Jimmy Stewart was born James Maitland Stewart, on May 20, 1908 in Indiana, Pennsylvania, the eldest child to Elizabeth and Alexander Stewart. Alexander, a graduate of Princeton University, ran the prosperous family hardware shop that was founded in 1853. As a child Jimmy attended boarding school at the Mercersburg Academy where he was a member of the glee club, the school’s football team, and the dramatics club. Like his father, Stewart attended Princeton University from 1928 to 1932. He studied architecture while at Princeton, but while there joined a fledgling theater group, the University Players. Following graduation, Stewart began acting in Broadway productions. In 1935 he won a movie contract with MGM and moved to Hollywood where he shared an apartment with Henry Fonda. By 1936 Stewart had appeared in a several movies including The Murder Man (1935), Rose Marie (1936), co-starring Joan Crawford, Wife vs. Secretary, Small Town Girl, and After the Thin Man.In 1939, Jimmy recieved his first Oscar Best Actor nomination for his performance in Frank Capra's Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, In 1940, he earned his first Academy Award for his performance in George Cukor's Philadelphia Story.He mailed the incorrectly spelled Oscar to his family to be displayed in the window of his father’s hardware shop, where it remained for over 25 years. Stewart made history by becoming the first actor to join the United States Army. However, he was initially rejected after failing his physical exam because he was five pounds underweight. He eventually got in and was assigned to the U.S. Army Air Corps. With previous flying experience, Stewart served as a flight instructor until November 1943 when he was promoted to commander of a bomber squadron. Stationed in Europe, Stewart flew on over 20 missions and received numerous honors, including the Air Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross. He was promoted to the rank of colonel, and in 1959, he was appointed as a brigadier general in the Air Force Reserve.
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