James Stewart (born May 20, 1908,Indiana,Pennsylvania, U.S.—died July 2, 1997,Beverly Hills, California) was a major Americanmotion-picture star who was known for his portrayals ofdiffident but morally resolute characters.

Stewart graduated fromPrinceton University in 1932 with a degree inarchitecture. He then became part of the University Players, asummer stock company inFalmouth, Massachusetts. There he metHenry Fonda, and the two became lifelong friends. During the years 1932–33, Stewart appeared in several unsuccessfulBroadway plays—starting withCarrie Nation—though he was usually singled out for praise byNew York critics. These positive reviews led to a motion-picture contract withMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1934; after a couple of uncredited bit parts, he made his film debut inThe Murder Man (1935) withSpencer Tracy.

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At first, Stewart’s slow, halting line delivery (perhaps his most readily identifiable trademark) and angular features made him difficult to typecast. His unpretentious engaging manner, however, led to quick acceptance by the moviegoing public. Stewart was loaned toColumbia for twoFrank Capra films that proved pivotal in his career:You Can’t Take It with You (1938) andMr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), the latter of which brought him his firstAcademy Award nomination for his portrayal of a shy idealistic young senator fighting corruption inCongress. He won an Oscar the following year for another film classic,The Philadelphia Story (1940).

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SensingAmerica’s eventual involvement in the war in Europe, Stewart enlisted in theU.S. Army in March 1941. Anavid pilot in civilian life, he was assigned to the Air Corps and logged more than 1,800 hours of flight time in some 20 bomber missions. Before he returned to civilian life in 1945, he had risen to the rank of colonel and had received the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, and theCroix de Guerre. He remained in the reserves until 1968 and was promoted tobrigadier general in 1959.

His first film after the war was Capra’sIt’s a Wonderful Life (1946), and his performance as George Bailey, an honest banker beset by personal and financial woes, earned Stewart his third Oscar nomination. Though the film generatedmediocre box office at the time of its release, it has since become one of the most beloved films of all time, largely because of its numerous television showings since the 1970s. In 1999 it ranked 11th on theAmerican Film Institute’s list of the 100 greatest movies of all time.

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As he approached age 40, it was clear that Stewart could no longer maintain the “naive young innocent” persona he had established in his prewar films. His collaborations with directorsAlfred Hitchcock andAnthony Mann helped toughen his image and broaden his appeal. Of Stewart’s Hitchcock films, the experimentalRope (1948) andThe Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) are well regarded, andRear Window (1954) andVertigo (1958) rank as masterpieces. For Hitchcock, Stewart embodied an American Everyman,albeit one whose private quirks andobsessions threatened a tragic outcome. The films Stewart made for Mann proved the actor capable of ruggedwestern roles, especially in the classicsWinchester ’73 (1950) andThe Man from Laramie (1955). Stewart and Manncollaborated on eight films, including six westerns and the sentimental biopicThe Glenn Miller Story (1954), which was one of Stewart’s most popular movies.

(Read Alfred Hitchcock’s 1965 Britannica essay on film production.)

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During the late 1940s Stewart was among several actors who enjoyed success on Broadway as the ingratiating inebriate Elwood P. Dowd—whose best friend is an invisible six-foot rabbit—in Mary Chase’sHarvey. It became one of the actor’s signature roles when the play was adapted for the screen in 1950, garnering another Oscar nomination for Stewart. He repeated the role in the show’s 1970 Broadway revival and in a 1972 television movie. Stewart’s other well-regarded films includedThe Stratton Story (1949),The Greatest Show on Earth (1952),The Spirit of St. Louis (1957),Anatomy of a Murder (1959;Academy Award nomination),The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), andThe Flight of the Phoenix (1965).

Stewart found good roles difficult to come by as he aged, but he remained one of America’s favourite actors thanks to his many appearances on talk shows, in commercials, and in two short-lived television series,The Jimmy Stewart Show (1971–72) andHawkins (1973–74). He was also memorable in a supporting role in theJohn Wayne westernThe Shootist (1976). His finalacting assignment was to provide the voice of the character Wylie Burp in the animated featureAn American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991). In 1985 Stewart was awarded both an honorary Academy Award and thePresidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honour.