National Football Foundation

Stewart entered the entertainment business just after graduating Princeton University, joining the University Players in the summer of 1932. At the end of the summer stock season, Stewart and a couple fellow Players debuted on Broadway in the comedy “Goodbye Again.” After working his way up to more substantial stage roles in various Broadway shows, Stewart attracted the interest of an MGM scout and signed a contract as a player for seven years at $350 a week. Stewart filmed 28 movies before he was drafted in 1940, terminating his contract with MGM.

Stewart served in the Air Force and reached the rank of major general. He won the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, four Air Medals, the Army Commendation Medal, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal, a Presidential Medal of Honor and a French Croix de Guerre. Stewart retired from the military in 1968, after serving in the Vietnam War as well.

After World War II, Stewart decided not to re-sign with MGM and signed with a Music Corporation of America talent agency. His first role in five years was in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” which he picked up his third Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. He appeared in more than 92 films, television programs and shorts. Five of his movies were included on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 greatest American films: “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”, “The Philadelphia Story”, “It's a Wonderful Life”, “Rear Window” and “Vertigo”. His roles in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”, “The Philadelphia Story”, “It's a Wonderful Life”, “Harvey” and “Anatomy of a Murder” earned him Academy Award nominations—with one win for “The Philadelphia Story.” Stewart died in 1997 at the age of 89.