Tinseltown Talks

Tinseltown Talks by example and just had a very quiet way

Kelly Stewart remembers about him.”

With such a resume, it’s hard to imagwhat he wanted—to hunker down inine the man didn’t develop an ego the side his beloved home with his two dogs. size of the famous Hollywood Sign on At the end, I believe he appreciated his Mount Lee in the Santa Monica Mounwonderful life and knew he was loved.” tains. But according to his daughter, Kelly, This interview for Father’s Day was conthe respectable, unpretentious, all-Amerdensed and edited from the author’s book, ican guy he often portrayed on  lm was “Raised by the Stars.” also the real Jimmy Stewart.

Married to his beloved Gloria for 45 years, the Stewarts had two sons (one “Dad sat in a big comfy armchair that help us with our homework, and I doubt Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery in Alabama and has written features, columns and interviews for over 800 newspapers and magazines. killed in Vietnam) and twin daughters. had a matching footrest, and no one he ever changed a diaper. But he taught Like her siblings, Kelly never took up actelse ever sat in that chair when (he) was ing (she became an anthropologist). home. When he was working on a movie,

“The life of an actor didn’t really look he would sit with the script in his hands like that much fun to me,” she says. “We and his lips moving, saying his lines to went to dad’s set a couple of times, (and) it looked very tedious to me—short takes, just a few minutes long, after which people come rushing up to you, touching up makeup and hair, hovering and fusshimself. He never said anything out loud. I have that image of him burned into my mind. We never read any of the lines with him. Except for that, he rarely brought his work home with him.”

Not surprisingly, Kelly remembers her dad as being gracious with fans. dad, Jimmy Stewart “I’ve had people come up to me and tell me they wrote him a letter when they were in high school and got a personal BY NICK THOMAS response back. He had a secretary helping him, of course, but he signed all the If you don’t think Jimmy Stewart put Jimmy Stewart in “Harvey,” 1950. (Publicity still, Universal Pictures) letters. I never saw him say ‘no’ to an autograph seeker, even when there were the classic in “classic movies,” considcrowds of people. It was actually a kick to er these titles in which he starred: “It’s a get that glimpse of dad’s fame.” Wonderful Life,” “The Philadelphia Story,” When Stewart’s wife died in 1994, Kelly “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” “Rear remembers him retreating into great deWindow,” “Vertigo,” “Harvey,” and the spair. list goes on. No wonder Stewart appears “I think he had just had enough of the near the top of just about every list of allworld. Dad was the most stubborn pertime most-popular classic  lm actors. son I’ve ever met and was going to do

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THIS SUMMER! ing and looking. I remember thinking, ‘I His trademark slow drawl, Kelly says, could never do this.’” was no act. “He loved to tell stories FROM THE COMFORT

Growing up, Kelly recalls her father preparing for roles at home. about his own experiences, and he had great timing. He just took a long time to

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come out with the • An Academic Program for Adults punchline.” • Live-streaming courses and Q&As:

Although not a monthly and quarterly memberships traditional father available in some ways, • View recorded lectures: $25/year she still gives him high praise. “He wasn’t a handson dad. He didn’t Experience stimulating lectures through live streaming or recorded videos! Attend Our Virtual Open House on June 27, 2020 at 10am PST RSVP: extension.ucsd.edu/olli/openhouse Jimmy Stewart takes olli@ucsd.edu his high school daughters Judy, left,

OSHER LIFELONG and Kelly, right, on a trip to British Columbia LEARNING INSTITUTE to look at colleges. (Photo provided by Kelly Stewart)