Man Bites Dog/Dog Bites Man

May 29, 2015 5:10 PM

Jimmy Stewart chews on the scenery. Scenery chews on Jimmy Stewart.

"The man in the saddle is angular and long-legged: his skin is sun dyed brown. The gun in his holster is gray steel and rainbow mother-of-pearl. People call them both The Six Shooter."

Jimmy Stewart makes Johnny Carson cry.

Life Advice from Elwood P. Dowd.

JImmy Stewart on What's My Line

posted by bq (20 comments total)

Jimmy Stewart improves everything in which he appears.

Plus, as a young man he possessed the sexiest lower lip ever (until maybe Peter Weller).
posted by kinnakeet at 5:23 PM on May 29, 2015

I wish The Six Shooter had lasted more than a year (lack of sponsorship / Stewart's refusal to accept tobacco money was apparently the culprit). When I discovered OTR 15 years ago I ran through those episodes way too quickly.
posted by acroyear at 5:31 PM on May 29, 2015

My mother-in-law is 99 years old and lives in a nice assisted living community. She was a great cook (she dose'nt cook anymore) and is one of the sweetest humans I've ever known. Me and pips were visiting her a few months back and after awhile of talking and eating we put on AMC and Mr Smith Goes To Washington was on. She started watching and a few minutes in she said loudly "That's Jimmy Stewart!!"

It was a sweet moment.
posted by jonmc at 5:34 PM on May 29, 2015 [5 favorites]

I have a great love for Jimmy Stewart, a phenomenal actor, a standup citizen and a great human being. Not an easy trifecta to hit; few have done it.
posted by Miko at 5:48 PM on May 29, 2015 [6 favorites]

I watched that Carson show when it originally aired. It is indelibly etched into my brain. What an amazing man.
posted by blurker at 6:19 PM on May 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

James Stewart was, IMO, one of the four of five greatest actors ever. Who can imagine his roles in "Vertigo", "It's a Wonderful Life", "Mr Smith Goes to Washington" or "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence" being played by anyone else (just to name a few)?
posted by Seekerofsplendor at 6:41 PM on May 29, 2015 [2 favorites]

Oh, and of course, "Harvey" which is still hilarious, all these years later. A classic performance.
posted by Seekerofsplendor at 6:44 PM on May 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

Is it Jimmy Stewart? That's my guess.
posted by clvrmnky at 6:55 PM on May 29, 2015

I saw that Carson show when it originally aired. Reading little poems he'd written was a thing he did then, but that one was a bit of a surprise. I cried then and I just cried again now.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 6:59 PM on May 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

Don't forget The Philadelphia Story!
posted by Chrysostom at 7:15 PM on May 29, 2015 [2 favorites]

Geeze! At first I thought this was obituary post!
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 7:46 PM on May 29, 2015

Well...he's already dead.
posted by Miko at 8:01 PM on May 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

It's the DELAYED obit post.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:02 PM on May 29, 2015 [2 favorites]

I love that Carson would have guests on who had nothing to sell. They weren't promoting a book or movie or whatever, they were just there to visit and chat.
posted by octothorpe at 9:17 PM on May 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

A really nice reminder, bq, of a very fine actor & clearly, it seems, a very fine man. Thanks.
posted by On the Corner at 3:14 AM on May 30, 2015

Spirit of St. Louis is probably my favorite Steward performance even though he was way too old to play Lindberg at the time. A big chunk of the film is just him alone in the plane with his thoughts as a voice over, it could almost be done as a one man play.
posted by octothorpe at 5:47 AM on May 30, 2015

In 1973, the BBC aired a massive, all-encompassing and entirely outstanding documentary entitled The World at War. An aspect of this series that makes it especially engrossing is the number of interviews of WWII participants, both minor and major, the producers were able to film. I watched it along with The Fellow this past fall, and highly recommend it (though because of the subject matter, it's obviously heart wrenching at times). A few episodes in, Jimmy Stewart appears for a brief interview to discuss what it was like to be a pilot during WWII. As his request, he was listed like all the other soldiers, simply as "James Stewart - Squadron Commander". No mention was made of his status as an actor or of his fame.

At that moment, my already long standing (since childhood!) crush expanded ever further. What a great person.
posted by but no cigar at 11:50 AM on May 30, 2015 [1 favorite]

Some great photos of Stewart returning home to Indiana, PA after the war including a shot of his Oscar for The Philadelphia Story sitting out on display in his dad's hardware store.
posted by octothorpe at 12:08 PM on May 30, 2015

Jimmy Stewart appears for a brief interview to discuss what it was like to be a pilot during WWII.

Here it is. Jimmy is in it around 43.00
posted by devious truculent and unreliable at 2:06 PM on May 30, 2015 [1 favorite]

He made Dennis Miller cry, too.
posted by briank at 7:45 PM on May 30, 2015 [1 favorite]