Hank and Jim: The Fifty-Year Friendship of Henry Fonda and James Stewart

by Scott Eyman

“[A] remarkably absorbing, supremely entertaining joint biography” (The New York Times) from bestselling author Scott Eyman about the remarkable friendship of Henry Fonda and James Stewart, two Hollywood legends who maintained a close relationship that endured all of life’s twists and turns.Henry Fonda and James Stewart were two of the biggest stars in Hollywood for forty years, but they became friends when they were unknown. They roomed together as stage actors in New York, and when they began making films in Hollywood, they were roommates again. Between them they made such classic films as The Grapes of Wrath, Mister Roberts, Twelve Angry Men, and On Golden Pond; and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Philadelphia Story, It’s a Wonderful Life, Vertigo, and Rear Window. They got along famously, with a shared interest in elaborate practical jokes and model airplanes, among other things. But their friendship also endured despite their Fonda was a liberal Democrat, Stewart a conservative Republican. Fonda was a ladies’ man who was married five times; Stewart remained married to the same woman for forty-five years. Both men volunteered during World War II and were decorated for their service. When Stewart returned home, still unmarried, he once again moved in with Fonda, his wife, and his two children, Jane and Peter, who knew him as Uncle Jimmy. For his “breezy, entertaining” (Publishers Weekly) Hank and Jim, biographer and film historian Scott Eyman spoke with Fonda’s widow and children as well as three of Stewart’s children, plus actors and directors who had worked with the men—in addition to doing extensive archival research to get the full details of their time together. This is not just another Hollywood story, but “a fascinating…richly documented biography” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) of an extraordinary friendship that lasted through war, marriages, children, careers, and everything else.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Film, History, Biography Memoir, Media Tie In, Audiobook

385 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 10, 2017

About the author

Scott Eyman has authored 11 books, including, with Robert Wagner, the New York Times bestseller Pieces of My Heart.

Among his other books are "Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer," "Print the Legend: The Life and Times of John Ford," "Ernst Lubitsch: Laughter in Paradise," and "The Speed of Sound" (all Simon & Schuster) and "John Ford: The Searcher" for Taschen.

He has lectured extensively around the world, most frequently at the National Film Theater in London, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Moscow Film Theater. He's done the commentary tracks for many DVD's, including "Trouble in Paradise," "My Darling Clementine," and Stagecoach.

Eyman has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Chicago Tribune, as well as practically every film magazine extinct or still extant.

He's the literary critic for the Palm Beach Post; he and his wife Lynn live in Palm Beach.

Reviews

[David Putnam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for Hollywood history, stories of actors and their trials and tribulations. Author Scott Eyman is a great author and I have read almost everything he has written. I grabbed this book up as soon as it came out and it did not disappoint. I had no idea that Stewart and Fonda were such good friends. It was a rare friendship with a depth like I have never seen before. They lived together for awhile in the same house as they both found their way in their careers and oddly they were polar opposites politically. They had too many cats and too many chickens. This book is not only a great read but a study in character as well.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys nonfiction and a snapshot of Hollywood history that involves two powerhouse actors. A solid five stars.
David Putnam author of the Bruno Johnson series.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

"[Actors Henry Fonda and James Stewart] were two loners who went off to see the world and remade component parts of it into their own images, two fiercely private men who were quite capable of confounding their own families . . . Acting allowed them to express emotions neither of them would have otherwise expressed, use experiences that they would normally have blocked. Although their styles were quite different, they shared an internal sense of true north." -- on page 317

I was an ardent admirer of author Eyman's excellent and thorough biography John Wayne: The Life and Legend some ten years ago, and I was pleased to discover that his follow-up Hank & Jim is of comparable quality. Focusing on Henry Fonda and James Stewart - who first met in 1932 as budding stage performers in New York City - Eyman details their oft-turbulent personal and professional lives over the next 50 years until Fonda's death in the summer of 1982. On the surface they seem to be cut from differing cloths - Nebraska-born Fonda an agnostic liberal who married five (!) times, Pennsylvania native (woot-woot!) Stewart a conservative Christian who was graced with a solid five-decade long marriage - but theirs was a strong friendship that was cemented in some early theater work and then both breaking through to major Hollywood silver-screen success in 1939, Fonda with director John Ford's Young Mr. Lincoln and Stewart with director Frank Capra's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. What was especially interesting was how service in World War II profoundly affected and changed both men - Stewart flew nineteen bombing missions in a B-24 over Europe, while Fonda saw action on a naval vessel in the Pacific Theater - and the harsh experiences further served as a quiet and stoic link between the two of them for the rest of their lives. While Fonda probably garnered more critical respect - as he freely jumped back and forth between stage work and films for decades - Stewart was a consistently strong commercial success at the movie box office, with author Eyman pointing out that he [Stewart] was likely the most popular American screen actor during the 50's with a string of hit films in multiple genres. They both excelled at inhabiting a certain American 'everyman' quality in their performances, and it was compelling to read about this talented duo.

[Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an interesting and entertaining dual biography of two movie superstars, who also happen to be my favorite actors. I only saw a couple of their movies in a theater, but down through the years I made a point of viewing them on TV and/or video. I was rarely disappointed in any of their films.

The subtitle tells it all. Their relationship began before either of them had appeared in a movie and it endured until Fonda’s death in 1982 (Stewart died in 1997.). They were best friends even though they were the original odd couple; Stewart was a conservative Republican and Fonda was a liberal Democrat. Their disagreement on politics was never a problem because of the way they handled it: they simply never discussed political issues.

[Magdalena aka A Bookaholic Swede · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a BIG fan of Henry Fonda was I eager to read this book. I liked the idea of the book that it's a book about Hank and Jim, two very different men who became friends when they were young actors and stayed friends throughout their lives.



It was fascinating reading about how they started out in the theater, their lives before they become famous, dating women, marriages (Jim one time while Hank 5), WW2 and how they were decorated for their services, the high and low of their careers. And, of course, the twilight of their lives, when they started to lose good friends who passed away, and when they both got older and finally when Hank passed away and Jim had to go one without his best friend.



It's a fabulous book, and I loved how the friendship between the men lasted all through their lives, despite the difference for instance when it came to politics. Their shared loved for model airplanes was charming to read about. I also found the chapter about WW2 absolutely fascinating to read. So many Hollywood stars that fought during the war and it was interesting to learn that they both were more than figureheads that they actually did fight. And, that they didn't talk much about it later in life. Jim's children, for instance, had no idea what their father had done in the war, more than that he had been a soldier.

Then we have their personal life. Hanks marriages all failed until the very last one (Shirlee, who he was married to until his death) while Jim found the right woman, Gloria, who he was married to until her death. Hank's first marriage ended when his wife committed suicide and after that came a string of marriages that didn't work out at all while Jim was in his 40s when he finally found the right woman to marry. It's interesting btw how Margaret Sullavan came to play a big part in both their lives, Hank marrying her, then divorcing since they could not live together, while Jim had a crush on her that lasted several years.

It was a difficult birth, and Gloria stayed in the hospital for several weeks. Her release from the hospital provided her with one of her favorite stories about her dreamy husband. Jim went to get the car to pick her up, but sometime between leaving the hospital and getting in the car, he forgot that he was supposed to pick her up. Instead, he started driving home. Gloria knew her man. After twenty minutes of waiting, she told the nurse that he had forgotten about her. The nurse didn’t think such a thing was possible, but Gloria knew better. She told the nurse to take her and the babies upstairs. She would wait for the absentminded actor to remember what he had forgotten. On the way back home, Jim stopped at a photography studio to pick up some pictures. When the photographer asked after Gloria, Jim suddenly realized what he had done and ran for a phone. He’d be right there, he told her. 

I want to thank G.P. Putnam's Sons for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!

[Scott Southard · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are many things I was expecting with this book and hoping for.

First, I was hoping for a double biography, learning about both men, Henry Fonda and James Stewart. Learning about what made these men who they are, what made them tick. Second, I hoped to learn about their experiences in Hollywood (for example, working with Hitchcock, classic movies, etc.). Their friendship and misadventures were probably third of my list. Still, wasn't I promised all this?

Little did I expect I would really not get any of my boxes checked.

When it comes to biographies, there is nothing too in-depth here. It feels like a collection of general quotes from other sources, written closer to the style of a TV Guide article than a Ron Chernow biography. Also, there is a lot of repetition, as if the author was worried we forgot something he said. Even in war time, there are only hints of their experience (a lot later of them stating they don't want to talk about it). How do you make their adventures and experiences in WWII boring? And why not research and share some specific adventures that puts us there with them? It takes a skill to make war heroes boring, but that is the case here. What is generally a harrowing and life-changing experience is breezed over. There was this war, you know...

Probably the most disappointing is how little we dive into their experiences in Hollywood. The author also has this weird knack for acting as a judge and jury around their films. He will say rather flippantly "So and so made three films, two were good and one was bad." Why was it bad? Why were they good? And who made that decision. Critics? Finances? The author? You would expect at least a description of the movie, the reaction, but he rarely does this. He just wants you to roll with it. Trust me, I know what is good and what is bad. Sigh.

Also, Hitchcock worked with both men. Do we meet Hitchcock? Get to know what it was like working with him. It is rare that anyone considers Hitchcock a "blip on a radar," but that is the case here. For some reason he is not important.

In some ways, it feels like the first draft of a greater book to come. Something bigger, more bold. This is a skim of that book. Right now, I couldn't even tell you the name of Stewart's wife and I just finished the book. How is that possible? You walk away with almost the shrug, "They were just these two guys, you know."

Personally, I don't think Hank and Jim were ever just two ordinary guys.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scott Eyman is an excellent biographer. His focus is generally on film personalities of the so-called Golden Age, and here he tackles two at once. That two of Hollywood's biggest stars were life-long pals presents Eyman with a unique opportunity to examine not only their lives but the nature of friendship in the context of enormous talent and enormous success. Henry Fonda and James Stewart, in many ways near-polar opposites, became good friends as very young men, and remained so for the rest of their lives. Stewart, the image of gregarious warmth, and Fonda, a publicly reserved and seemingly cold man, found a refuge in each other that not only gave them immense comfort and happiness, but resounds as a testament to the ability of people to remain close even in the face of great differences. Eyman doesn't give much attention to the details of the pair's films, probably due to the exigencies of having to cover two lives in a single book. But his insights and revelations about their relationship, their family lives, and their individual personalities are both welcome and extremely well expressed. This is a superb book.

[Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of a most unlikely friendship. These two Hollywood icons could not have been more different in every meaningful way.
They differed in temperament, religion, politics and even their approach to acting and yet a forever bond was formed that lasted until the end.
This is a lesson in friendship.
I’m not sure why I didn’t like the book more, it should have been a 5-star read for me, but it wasn’t. It seemed as if the author too often strayed from the purpose of the book as per the title.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

What else can I say, an overall well-done product. It covers both of their lives from the beginning, and their friendship from beginning to end. Some points in the book were boring or branched out too much into other things and people. However, it is all tied nicely together with their final years. I would definitely recommend the book.

[GoldGato · Rating 4 out of 5]

Henry Fonda (“Hank”) and James Stewart (“Jim”) were not only the quintessential American film actors, but they were also lifelong friends, loyal to each other for decades. They both started their acting careers on the East Coast, pounding the boards until they learned how to fine tune their craft. When they ultimately succeeded beyond their wildest dreams and became Hollywood royalty, they still had time to goof off by building model airplanes and flying kites together, a way to escape the pressures that came with boxoffice success.

