James Maitland
James Maitland "Jimmy" Stewart was born on 20th May, 1908 in Indiana, Pennsylvania, U.S. His parents Elizabeth Ruth and Alexander Maitland Stewart were the owner of a hardware store. He was of Scottish, Scots-Irish and some English descent. He was educated at a local prep school, Mercersburg Academy. During school, he was a keen athlete (football and track), musician (singing and accordion playing), and sometime actor. In 1929, he studied architecture with some success and also performed arts as a musician and actor with the University Players. After completion of graduation he made engagements with the University Players who took him around the northeastern United States, including a run on Broadway in 1932. In the begining work depressed him. In 1934, he followed his friend Henry Fonda to Hollywood, who helped him in acting and things began to pick up by him. He debuted his first screen appearance in Art Trouble in 1934. After that he worked for MGM as a contract player for some time and graduly got a name for himself by performing high-profile roles throughout the rest of the 1930s. His famous work including with Frank Capra in You Can't Take It With You in 1938, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington in 1939 and after World War II, It's a Wonderful Life in 1946, helped him to become a star. In October 1940, he was drafted into the U.S Army but was rejected due to height and weight requirements for new recruits. He joined the Army on March 22, 1941 and became the first major American movie star to wear a military uniform in World War II. He received his commission as a second lieutenant on January 19, 1942, after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The USAAF's First Motion Picture Unit shot scenes of Lieutenant Stewart in his pilot's flight jacket and recorded his voice for narration. The film Winning Your Wings appeared nationwide in late May and was very successful, resulting in 150,000 new recruits. He was promoted to captain on July 9, 1943 and appointed a squadron commander. He served against different staff positions in the 2nd and 20th Bomb Wings from July, 1944 to the end of the war in Europe and was promoted to full colonel on March 29, 1945. He was one of the few Americans to rise from private to colonel in four years. On July 23, 1959, he was promoted to Brigadier General. After 27 years of service, he retired from the Air Force on May 31,1968. He did several television movies in the 1980s, including Mr. Krueger's Christmas. Stewart was a supporter of the Republican Party and actively campaigned for Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. He continued to work into the 1990s and died at the age of 89 in 1997.