Merrie H. Reagan

Good Day Everyone. On this day in 1838 in New Jersey Samuel Morse demonstrated telegraph machine he invented.

Below are excerpted paragraphs from chapter 4 of Life Flashes: A Memoir-Chapter Four.

Good wishes-Merrie H. Reagan

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Good morning. Happy New Year. I have finished reading a biography of actor Jimmy Stewart (1908-1997). The acting career of Mr. Stewart spanned nearly seventy years. Jimmy is viewed as having handled professional as well as personal matters with impartiality, generosity, and good humor.

Mr. Stewart was a headlining star in twenty films. Versatile is one word that can be used to describe the acting career of James Stewart; moviegoers found the name Jimmy Stewart headlining western, suspense, family, biographical, and comedy films. Mr. Stewart starred in acclaimed films, including It’s A Wonderful Life, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Rear Window, The Philadelphia Story, and Vertigo. Jimmy Stewart received five Academy Award nominations. In 1941, he won an Academy Award, acclaiming the role that he played in The Philadelphia Story. Jimmy Stewart accepted acting awards for Lifetime Achievement in 1968 and 1980.

In addition to being a highly admired and respected actor and veteran, Mr. Stewart was a longtime philanthropist and poet. He strongly supported the Boy Scouts organization. When in 1981 he was a guest on The Tonight Show, sitting alongside late-night show host, Johnny Carson, Jimmy read aloud a touching poem that he wrote, honoring the Stewart family dog Beau, who had passed away. As he read the tender, touching, and heartbreaking verses, he depicted Beau as having been as playful as he was mischievous. Beau loved walking and running after tennis balls. He bit people. Once he caused a house in which Jimmy and Gloria were living to catch fire.

Continuing to read the poem aloud, Mr. Stewart indicated there were nights when Beau would sometimes rise from his dog bed and then jump onto the bed in which Jimmy and Gloria were sleeping. Beau would then stare at Jimmy or his wife Gloria, indicating that he wanted to sleep between them. He was seeking to give and receive affection and comfort. When he had nearly ended reciting the self-composed poem, Jimmy suddenly became emotional and faltered, as he read the stanza lines, “There are nights when I reach out to stroke his hair and then I realize―he’s not there. Oh, how I wish that wasn’t so. I’ll always love a dog named Beau.”

Jimmy Stewart is remembered as being an outstanding actor, gentleman, and patriot. Confidently masculine, Mr. Stewart was also a reputed practical joker. It is written that one evening, when Jimmy and Gloria were attending a party, a male friend of Jimmy who was also a party guest, jokingly kissed Jimmy on the lips. Jesting, Jimmy immediately returned the kiss. When Jimmy momentarily thrust his tongue into the mouth of the man, partygoers evoked boisterous laughter; this was the response that Mr. Stewart desired.