Henry Fonda walks like a tranquil hobo used to getting no rides.
(David Thomson on the famous Henry Fonda languid walk)

Fonda was the tightly wound perfectionist, unable to understand why others did not devote themselves to the craft the way he did. Stewart was more easygoing, never really aiming for anything in particular. Fonda was discovered by Marlon Brando’s mother, Stewart just wanted to get away from his small town. Both were embodiments of the Midwest…silent, lanky, strong, patient. Neither hesitated when it was time to serve in WWII. Fonda joined the Navy first as a quartermaster. At the age of 37, he was considered old for service plus he refused to join as an officer, instead starting as an enlisted sailor. When he felt his work was where it needed to be, he then became an officer, serving in the Pacific Theatre. Stewart loved to fly and couldn’t wait to join the Army Air Force, where he flew bomber planes over Germany. As a senior officer, he had to lead the squadrons and narrowly avoided being shot down himself. The stress of watching young men die became a bit much for him at one point, and he had to step away to stop the nerves. Neither actor ever really discussed the war. They had done their job, survived, and lived forever with what they saw and with the usual survivor’s guilt (Stewart would remain with the Air Force reserve as a Brigadier General until he hit the mandatory retirement age).

By the time they returned to Hollywood, the industry had changed. Gone were the merry days, replaced by B&W realistic dramas. They had both visibly aged, with Stewart especially reflecting the hell he had survived. But they had also ripened their skills and their return showed how they could still dominate a big screen just by being in front of a camera. Fonda would make some more classics, such as his surprising villainous turn in Once Upon A Time In The West, but his heart was now with the New York stage and he spent more and more time on the East Coast.
It was Jimmy who expanded his list of masterpieces, starting with It’s A Wonderful Life, a film role he could now believably portray after his war experience. Then there were the movies directed by Anthony Mann, especially the Westerns. The young, gullible, gangly Jimmy was gone and the balding, stubble-faced James was now dominant. And then there were Hitchcock films, including Vertigo and Rear Window, both cinematic treasures.

Stewart was now a master of the middle register, the place where generations of doubt and ambivalence reside.

As they slowly aged out of film roles, their domestic lives differed. Fonda kept marrying and divorcing, while Stewart married once and settled down in a cozy home in Beverly Hills, where he shared his garden produce with neighbors such as Lucille Ball and Jack Benny. It was James Stewart who would be seen walking his beloved dogs and waving to fans as the tour buses stopped in front of his home. He also remained loyal to the memory of his father, who had owned a hardware store in the Midwest. After his dad passed away, Stewart kept the place, but locked it up, merchandise and all, because he didn’t think anyone else could provide the same heart and soul in sales as his father had.

This was an enjoyable book, and I think it's because the reader doesn’t get lost. Since the author has to explore the lives of two subjects, Scott Eyman keeps the reading varied by keeping the chronological timeframes the same for both and keeping them in the same chapters. It also made me think about the classic film actors who had dominated the box-office and had American qualities to them. James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart represented the harsh, urban Eastern cities. Clark Gable was the handsome everyman, while John Wayne was more on the Western side of the States. Cary Grant was always too British to be American. Only Gary Cooper and Spencer Tracy had the same American-ness quality as Fonda and Stewart, but Coop was always shadowed by his handsomeness and Tracy by his demons. That left the two skinny, ambling Midwesterners who conquered Hollywood without really meaning to do so. If you have any kind of interest in the Silver Screen, this would be a very good book to enjoy.

Book Season = Year Round (professional considerations)

[Louis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderfully charming book about one of Hollywood's most enduring friendships. Henry Fonda met James Stewart when both men were young during the lean years of the Great Depression. Fonda had recently made a big move to New York, his acting ambitions leading him far afield from his Nebraska home. Stewart had not quite taken the plunge; although he took part in some college shows, he was an architecture student at Princeton. Once he chose the same career, Stewart became Fonda's closest friend. The two men became so close that even long separations (each one took time to serve heroically in World War II, Stewart in the European theater, Fonda in the Pacific) could cause a rift. Neither could political differences, as the conservative Republican Stewart and liberal Democrat Fonda agreed not to talk about such matters. Each man was a self-contained loner and they spent hours together (working on common interests such as model airplanes), speaking little but enjoying their time together. In such fashion did two of the greatest movie stars of all time maintain a 50-year friendship. Eyman tells their story well, showing each man's less appealing side yet ultimately revealing their considerable charm. He also provides solid analyses of their screen personas and greatest roles. An excellent read for fans of either actor or anyone interested in Hollywood history.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

My grandmother hated Jimmy Stewart--his voice drove her up the wall--and she could only take a few minutes of any movie with him before demanding it be turned off. Frankly, his voice never bugged me, but did learn 3 rather interesting (to me) facts about Jimmy's voice:

1) He would deliberately ham up the stuttering, much like any star of his day (Davis's mannerisms, Crawford's masochism, Garland with song, etc.), he knew his idiosyncrasies were what his audience grew to expect
but
2) It was absolutely revolutionary at the time, and part of how he became famous SO quick, and that his mumbling/stammering was just what Brando and Pacino and others did later and got lauded for praise
and
3) Stewart was always kind of miffed at how hard it was to pull of that sincerity that would have made others look foolish (invisible rabbit, angels, trying to get a Boy Scout weekend retreat put into a bill) and how he never really got credit for making natural look so easy.

Fonda is another one whose voice I can instantly conjure up in my head, and I read pretty much every quote in the book said by its subjects with their own words. I also didn't know Henry Fonda's middle name was Jayne. I didn't know Marlon Brando's alcoholic homemaker mother caught sight of a young Henry Fonda crossing the street and decided he needed to be an actor, which is how he stumbled into acting. And I didn't know just how entwined Fonda and Jimmy Stewart's lives were--they really were platonic soul mates.

