Kelly Stewart-Harcourt recalls watching monumental world events — from the first American in space to the Kennedy assassination — with her parents in the library of their home at 918 N. Roxbury Drive in Beverly Hills. “About 5 or 5:30, we would gather in the library and Dad would turn on the news,” Kelly tells Closer about their daily ritual. “Mom and Dad would make their vodka and tonics. My sister and I would have our Shirley Temples. When Mike and Ron were home, because they went away to boarding school, we’d all gather there.”
Kelly and her twin sister, Judy, were born in 1951, the same year the star of It’s a Wonderful Life and his wife, Gloria, purchased the ivy-covered Tudor-style home where the couple would live for the rest of their lives. “It wasn’t big and fancy,” says Kelly, who notes that her mom did most of the decorating herself. “It was really cozy inside. I think that’s what mom and dad liked about it.”
Henry Fonda, a close friend of Jimmy’s since their struggling actor days, once said of the house: “It’s as comfortable as Jimmy, with a splash of style thrown in by Gloria.”
Reared in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Jimmy discovered acting in college and spent time on Broadway before landing in Hollywood in the early 1930s. He became famed for playing relatable everyman characters and won an Oscar as a reporter who fatefully crosses paths with Katharine Hepburn’s socialite in 1940’s The Philadelphia Story.
Not long after his win, Jimmy, an accomplished private pilot, became the first big-name Hollywood star to enlist in the Army. He flew 20 combat missions over Europe during World War II and was awarded the distinguished Flying Cross.
Jimmy Stewart’s Daughter Recalls Family Life and Discovering He Was Famous
In short, Jimmy had lived an eventful life by the time he met Gloria Hatrick McLean, a divorced former fashion model with two young sons. The couple wed in 1949 and a few years later moved into the home on Roxbury Drive, which would become their sanctuary from the world.
Located in the desirable neighborhood known as “The Flats” for its lack of hills, it was a wonderful place to raise a family. Kelly remembers walking the family golden retrievers around the neighborhood and skateboarding with her sister on the sidewalks. “I loved that it was a quiet road and very leafy,” she says.
Their home was comfortable but not ostentatious, although it boasted over an acre of property. Jimmy and Gloria had acquired a derelict house next door and tore the building down to extend her flower and vegetable garden, where she grew everything from lettuce to corn. “Mom would spend a lot of time out in the garden with the dogs, and Dad would be in the library reading the newspaper,” recalls Kelly.
She was about 7 years old when she realized her father was famous. “Dad was involved with a Boy Scout Jamboree in Akron, Ohio,” she says. “We went and there were thousands of people yelling “Jimmy ” and holding pieces of paper trying to get close enough for him to sign. I was sitting there just amazed because I didn’t understand. How come all these people knew dad’s name?”
At home with his family, Jimmy didn’t talk much about his films. “Dad left his work at the door. He didn’t bring it home with him,” says Kelly, who recalls her parents enjoying simple evenings watching TV in the library. “Mom and Dad loved game shows,” she says. “Mom would always yell out the answers.”
Jimmy Stewart’s Family Lived Near Other Famous Hollywood Stars
Jimmy wasn’t the only performer on the block. Lucille Ball, Rosemary Clooney and Jack Benny were neighbors. Although her parents didn’t throw a lot of glitzy parties, Kelly remembers Jack Benny visiting. “My sister and I were so excited,” she recalls. “We thought he was going to be hilarious, but comedians are very introverted. So we were sitting there waiting for Jack to be hilarious, and it didn’t happen!”
Like Jack, Jimmy could be shy and a little introverted. Despite the awards and accolades he’d acquired, he hated watching his own movies. “He’d sit there and be very critical,” Kelly says. “He would analyze the craft of acting and say, ‘I should have paused longer.’ ‘That scene shouldn’t have been that long.’”
Jimmy also disliked attending premieres and special screenings of his films. Kelly says that the only time she ever saw her father smoke was when he was forced to sit in the theater and watch his own film with an audience. “He would be so nervous,” she recalls. “He would hold his fingers out to mom, and she’d give him a cigarette. He’d light it and puff twice and then put it out. Then he’d ask for another. He didn’t inhale. He just desperately needed something to do with his hands. And of course, in those days, everybody smoked in the cinemas.”
As an actor, Jimmy chose roles that closely aligned with his values. “He never played a horrible villain or a super selfish man,” says Kelly. “He was always true to himself and he chose roles that were too.”
Still, Jimmy could never have guessed that It’s a Wonderful Life’s George Bailey would become his most popular character. “We would watch it when we were all there for Christmas,” Kelly remembers, adding that her father appreciated the movie for personal reasons. “It was the first film he made after the war,” she notes. “He came back having seen terrible things and not knowing if he still had a career. I think he viewed it as giving him his career back. Reaffirming to him that, yes, this is my career. I’m still an actor.”
Rear Window, one of four films he’d make with director Alfred Hitchcock, was another of Jimmy’s career favorites. “He really liked working with Hitchcock because Hitchcock was a pro,” Kelly says. “He gave the actors free rein. He’d say, ‘Well, you’re the ones that act. You know how to do it.’”
Kelly Stewart Says Her Late Dad Was a Caring Husband and Loving Father
Jimmy wasn’t the kind of dad who helped with homework, but he treated his children with love and generosity. There were family trips to Europe and weekends at the gentleman’s ranch Jimmy owned overlooking the Santa Ynez Valley. “Sometimes we’d go riding with dad,” Kelly recalls. “It was nice to be in nature and away from concrete and cars.”
Gloria’s passing in 1994, just four months after she was diagnosed with lung cancer, upended their happy family life. “I never saw them fight,” says Kelly of her parents’ marriage. “Even if they had disagreements, they never yelled at each other. Some people would say that’s not healthy, but I don’t agree.”
Jimmy lived another three years, passing away in 1997 at age 89. He withdrew from most pleasures following Gloria’s death, but his pet retrievers and his children were welcome distractions. “He would smile, but he stopped laughing,” Kelly remembers.
As a father, Jimmy never lectured his children, but he always tried to lead by example. “Before we went to college, Dad called my sister and me into the library,” Kelly recalls. “He said, ‘I just want to say to you that the most important thing you should remember in life is always be nice to people.’ That’s all he said.” — Reporting by Amanda Champagne-Meadows
