Jimmy Stewart Museum needs a George Bailey miracle

It needs a community of good-hearted people who revere all that’s good about Hollywood to dance in with baskets of cash to save it from a dreary Pottersville of a future with shuttered windows and sidewalks of scowling strangers.

It needs a Sam Wainwright to wire it a line of credit to ensure future generations of Americans won’t forget about a Yankee Doodle Dandy whose charm and patriotism still resonate.

“It’s touch and go right now,” says museum executive director Timothy Harley. “We need a cash influx to help us get through this challenging time.”

Similar hardships have closed the doors at museums dedicated to other icons whose once-gleaming luminescence has begun to fade with age.

The Liberace Museum in Las Vegas, dedicated to the flamboyant ivory tickler, closed its doors in October after 31 years. And a museum dedicated to Roy Rogers and Dale Evans rode off into the sunset at the end of 2009.

Harley says attendance at the Jimmy Stewart Museum has steadily declined in the past three years in concert with the struggling economy and as Stewart's contemporaries withdraw from bus tour participation.

An interesting coincidence.

Glenn Beck often uses the character of George Bailey in Bedford Falls vs Pottersville and compares it to the recovery of small towns in America.

Pop culture trumps the past these days. Some museums are in the most inopportune places. When I lived in upstate New York, there was Frederick Remington museum not to mention the Baron Von Steuben memorial park and museum (a little log cabin), Fort Stanwix, Oriskany battlefield (which was a horrible thing, when fathers told their sons, "sons, grab your rifles, we're going", much like Mel Gibson's movie The Patriot, and they suffered terrible losses), and a number of graves of the Founders.

They shouldn't be forgotten.

Von Steuben requested to be buried in an unmarked grave, although they have a memorial over the spot where they think he was buried. Where was his ego?

He is probably my favorite Hollywood star of all time - not necessarily for his acting, but for the type of person he was.

This is interesting:

__________________________________________________________________

So is this:

Throughout the war, he carried with him a copy of the 91st Psalm, a gift from his father. According to the Jimmy Stewart Museum, he said, "What a promise for an airman. I placed in His Hands the squadron I would be leading. And, as the psalmist promised, I felt myself borne up." Psalm 91 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

Remember the scene near the end of It's a Wonderful Life, where Jimmy Stewart, playing the role of George Bailey, breaks down in a pub, crying out to God in utter despair? (Watch the scene here; fast-forward to the 5:30 mark.) Apparently Stewart wasn't really acting; those tears were real. In this 1977 article that Stewart wrote for Guideposts, the actor recalls that George "is unaware that most of the people in town are arduously praying for him. In this scene, at the lowest point in George Bailey's life, Frank Capra was shooting a long shot of me slumped in despair. In agony I raise my eyes and following the script, plead, 'God...God...dear Father in heaven, I'm not a praying man, but if You're up there and You can hear me, show me the way, I'm at the end of my rope. Show me the way, God...' "As I said those words, I felt the loneliness and hopelessness of people who had nowhere to turn, and my eyes filled with tears. I broke down sobbing. This was not planned at all, but the power of that prayer, the realization that our Father in heaven is there to help the hopeless had reduced me to tears." In the article, Stewart further discusses the making of the film, his faith, and how his dad held him accountable to attend church once he moved to LA from little Indiana, Pennsylvania. A good read about a fine man and a classic movie.

The county veteran's memorial is just to the left of that statue...my name is on one of the bricks in it :-)

Wonder when that pic was taken...the flags are at half mast.

I'll always remember his last mission was bombing mission in a B-52 over Vietnam. He was old. That was dangerous. He didn't have to do that. But he did.

Maybe he was trying to make up for "not doing enough" in his own mind? Who knows.

Compare that to the typical Hollywood actor these days.

“On June 8, 1969, those Marines were trapped in an ambush that claimed the life of actor Jimmy Stewart’s stepson, Marine 1st Lt. Ron McLean.”

I think he was getting some payback.

Thanks so much, p6.

I visited the museum for the first time about a year or so ago. Jimmy Stewart was a man of rare character who deserves to be remembered, not just for his movies but for who he was.

Jimmy Stewart was a great actor and even greater Patriot. But museums for pop culture personalities (even patriotic ones) are doomed to eventual failure. And it doesn’t help that its in a small town in PA off the beaten path. They may get a reprieve this year, but they will eventually have to close their doors.

Jimmy has always been a serious favorite of mine. A big part of that (aside from obvious acting talent) is the fact that he was a real hero who risked his life as a military pilot. “Flight of the Phoenix” is one of my alltime Favs! I could watch it once a month.

Aside: I always wondered about the ending of “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Everybody brings in their own money to save George and all...then he gets the word from his brother that his old friend has authorized him $8000 (covering the whole debt). I always figured that all the people would say “well you’re covered now George...I want my moeny back”. Some would say they put in more than they really did. Uncle Billy would get flustered and it would end up in a brawl :-)

museum executive director Timothy Harley. “We need a cash influx to help us get through this challenging time.”

Don't we all Tim...

If ya can't get the cash to keep your Vegas tourist trap going, sell the stuff on ebay....

My all time favorite, as an actor as well as a man. IAWL is far from his only great movie.

Anatomy of a Murder, the best coutroom film ever, Vertigo a murder mytery sexual obsession Hitchcock masterpiece, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington every bit as emotional and a lesson for today as IAWL, Harvey a beloved classic, Shenendoah, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance with Duke Wayne, Winchester 76 (?).... the list goes on and on.

I love one of his films with Walter Brennan, is it The Far Country?

Oh and Philadelphia Story with Cary Grant and Hepburn.

raise taxes

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.