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Title details for Jimmy Stewart by Michael Munn - Available

Jimmy Stewart

The Truth Behind the Legend

by Michael Munn
ebook
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Many of the stars of the silver screen in twentieth-century Hollywood became national icons, larger-than-life figures held up as paragons of American virtues. Unfortunately, the private lives of actors such as John Wayne, Henry Fonda, and Errol Flynn rarely lived up to the idealistic roles they portrayed. However, James Stewart was known as the underdog fighter in many of his films and in real life. He was highly decorated for his bravery during his time as a bomber pilot during World War II and was adored for his earnest and kindly persona.
Here many unknown sides of Stewart are revealed: his explosive temper, his complex love affairs, his service as a secret agent for the FBI, 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. This definitive biography reveals the childhood ups and downs that formed this cinema hero, explores the legendary Fonda–Stewart relationship, and recounts Stewart's experiences making acclaimed films that include The Philadelphia Story, Rear Window, Anatomy of a Murder, It's a Wonderful Life, and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    March 1, 2013

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781628734959
      • File size: 757 KB

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781628734959
      • File size: 745 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Booklist

      August 1, 2013
      Ask a younger audience about Gary Cooper or Spencer Tracy, and you might get a blank stare. Jimmy Stewart, thanks to It's a Wonderful Life, hasn't suffered the same fate. Stewart's fans are in for a treat with this anecdote-filled biography, which features a major bombshell: for years, Stewart provided undercover reports to the FBI's J. Edgar Hoover. Among the nuggets mined here: the rift over politics between conservative Stewart and his liberal best friend, Henry Fonda; Stewart being tempted by Grace Kelly; and how Stewart wanted to help Hoover rout the Mafia from Hollywood but ended up naming Communists. Unfortunately, these revelations and the text as a whole could have been better documented. Appended is a list of sources, but as Munn, a friend of both Stewart and Stewart's wife, Gloria, testifies, it's limited to who I've quoted . . . along with the year (as best I can remember it) and the location. Much of the information comes from phone calls and social chats with Gloria Stewart. Did Munn really write everything down? Still, shaky bona fides aside, this a fun Old Hollywood bio.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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