Book focuses almost entirely on the friendship, which easily fills the book--so if you were hoping to read a lot about their films or a book slanted more towards professional lives, then this is not that book. Both families participated with the author (Fonda's children and widow) and Jimmy Stewart's children, so it's inherently a friendly book towards its subjects. It can't really conceal Fonda's monstrous behavior with his second's wife suicide, or how both men treated some women pretty coldly in their bachelor days. And there's a reference to a homophobic slur that Fonda reportedly uttered towards Charles Laughton and the "Well damn.." at the revelation that Jimmy Stewart might have been racist.

It's a perfect duo to write about. Henry Fonda was extremely liberal. Jimmy Stewart was a die-hard Republican (though I wonder if he would still be one--since by old age he had mellowed out enough that he liked Bill Clinton, but was still startled/amused when he accidentally hung up on the president since that was a first for him). Henry was the intense loner with a string of failed marriages who longed for stage and chafed under Hollywood. Jimmy was the happy father and husband and a cheerful studio contract player who loved LB Mayer and defended the MGM system until the end. Jane Fonda went to Vietnam, and so did Jimmy Stewart's stepson that he raised, who died there (and thought it touching that Stewart, even though a big supporter of Vietnam War, would never let anyone say a bad word about his goddaughter in his presence).

They were members of a touring company--one that included fresh faced Josh Logan and Margaret Sullavan--and quickly became roommates as struggling actors in NYC, and mutually became obsessed in building a giant model aircraft. Their move to Hollywood (Fonda beat Stewart there by a few months) was almost entirely preoccupied with getting the giant balsa wood model there safely. The plan to move the plane was Stewart's stress for the transcontinental move--Fonda made his way west, with a baby kitten in his pocket, that he fed with a moistened napkin. Yes, many of the moments of their friendship/lives are as cute as some of their famous cinematic scenes.

Part of the reason they became friends seems like mutual interest in things like planes and giant kites and same sense of humor. Thought it also interesting that when Orson Welles moved to Hollywood, he at first thought it might be one of those "roommate" situations like Cary Grant and Randolph Scott, until he met both of them, and realized it was platonic. Since they did live together for it seems most of their single life--even when Stewart came back from WWII, he moved into Jane & Peter's playhouse in the backyard (which in Fonda fashion was swarming with cats--his flock reaching a record high of 37 at one point).

The two men's WW2 service takes up the middle of the book, for good reason--since they both enlisted (Stewart before Pearl Harbor even--something LB Mayer wasn't happy about and Fonda insisted on going even though as family man and past the mandatory age could have easily gotten out like Wayne and others). Both saw war--Fonda in the Pacific in the Navy, diving into downed kamikaze planes to retrieve intelligence; Stewart as a real life flying Steve Trevor, flying 19 missions as lead bomber, rising to the rank of brigadier general by the end of his career, the highest of any actor. Stewart refused to talk about his time in the airforce and refused to make WW2 films after the war. But their war time trauma was another thing that bound the two men together, since the trademark of their friendship was they could pick their friendship no matter the absences.

So it's a good, pretty sweet, comprehensive book on Stewart & Fonda, packed full of personal trivia. Stewart only eating white colored food (buttered sole and vichyssoise for dinner every night, washed down with glass of milk, followed by vanilla ice cream) as his disgusting diet. The adorable love affair between Stewart and his horse Pie (which is the horse featured in all his movies--the horse lived for 30 years and Stewart made sure it was buried with a headstone) and how Fonda painted a photorealistic painting of Pie to give to Stewart when the horse was in ill-health. How both men hated hunting and were not heavy drinkers (which explains now that I think about it, how rarely you hear of Fonda or Stewart in the carousing circles of like Gable or Flynn or Bogart). These were the guys painting model sets or doing needlepoint and embroidering furniture or getting into beekeeping or jazz.

It's not a perfect book. As like everyone (and reams of telegrams, letters, and diary entries) make clear, it was never entirely a duo, but a fucked up love triangle with Margaret Sullavan. It might have been a better book if it was more apparent in this and included Margaret more entirely within--especially since Brooke Hayward also cooperated with this book. There are parts that are either padded slightly or typical conceit (I don't know why authors feel the need to include multiple paragraphs about how much a can of soup was going for in the circular that day or how much a super-deluxe 5000 phonograph player was on sale for). I just assume they spent a lot of time in the stacks, getting mesmerized by microfilm and get really into the advertisements and feel the need to work it into the book. I get the allure personally, but kind of hate it in all the same. So...this would have been stronger if all those times were cut out, and like a chapter or two just on Margaret Sullavan was inserted in, rather than her flitting in and out of each man's life to bedevil them (and I raised an eyebrow here and there on some of the wording in the book).

Quibbles aside, if you like Jimmy Stewart or Henry Fonda, excellent window into both men with this book.

