distracting to me.
October 1, 2020
I was seriously impressed by this biography of Jimmy Stewart. I only knew about the actor from his movies. I knew nothing about his early life, his acting on stage, his war experience, his family, and later life. This book filled in those gaps and gave me a panoramic view not just of his life, but of the Hollywood world (scary!) and how our nation changed depending on outside events and media influences. An interesting book that really offered a lot of food for thought.
April 21, 2021
Some light reading while recovering from back surgery and frankly I was disappointed. The author seemed like he couldn't include more sordid and scandalous details if he tried. Not that I'm doubting the veracity of what he includes, just the way those sections were written. A serviceable biography but I think there is probably a better one.
February 12, 2019
Very detailed biography. The only thing I didn’t like was the authors obsession with sex. Also, it ended very abruptly. Basically he died. The end. Could have added a nicer ending for such a great actor and person.
February 12, 2020
Marc Eliot is too preoccupied with Jimmy's sex life. I'm sure there were other aspects of his life he could have focused on.
February 6, 2021
This was less about Jimmy Stewart's life and more about the author's apparent fascination with Hollywood gossip, speculation on Stewart's sexuality, and analysis of his movie plots.
August 9, 2023
Decent but feels rushed near the end.
More details about making the movies would have been welcome.
Not a definitive biography but perhaps as good as we can expect for now.
More details about making the movies would have been welcome.
Not a definitive biography but perhaps as good as we can expect for now.
November 27, 2025
Great story about a great man poorly written and edited. I wish I read the Scott Eyman version
July 31, 2017
Jimmy Stewart has long been one of my favorite actors. This biography gives the reader a glimpse into his life and how he got his start in acting. Marc Eliot did a thorough job researching for this book, and it shows.
September 16, 2021
Parts are fantastic, others are full of way too much detail. I'd hazard to say that most people reaching for this book have seen at least a couple of his movies. I didn't see the point in spending multiple pages describing each movie. Just seemed needlessly excessive.
December 17, 2021
75% of the book is well-researched and appropriate in depth. The other quarter of the book made me want to put it down.
July 30, 2019
This is a biography very much of its time in its analysis of sexual politics, i.e. the women are all conniving, manipulative, and money grubbing and the men only do it because they have to. Hmm...
Anyway, the account of Stewart's life seems quite balanced. He was definitely not a saint, although he still seems like a good man even after one learns a great deal about him. It's interesting how many great entertainers, like Stewart, seem to have critical and disapproving fathers.
As others have mentioned, the author seems highly focused on Stewart's sexuality and the supposedly Freudian themes of his movies. That's certainly one way to interpret the films, but it certainly can't be stated definitively that Hitchcock was trying to explicate Freudian themes, whether consciously or subconsciously. In this respect, Eliot comes across as a touch pedantic.
Overall, I enjoyed learning more about Stewart's life. His collaboration with Frank Capra was especially engrossing. It's too bad that Stewart didn't defend Capra when the investigations into communist activities crowd got a hold of him.
I give this biography an average to above average rating for its readability and entertaining presentation.
Anyway, the account of Stewart's life seems quite balanced. He was definitely not a saint, although he still seems like a good man even after one learns a great deal about him. It's interesting how many great entertainers, like Stewart, seem to have critical and disapproving fathers.
As others have mentioned, the author seems highly focused on Stewart's sexuality and the supposedly Freudian themes of his movies. That's certainly one way to interpret the films, but it certainly can't be stated definitively that Hitchcock was trying to explicate Freudian themes, whether consciously or subconsciously. In this respect, Eliot comes across as a touch pedantic.
Overall, I enjoyed learning more about Stewart's life. His collaboration with Frank Capra was especially engrossing. It's too bad that Stewart didn't defend Capra when the investigations into communist activities crowd got a hold of him.
I give this biography an average to above average rating for its readability and entertaining presentation.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 144 reviews