Jimmy Stewart : The Truth Behind the Legend

In this definitive biography of one of Hollywood's most beloved stars, Michael Munn reveals the truth behind the diffident, earnest and kind persona of Jimmy Stewart. Drawn from the author's formal interviews and informal meetings with the star and his friendship with Stewart's wife Gloria, is this portrait of a man who came from the Presbyterian traditions of white America to become one of the silver screen's enduring legends. An openly right-wing conservative and super-patriot, Stewart worked for the FBI at the behest of J Edgar Hoover, directing his undercover sleuthing to crack organised crime in Hollywood. But he was unscrupulously manipulated by the president into flushing out Communists from the film industry. Yet there are also tales of heady love affairs, hookers and hoodlums, and of Stewart's run-in with the most dangerous of all gangsters, Benjamin 'Bugsy' Sigal. Accusations of racism are explored, Stewart's notoriously volatile temper, and the most comprehensive account of his experiences as a colonel in the Air Force in World War Two. Then there are the films; 'It's a Wonderful Life'; 'The Greatest Show on Earth'; 'Rear Window'; the westerns and his Academy Awards.