Jimmy Stewart Stamp Out Tomorrow

Aw, shucks, I know he was modest and all but isn't it past time already?

I mean, he died ten years ago.

41¢ at post offices everywhere.

Peter Ediden touched on the release in the following three-sentence-long item which appeared in yesterday's New York Times "Arts, Briefly" column.

James Stewart, Immortalized

James Stewart will be honored by a stamp bearing his image, The Associated Press reported. It will be released Friday by the United States Postal Service at ceremonies in at the Jimmy Stewart Museum in Indiana, Pa., the actor’s hometown, and at Universal Studios in Hollywood. The photograph on the stamp is based on a portrait of Stewart, who died in 1997, as he appeared in a publicity photo for the 1949 movie “The Stratton Story.”

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Here's the U.S. Postal Service press release.

James Stewart

With this 13th stamp in the "Legends of Hollywood" series, the U.S. Postal Service honors James Stewart, a quintessential American film hero whose lanky physique, drawling speech and naturalistic acting style made the characters he played seem "real." Art director Phil Jordan designed the stamp using a portrait of Stewart by Drew Struzan, who based his work on a photograph taken during the taping of "The Stratton Story." The painting on the selvage, also by Struzan, shows Stewart in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," the 1939 film for which he received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

Stewart starred in more than 80 movies, giving effortless performances and often surprising colleagues by producing the same spontaneous looking reactions in repeated takes.

He was born May 20, 1908, in Indiana, PA, where he starred in amateur theatrical productions as a child. He continued to act while he was a student at Princeton University, where he earned a degree in architecture in 1932. However, the allure of acting proved too great, and Stewart joined the University Players, a summer stock group headquartered in Massachusetts.

Stewart's talent landed him auditions and screen tests with various movie studios. Soon after, he signed a contract with MGM and made his film debut in 1934. He quickly became a star. In 1939, he received his first Oscar nomination for his performance in the classic film, "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."

Stewart often acted alongside many of the great leading ladies of the era such as Carole Lombard in "Made for Each Other" (1939), Marlene Dietrich in "Destry Rides Again" (1939) and Katharine Hepburn in "The Philadelphia Story" (1940).

During World War II, Stewart served in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He was a decorated B-24 squadron commander who flew 20 missions over Germany, including one over Berlin. His first movie after the war was "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946), a sentimental holiday favorite in which he portrayed George Bailey, a man who learns the importance of family and friends with the help of a guardian angel named Clarence.

In "Harvey" (1950), Stewart played another signature role as Elwood P. Dowd, a martini-drinking "philosophizer" who believes he is always accompanied by a giant white rabbit. He went on to star in other famous films such as "The Glenn Miller Story" (1954) and "Rear Window" (1954). Stewart played a shrewd country lawyer in "Anatomy of a Murder" (1959), and also played a lawyer in "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," a Western released in 1962. In Alfred Hitchcock's "Rope," "Rear Window," "Vertigo," and "The Man Who Knew Too Much," Stewart showed less familiar sides of his personality.

In the early 1970s, Stewart made the move to the small screen with his first television situation comedy, "The Jimmy Stewart Show."

Stewart's work was found in a wide range of film genres including thrillers, mysteries and screwball comedies. He was awarded many of the industry's highest honors and life-time achievement awards from every major film organization. By all accounts, he is considered one of the greatest actors of the "golden age of Hollywood."

Stewart and his wife, Gloria, were strong supporters of numerous charitable causes and wildlife conservation. James Stewart died July 2, 1997.

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Stewart was 41 when the photo on the stamp was taken.