[Dick Reynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, a confession. I’ve been a fan of Henry Fonda and James Stewart for many years. I’ve not seen them perform on the stage but I’ve seen many of their movies. The big surprise for me was learning that they had been close friends for fifty years, starting with being roommates and stage actors in New York as young men.
Stewart had been a pilot before the start of WWII and it was the right thing for him to be drafted into the Army Air Corps. (The U. S. Air Force would be formed after the war.) He rose in the officer ranks while being a pilot of B-24s, a difficult aircraft to master, and later as a wing commander with the rank of colonel. Right after the war ended he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, a medal second only to the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Fonda joined the Navy and participated in several battles in the South Pacific on several ships and in units as an operations officer, earning the Bronze Star among other medals. After the war he performed on stage and film in the title role of Mr. Roberts. He proudly wore his own Navy hat in every performance.
These two fellows were different in many respects. Fonda married five times but Stewart only once to Gloria McLean who already had two sons. Jimmy Stewart and Gloria would soon have twin daughters of their own. When Hank and Jim were together, they never talked about acting or politics. Instead, they liked to pursue outdoor activities such as flying planes, making and flying huge kites, and playing elaborate practical jokes on other prominent targets in the film industry. When not working on his acting craft Fonda liked to paint an even did needlecraft. Stewart liked to grow fruits and vegetables and often showed up at Fonda’s house with a basketful of produce. Fonda reciprocated with honey made from his own bees.
Fonda made many movies and most were met with critical acclaim. His last movie, On Golden Pond with Katharine Hepburn and his daughter Jane, won him an Oscar shortly before he passed away. Stewart’s films were usually a bit more upbeat such as The Glenn Miller Story, Strategic Air Command and the perennially popular It’s A Wonderful Life which we’ll be able to watch again on TV very soon.
When the Viet Nam war started, Jimmy Stewart’s stepson, Ron McLean, joined the Marine Corps and went to OCS. I have a clipping from the Quantico base newspaper showing Ron being commissioned a Second Lieutenant by Lieutenant General Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller. General Puller’s son was also being commissioned and is in the photo along with Mrs. Puller, and Jimmy and Gloria Stewart looking on proudly. (I was also stationed at Quantico then.) Below this same clipping I have a newspaper photo of the burial ceremony many months later when First Lieutenant Ron McClean was laid to rest at a Glendale, CA cemetery with the entire Stewart family in attendance. He was killed in action during combat operations in Vietnam.
Henry Fonda didn’t approve of daughter Jane’s overtures to North Vietnam but didn’t try to stop her. Jimmy Stewart once went on a strong vocal tirade about the war in Vietnam, condemning those who dodged the draft and the higher level politicians who lacked the will to win the war. I tend to think that Stewart didn’t care much at all for Jane Fonda’s actions but probably never shared his views on that issue with Hank.
The book gives the reader some excellent insights into how Fonda and Stewart approached the craft of acting on both stage and in film. It also gives some fascinating details about many personalities of the entertainment business during this period.

[Donna Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fans of Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart will want to read this biography, written by the author that recently wrote a biography of John Wayne. I was invited to read and review by Net Galley and Simon and Schuster, and so I read it free in exchange for this honest review. It’s for sale now.

The book is well crafted, and multiple aspects contribute to its success. The first is the unglamorous but essential research. Eyman used extensive interviews with both actors’ families as well as directors and other actors that had worked with them. The second is the thoughtful analysis. Eyman’s insights are intelligent and fairly measured, never becoming prurient, gossipy, or mawkish. The third is his friendly, congenial narrative, peppered with telling anecdotes that keep the pages turning. It’s well organized and doesn’t rely on photographs to tell the story.

These actors belonged to my parents’ generation, and so for a long time I was not much interested in them. More recently, though, I’ve found it’s interesting to see their craft, their lives, and their work as creatures of the time in which their careers blossomed, and as part of American entertainment history.

The truth is that I never cared much for Henry Fonda. The only one of his movies I saw in the theater was On Golden Pond, and the harsh way he spoke to his daughter on the screen—who was also his daughter in real life, Jane—was so brutal that I never wanted to see anything more that he’d done, apart from the occasional old movie I ran across on television. Learning later that he was more or less the same father to her in real life didn’t help much. Eyman is unsparing as he describes this aspect of the Fonda family, but he also points to the mellower man he became later in life, and to the tremendous loyalty he showed his friends, Stewart foremost among them.

I was more interested in Jimmy Stewart, who left a more timeless body of work. Harvey is a film I loved enough to search out and watch in turn with each of my children. Of course, at Christmas time I am inclined to pull out It’s a Wonderful Life, although none of my kids would watch it with me more than once. There was such heart in his roles.

Because I like Stewart’s work, I had already read one biography fairly recently. Robert Matzen’s Mission: Jimmy Stewart and the Fight for Europe dealt well with his war years as well as the early years of his life, and so I didn’t enjoy the first half of Eyman’s book—which covered the same ground again—as I did the second half, which I found both comforting in places as well as mesmerizing. The second part also has more quotes by his children, who weren’t around for much of the stars’ earlier lives. And I came away with renewed respect for Jane Fonda, who had a harder road than I had previously understood.

Now I have half a dozen movie titles I want to watch, or watch again; that’s a sure sign of a strong biography. And it makes me think warmly of my own longstanding friends, some of whom I’ve known and loved almost as long as the 50 years that Hank and Jim were friends.

Recommended to fans of Fonda and Stewart, and to those that love good biographies; this would also make a nice Christmas gift for older relatives.

[Robert Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

HANK & JIM is a different sort of biography. Rather than focusing on one person’s life, author Scott Eyman relates the decades-long friendship of two people: actors Henry Fonda and James Stewart.

Fonda (born in 1905) and Stewart (born in 1908) met in the early 1930s as members of the University Players, a U.S. East Coast theater group. Both ultimately became film stars. Both fought in World War II and then resumed successful acting careers. Fonda generally preferred theater work, but also starred in such notable films as MY DARLING CLEMENTINE, MR. ROBERTS, THE WRONG MAN and 12 ANGRY MEN. Stewart enjoyed a prosperous post-war film career, with notable roles in HARVEY, ANATOMY OF A MURDER, and THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE, along with several Westerns (WINCHESTER ‘73 and THE NAKED SPUR, among others) by director Anthony Mann and four thrillers (ROPE, REAR WINDOW, THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH and VERTIGO) by director Alfred Hitchcock. Both men married (five times, in Fonda’s case), started families and faced declining career highs beginning in the 1960s. Both experienced successes and personal tragedies (Fonda’s second wife committed suicide, and Stewart lost a stepson in Vietnam). Their friendship endured, however, ending only with Fonda’s death in 1982 (Stewart would survive him by another fifteen years.).

