Michael Munn
Many stars of the silver screen in twentieth-century Hollywood became national icons, larger-than-life figures held up as paragons of American virtues. However, the private lives of actors such as John Wayne, Henry Fonda, and Errol Flynn rarely lived up to the idealistic roles they portrayed. James Stewart was known as the underdog fighter in many of his films and in real life. He was highly decorated for his bravery as a bomber pilot during World War II and was adored for his earnest and kindly persona. But there was much more to the man. In this New York Times bestseller, the many sides of Stewart are revealed: his explosive temper, his complex love affairs and his longstanding marriage, his service as an [unofficial] FBI agent, his innate shyness, and his passionate patriotism. Munn’s personal touch shines through his writing, as he was a friend of Stewart and his wife, Gloria, and interviewed them as well as their colleagues and friends.
I truly enjoyed this book as it described one of my favorite old-time actors. There was plenty between these covers that I had never heard before and it's all backed up with words from Stewart himself. In his earlier movies, it often seemed like Mr. Stewart was just portraying a version of himself, even though he worked very hard to appear so nonchalant. Still, the author tells the story of an incident that happened at a party that totally seemed like a scene from some romantic comedy that had perfectly cast Stewart as the leading man:
"One night a guy tried to punch Jimmy because his girl had dumped him for Jim. The guy was squaring up to him, and Jimmy just stood there, all innocent, saying, 'Look, I didn't mean to steal your girl. Look, here she is. If she wants to go with you, that's fine. But if she decides she wants to stay with me, what can I do about it?' And this guy tried to land a right punch, but Jimmy just side-stepped to the left, kept his right foot where it was, and tripped the guy up. Then Jimmy helped him up with, 'Golly, are you all right? Didn't hurt yourself, did ya?' And he seemed like he hadn't done a thing, and everyone felt it was the other guy who deserved what he got. And Jimmy got the girl."
First line: "It's kinda hard to believe, but when I was a baby I was a good round shape," James Stewart once told me.
Page 56, Line 5: Around that time, Jim managed to get himself an audition for the key role of Sergeant O'Hara in Sidney Howard's Yellow Jack, the story of how soldiers were used as guinea pigs to test the origins of yellow fever.
Last line: Jimmy Stewart gave us all a whole lot of little pieces of time.
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