The Times-Picayune (20/May/1993) - Jimmy Sstewart: 85 is an amazing age to be
Details
- article: Jimmy Sstewart: 85 is an amazing age to be
- author(s): J.E. Bourgoyne
- newspaper: The Times-Picayune (20/May/1993)
- keywords: Alfred Hitchcock, James Stewart
Article
Jimmy Sstewart: 85 is an amazing age to be
Jimmy Stewart, one of the last surviving big male stars from Hollywood's mid-century Golden Age, opened the celebration of his 85th birthday this week when he and his wife, Gloria, entertained 40 friends Monday night at their Beverly Hills home.
On Saturday, about 800 people — Ronald Reagan among them — will honor the actor at a gala benefit for Santa Monica's St. John's Hospital and Health Center at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel.
Last month, St. John's invited fans to send birthday cards to Stewart — whose birthday is today — and as of last weekend 10,000 cards had been received from all over the world. They'll be given to him Saturday.
"It's pretty amazing to reach 85," Stewart said. "My health has been in a little trouble. . . . But things are getting fixed up now. I had a pacemaker installed, and I got an infection from it. It had me under the weather for a while."
Reflecting on the 10 movies he made with directors John Ford, Frank Capra and Alfred Hitchcock, Stewart said that, despite different styles, they "all had the idea of getting the story up on the screen visually. . . . It seems to me motion pictures have been harmed in the last 15 years because people are depending on the spoken word. That's not right."
