List of Books by Jimmy Stewart. See all books authored by Jimmy Stewart

About Jimmy Stewart

Jimmy" Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality he portrayed both on and off the screen, he epitomized the "American ideal" in the mid-twentieth century. In 1999, the American Film Institute (AFI) ranked him third on its list of the greatest American male actors.

Born and raised in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Stewart started acting while at Princeton University. After graduating in 1932, he began a career as a stage actor, appearing on Broadway and in summer stock productions. In 1935, he landed his first supporting role in a movie and in 1938 he had his breakthrough in Frank Capra's ensemble comedy You Can't Take It with You. The following year, Stewart garnered his first of five Academy Award nominations for his portrayal of an idealized and virtuous voice of reason who becomes a senator in Capra's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). He won the Academy Award for Best Actor, the only competitive Oscar of his career, for his work in the comedy The Philadelphia Story (1940), which also starred Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant.