Fans feel they know Jimmy Stewart—the charismatic boy next door filled with righteous conviction, the American ideal. But Jimmy Stewart the image often eclipsed James Stewart the actor and the man. In this penetrating in-depth biography, Donald Dewey delves beneath the earnest Capraesque persona and into the usually unremarked turmoil of the actor's private life. Drawing upon extensive research and nearly two hundred interviews, he follows Stewart from his hometown of Indiana, Pennsylvania, and a childhood shaped by a strong-willed father, to the fateful encounter at Princeton University with actress Margaret Sullavan, to his first professional theatrical experiences on Cape Cod and the forging of a remarkable life-long friendship with Henry Fonda in New York, to his unexpected stardom at MGM.
This riveting biography of one of Hollywood's most beloved screen icons offers insights into the artistry behind Stewart's cinematic craft, his heroic military record in the Second World War, and much more, giving us far more than a legend to love.
Donald Dewey is the author of Reasonable Doubts, which won the Nelson Algren Prize for Fiction, and also a biography of Marcello Mastroianni.
Grover Gardner has recorded more than 650 audiobooks since beginning his career in 1981. He's been named one of the "Best Voices of the Century" as well as a "Golden Voice" by AudioFile magazine. Gardner has garnered over 20 AudioFile Earphones Awards and is the recipient of an Audio Publishers Association Audie Award, as well as a three-time finalist. In 2005, Publishers Weekly deemed him "Audiobook Narrator of the Year." Gardner has also narrated hundreds of audiobooks under the names Tom Parker and Alexander Adams. Among his many titles are Marcus Sakey's At the City's Edge, as well as Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and John Irving's The Cider House Rules. Gardner studied Theater and Art History at Rollins College and received a Master's degree in Acting from George Washington University. He lives in Oregon with his significant other and daughter.