The book often reads as a simple dual biography, with Eyman alternating his attention between his two subjects. This makes the narrative all the richer, however, as it's fascinating to see their similarities and differences. Both men were reserved, taciturn and difficult to know (Acquaintances wondered what the two talked about when they spent time together.). Both loved to act, both served in World War II, and the two shared some hobbies (model planes, gardening and kite flying), an agent (Leland Hayward) and some mutual friends. On the other hand, they had differing philosophies and approaches to acting, differing political views (Fonda was liberal. Stewart was conservative.) and markedly different family lives, as Stewart married relatively late in life (at age forty-one) but remained with the same wife until his death at age 89 and seems to have had good relationships with his children and step-children. Fonda, meanwhile, married five times and divorced four times, and had rocky relationships with his famous offspring, Jane and Peter Fonda.

I noted that Fonda and Stewart had mutual friends. Those friends recur throughout the book and include playwright/director Joshua Logan, photographer John Swope and fellow actor Burgess Meredith. They also include actress Margaret Sullavan, who was briefly married to Fonda and starred with Stewart in four different movies. Both men carried a torch for Sullavan, and her untimely death in 1960 stands as a tragic point of the story. Eyman’s attention to that wider social circle aids understanding and helps Fonda and Stewart come alive for the reader. We might all believe that we’re the stars of our lives, but ultimately, aren’t we all part of a bigger picture and a bigger story?

Eyman relates Fonda’s and Stewart’s virtues and flaws alike while managing not to judge them. In fact, he captures their humanity very well, and I cheered their victories and mourned their losses. I’ve read a lot of biographies, and quite unexpectedly, this proved one of the most moving. Fonda’s strained relationship with Peter and, in particular, Jane was downright heartbreaking, and I likewise felt for Stewart when his stepson died in Vietnam. If, at the end, you don’t shed a mental tear for Jimmy Stewart, who finds himself alone in his 80s after losing a stepson, a wife and many friends, then you may just have a heart of stone.

Scott Eyman’s HANK & JIM gets my highest recommendation, and anyone with an interest in Hollywood history should enjoy it. I loved it, personally, and I will be watching to see what Eyman does next.

[Katy Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Behind the scenes of 'old Hollywood' with some favourite actors

Intriguing stuff, once it gets going. Henry Fonda and James Stewart, two actors I admire greatly, in some of my all-time favourite Hollywood films. I never knew their relationship off the screen, and I was keen to learn about their lives, their craft, their friendship.

Told from both their perspectives, we learn about each in turn - how they grew up and into the acting 'scene', how they met, the initial struggles breaking into films, and then the successes they both achieved, their family lives, their war-time experiences, their later lives and ageing.

Many of their friends and colleagues, I had never heard of, and many of their films I have not seen, I wanted more detail on my favourites of course, but it really was fascinating learning of their different approaches to a role, how each achieved success in a different way and their oh-so-different personalities and beliefs.

My eyes widened in a few places with some 'revelations' that the author brings up. I wasn't very interested in their World War Two lives, but their later status as revered actors and descriptions of their acting world did hold my attention. The look at two old men still friends and still able to communicate friendship with few words, but more vegetable products - it was quite tender and moving.

Definitely one for lovers of the silver screen, I've since put two of Fonda's films on my 'to watch' list.

The writing is fairly standard for a biography, it entertains (some naughty words here and there, with the intention of amusing the reader - it did), it informs, the pace is a little slow at times (the war years for me), but fills out the detail you're after. A very full portrait indeed, and one not afraid to show their darker side, their flaws. An honest portrait of two film icons.

With thanks to Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

[JoAnne McMaster (Any Good Book) · Rating 5 out of 5]

If anyone knows classic films at all, then these two actors' names will be right up there with John Wayne, Humphrey Bogart, Spencer Tracy and Cary Grant. While their films, for the most part, of all these actors were very different, their onscreen presence was palpable. There was no mistaking that you were in the presence of a great actor when you sat down to watch.

I have always known that Fonda and Stewart were best friends - anyone who claims to be a classic film buff would know this. And, I must say, I knew quite a bit about their professional lives, and their personal, as far as marriages. I also knew that they both served in World War II, Fonda in the Navy and Stewart in the Army Air Corps. However, Mr. Eyman has gone far deeper into their pasts.

He begins right where they do - from birth; and tells us of their very different upbringing in life. He goes on from there to their early life on the stage, and their eventual move to Hollywood. But their lives take very different turns. Hank was married five times - he was wound too tightly most times to make a marriage stick; his emotions stayed beneath the surface and were rarely exposed; Jimmy was married once, when he was 41 - Gloria was the love of his life and the marriage was a happy one.

Their careers took different turns, also: Hank preferred stage to screen; Jimmy stayed in Hollywood and made many memorable films (and a few he probably wished he hadn't). But the films Hank made were, for the most part, memorable also, and I am sure everyone has that particular film of both of them that stays with you and you will watch over and over. I love Hank's films The Mad Miss Manton, Mister Roberts, and The Rounders (not a spectacular film, but very funny). For Jimmy's films, I love The Shop Around the Corner, Rear Window, and The Rare Breed.

It is obvious that Mr. Eyman has done extensive research on his subjects. The book is neither cloying nor filled with Hollywood gossip; it gives us an honest and well-written biography about two remarkable men, the like of which will never be seen again.

While I've read other biographies of Fonda and Stewart, I believe that Mr. Eyman's is the best by far. While I am sure there are those who like only one or the other, I consider myself a true classic fan, and while I may not like an actor personally, I can watch their body of work and appreciate it for what it is.

