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Show Stewart honors BYU In a year when Brigham Young University is honored with a Miss America and the nation's No. 1 football team, we ought not overlook perhaps the greater honor and symbolic message left by Jimmy Stewart Culminating a week-long tribute to James Maitland Stewart's wonderful life and celebrating his bestowal of personal papers, films and other memorabilia to the Harold B. Lee Library, Stewart spoke to an audience of admirers Friday night including several LDS Church General Authorities. After a brief multi-media tribute and introduction by James D'Arc, Curator for the Arts and Communications Archives, Stewart opened his remarks by thanking the university for an experience he and his wife Gloria would never forget. He said he was impressed, "almost overwhelmed," by "how you operate and the size of what you stand for." Perhaps that is what most attracted Jimmy Stewart to BYU. He spoke fondly of his illustrious career, reminiscing of the old Hollywood when, for instance, he and other actors gathered after their usual six-day work week at a Hollywood night club and were enchanted by the talents of a 12-year-old Judy Garland; or the days when he and Henry Fonda "played tennis and flew kites" as free agents immediately after serving with distinction in the great world war. It was at that time that producer-director Frank Capra invited Stewart to discuss some rough ideas for a new picture. Capra said he didn't have a script or even a complete storyline, but he wanted to express ideas like "No one is born to be a failure" and "No one is poor who has friends." The movie became the personal favorite of both Stewart and Capra and has now inspired audiences for nearly 40 years. A new 35mm edition of "It's a Wonderful Won-derful Life" was shown to Friday night's audience as the grand finale tribute to the ideals and wonderful life of Jimmy Stewart. Stewart spoke at length of his praise and admiration, for the man who inspired this and many other fine films:5 He said the values Frank Capra held dear became the standards for his film making. As expressed by Stewart, those values are "Family, Community, Friends, Country and Belief in God." Not only is Stewart's gift perhaps the greatest honor of the year for BYU, but we hope it is a clear message to the television and movie industries that these values are the substance of which life and happiness are made. They should never be forgotten nor treated lightly. Congratulations to BYU for a fine tribute and thank you, Jimmy Stewart, for a wonderful life. |