While this book points out that Hank wasn't the best father in the world, he also changed as he got older, and his loyalty to his friends was always unwavering. Perhaps because they never expected anything from him, knowing he didn't offer up as much of himself. Jimmy, on the other hand, seems more open and giving to both family and friends.

They were there for each other through triumphs and tragedies; through good times and bad; and never allowed their personal politics or personal demons stand in the way of their enduring friendship. One can only hope for a friendship in their life as strong as the one between these two.

I am grateful for this book, for giving us the insight into two remarkable men who became extraordinary actors and had an exceptional friendship. Highly recommended.

[Samantha Glasser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scott Eyman is an excellent and thorough writer. He gives a broad view of his subjects, providing many personal details while maintaining an academic point of view.

The relationship between Fonda and Stewart sometimes seemed odd, something that could be chalked up to their long history and nothing more. But Eyman shows that although the men were very different in their politics, their choice of women, etc. that their friendship ran deep. They worked in a stock company with Margaret Sullivan, where Fonda met and married her. They moved to Hollywood together and stayed in a house surrounded by flea-infested stray cats. Photographer John Swope documented some of their humor in the early days. Through their success, the war and struggles in their personal lives, they stayed close, and didn't always need to express themselves verbally to enjoy each other's company. I was especially touched that Fonda, who discovered painting later in life, recognized Stewart's love of his aging horse Pie and surreptitiously sketched the horse over several sessions so he could work on a painting of him and gift it to his friend.

Although you don't need an extensive prior knowledge of Fonda or Stewart's individual biographies, a general knowledge of their film work is helpful for reading this book.

Narrator David Colacci does a fine job of doing voices for the audiobook without over-doing them.

I got my copy signed at Cinevent in Columbus, Ohio in 2018.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of all, I very seldom read nonfiction so I probably rated this lower than someone who loves to read nonfiction.

This book was mentioned on TCM - I think the host mentioned it when he did an intro to Rope (an amazingly directed movie with incredible acting by Stewart, but a less than stellar plot) and I was interested to pick it up. I think I knew going in that Hank and Jimmy were friends but I was interested to learn more about it.

They were true friends in every sense of the word. Friends that could just pick up right where they left off after not seeing each other for months. I also liked that they enjoyed practical jokes. The book didn’t go much into the huge fight they had over politics that almost cost them their friendship, and I would have liked to learn more about that.

There was some humor, but a lot of sadness. Also, Fonda was a lot more shuttered of a person than Stewart. But when he gave Jimmy he painting he had done in memory of Pie, Stewart’s horse he rode in all his westerns, I will admit my heart melted. That was just so sweet.

[Raquel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Renowned film historian Scott Eyman explores the lifelong friendship between two Hollywood legends: Henry Fonda and James Stewart.

I have mixed feelings about this one. The subject matter is fascinating but the book kind of fell flat to me. Well-researched, well-organized and the transitions were smooth. Something was lacking though.

My full review here: http://www.outofthepastblog.com/2018/...

[Jnagle4 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but I would really like a comprehensive biography on both men. Because Eyman had to split between the two, everything kind of felt glossed over.

[Douglas Noakes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Henry Fonda and James Stewart are two of the most important actors of 20th Century Hollywood. They also happened to be best friends. Scott Eyman takes those two lives and meshes them together into a seamless whole that covers their varied careers and tells us how their friendship served as a constant source of strength and grounding for each man.

Much has been made of their political differences. Fonda was a liberal Democrat who strongly disliked the studio system and was pushed into doing things for contractual reasons. Taking the role as Tom Joad in THE GRAPES OF WRATH put him into a seven-year contract at Twentieth Century Fox. Following his service in the US Navy (where he was awarded the Bronze Star for Bravery) and a few films for John Ford, he left the movie factories for Broadway and didn't make a film for seven years.

Stewart the conservative was right at home in the old studio system throughout his life (although he was one of the first actors to get a piece of the gross profits rather than take a straight salary in the late 1940s). He also spent over 25 years in the Army Air Force, going from a private to a Brigadier General in the Reserves. He flew 18 bombing missions over Germany in World War II.

Both were at the peak of their careers in the 1950s. Stewart did successful films for Anthony Mann, and Otto Preminger and four films with Alfred Hitchcock, of which REAR WINDOW and VERTIGO are classics.

Fonda had successes on screen in the 1950s, too, but his most satisfying work likely was on Broadway and in national tours of plays like MISTER ROBERTS, THE CAINE MUTINY COURT-MARTIAL, and TWO FOR THE SEESAW. Fonda was five times married; Stewart only once but both men had their share of fun with some famous actresses. (Stewart--surprisingly for his later image--outdid Fonda in that department! He was quite the "play-ah" in the Hollywood dating scene before his marriage to Gloria McLean a few years after his active war service.

Credits aside, the book covers a great deal of the personal history of the two men. They had a lot in common--a commitment to integrity in all their work. Both were consummate professionals praised by almost everyone they worked with. The "salad days" and the hard times for both are covered, too, but with respect often lacking in show business biographers.

If you are a fan of either or both of these talented and inspiring men, this is a book to get ahold of!

[Mary Van Winkle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Henry Fonda and James Stewart. I love to look at the gorgeousness of Fonda and listen to Stewart stumble through his sentences. They've always been two actors that I've appreciated, often not changing the channel if one of their movies were on, while at the same time not really knowing anything about them. But I think they'd have liked that.

For instance, I didn't know about their 50-year long friendship which I find cute, I didn't know about their intense privacy which I can get behind or their mutual work ethnic which is respectable especially, especially when compared with contemporary generations. Also cute are the things they did together: build models and fly giant kites like two big kids to cope with their experiences in the war. But my favorite part may be their mutual love of cats, how adorable!

Perhaps because the book had to focus on two men, their lives, families and careers I got the feeling that I was missing things, some details couldn't be included which makes sense. However, the feeling never went away. I felt like there were more stories, more details but they weren't given. Also, I understand the importance of mentioning their other friends like John Swope and Leland Hayward but I could have done without whole sections about them. I picked up the book for Fonda and Stewart, not their friends. I don't think it was a great idea to end the book on Fonda's thoughts on Swope...again, the book is about Fonda and Stewart's friendship, perhaps his thoughts would have been better at a different point of the biography.

But it's been a while since I've read such a professional, well-written book complete with index and bibliography, I may still be amazed. I've been wanting to read this since it came out and I'm glad I finally found the time to do it.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Confession … I needed something less political and less heavy … and I came across this book. What a fun read/listen!

Not all the participants of our “reading club” will be familiar with these two famous leading men of yesteryear … Henry (Hank) Fonda and Jimmy (Jim) Stewart - probably most well known for “It’s a Wonderful Life”. What an amazing and unique friendship they had for over 50 years.

Two quite different men … Fonda quite liberal politically, agnostic and married 5 times. Stewart staunchly conservative, fairly devout Presbyterian and only one wife, married over 40 years. Yet they wouldn’t let those differences interfere with the friendship.

As might be expected, book gives an excellent look inside the early days of the movie business … not something I was all that interested in, but I’m old enough to remember many of the actors/actresses and have enjoyed discussing with my parents over the years.

Movie recommendations:
Henry Fonda - only two movies of his I’ve seen and recommend are “12 Angry Men” and “On Golden Pond” (actually his last movie and only Oscar), but I haven’t seen many of his …
Jimmy Stewart - It’s a Wonderful Life is one of my all time favorites.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Who Shot Liberty Valence (with John Wayne) and Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock film) are a few I’ve liked.

[Laurie Hoppe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book about a most unlikely friendship. These two began their careers at the same time, moved from New York to Hollywood at the same time, knew all the same people, and were even both Oscar nominated the same year, yet there seemed to be no competition between them!

They were opposites, to be sure. Jimmy loved being a movie actor (though perhaps not a star) in the old studio system, Hank resisted being told what to do by the studio bosses and returned to the stage whenever he could. Jimmy was a church going conservative, Fonda was a progressive liberal agnostic. Stewart married once, after age 40, and stayed with that wife until her death. Hank couldn't keep himself from getting hitched or keep himself from straying once he did (until Wife #5).

But they both loved animals (I lost track of all the dogs and cats mentioned in this book). They loved their hobbies and practical jokes. They respected integrity and shared silences. I loved how much they loved one another. Toward the end of the book, Fonda gives a grieving Stewart a gift that literally brought me to tears. It was a present only he could have given, and only Stewart would have appreciated.

I subtracted a star for Fonda's two missing daughters -- Pan and Amy. Pan was his stepdaughter, living with him and Jane and Peter until her mother's death. Amy was his daughter with his third wife, Susan. While Fonda's relationship with Jane and Peter is examined, compared and contrasted -- and Stewart's stepsons and twin daughters and introduced and some chime in -- Pan and Amy are noticeably absent. I would have liked to know more about his relationship with those two, and how Jane and Peter felt about having siblings float in and out of their rather nomadic young lives. Really, there's so much about the kids of Fonda's and Stewart's friends (the Haywards and Swopes) that I found the omission of Pan and Amy confusing.

[John Yingling · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel that I am fairly well versed on Old Hollywood and its stars, so I was pleasantly surprised to discover how close a friendship James Stewart and Henry Fonda had for so many years. It's a generally honest look at both men and their lives off and on screen. I'm glad the author devoted a fair amount of the book discussing both men's military careers. Their service during World War II made me respect them even more. I knew something about Mr. Stewart's time as a bomber pilot, but I didn't know just how valuable Mr. Fonda's service to his country was. I don't agree with some of the movie reviews of the authors, but overall this is a very enlightening and entertaining look at two of the true giants of movie history.

[John Smiley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very enjoyable read---I love to read books about artists, geniuses, legends---and these two guys were all of those.

The acting profession fascinates me.

What I got most out of the book was the way these 2 guys aged---Henry Fonda was looking for ore acting work while dying of cancer. Jimmy spent the last 3 years of his life depressed that all of his friends (and wife) died.

I'd rather go down kicking and fighting like Henry.

To Jimmy, I would say get some young friends and develop those relationships.

[Mollie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book very much although it seemed to me that the author picked a favorite. Mr. Stewart, despite some youthful character lapses, comes out the perhaps not better but easier of the two gentlemen. Still, the thought of each of them having a true friend in a business where I don't think that is often possible, warms my heart. Mr. Stewart was godfather to Mr. Fonda's Jane and Peter, and Jane speaks of him with true affection here. Yeah it's kind of lightweight and different from my usual reading, but I found it delightful.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty good biography. I think that Scott Eyman keeps it fair and not go to mudslinging gossip. Like most biographies he uses interviews, and articles about the actors to write this book. I like both of the actors and have read before that Henry Fonda and James Stewart were friends for fifty years. They met in New York and were roommates. This book takes them from that time up to each of their deaths. He writes of their friendship but also their careers over the years. Other friends they had. Their marriages James Stewart had one marriage while Henry Fonda had five. This book covers quite a bit about their lives. Nice read. if someone is a fan of the actors.

[Kevin A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

My rating is probably influenced by my great uncle John Swope’s friendship with the two protagonists. I was not surprised to learn a lot about Fonda and Stewart, but I was surprised by how much I learned about John in this extremely well-researched and well-written book.

[Alan Lemke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outstanding story about one of Hollywood's most enduring friendships