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Original The Six Shooter header art

The Six Shooter Radio Radio Program
Dee-Scription: Home >> D D Too Home >> Radio Logs >> The Six Shooter
Original The Six Shooter cover art
Our original (copyright 2004) cover art for The Six Shooter

Premiere spot ad for The Six Shooter from September 30 1954
Premiere spot ad for The Six Shooter from September 30 1954

Poster for Winchester '73 from 195
Poster for Winchester '73 from 1950


James Stewart as Lin McAdam in Winchester '73


James Stewart as an even more reluctant gunslinger in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)


James Stewart as Charlie Anderson in Shenandoah (1965)

Spot article about Jimmy Stewart as the Six Shooter from December 5 1953
Spot article about Jimmy Stewart as the Six Shooter from December 5 1953

Coleman Ad for Six Shooter from August 30 1953
Coleman Ad for Six Shooter from August 30 1953
[Click HERE (or download and play) to hear the Coleman 'Three Bonuses' spot that aired with The Six Shooter]

Daily Globe article on John Payne and The Restless Gun from December 14 1957
Daily Globe article on John Payne and The Restless Gun from December 14 1957

Background on the adult western genre

From the February 9, 1954 edition of the Wisconsin State Journal:

Bill Doudna's Spotlight

...THEME SONG:  Most radio programs are readily identified by their theme songs, but few themes ever become "stars" in their own right and command both fan mail and phone calls. 
     NBC Hollywood has such a property on hand however, in the theme song of James  Stewart's Western adventure series, "Six Shooter" (NBC-WIBA, Sundays, 7 p.m.).
     Producer Jack Johnstone has explained that "at first it was an occasional card inquiring about our theme--who wrote it, its title, and so forth.  But now its resolved itself into a steady flow of letters and phone calls each week."
     The tune causing all the excitement is "The Highland Lament" by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
     To all the mail requesting information on how to buy the record Johnstone must give the same answer: 
     "It's a special English recording restricted to broadcast use only."...

The theme of The Six Shooter wasn't the only aspect of the production that created a buzz throughout during the Fall and Winter of 1953-54. The term 'adult western,' when it was first coined in the late 1940s, referred to the overlaying of contemporary psychological themes onto the western genre of literature, Radio and Film. Just as in noir crime fiction in print, film noir and radio noir had ushered in a new perspective on traditional fiction; the overlaying of contemporary values, psychological themes and sophisticated social interactions between characters of a story. The adult western transformed the traditional 'black hat'-'white hat' type of shoot'em up cowboy opera format into a form that examined the deeper motivations of its characters and how those psychological themes informed the plot--but in a period western setting.

 Adult westerns first appeared in Film with big screen hits like Sam Fuller's classic I Shot Jesse James (1949), Winchester '73 (1950), High Noon (1952), and Shane (1953). These were typical examples of the earliest popular appearances of the genre. The first manifestations of the genre in Radio came near the end of the Golden Age of Radio. Indeed, some feel that the genre may have helped extend the Golden Age of Radio to the early 1960s. The following popular programs of the era were most representative of adult westerns over Radio:

While not intended to be all-inclusive, the above list represents the most popular adult westerns of the era. Hawk Durango (1946) and Hawk Larabee (1946-1948) were arguably the first adult westerns to take to the Radio airwaves. The series' created quite a stir during their three seasons. The newspapers of the era continually remarked at the contemporary adult themes that most of the Hawk Durango and Hawk Larabee scripts dramatized. Themes such as cattle rustlers employing trucks to transport their spoils and posses on motorcycles pursuing the bad guys were revolutionary for the western genre over Radio. It wasn't only the introduction of contemporary technology that characterized the adult western genre. Themes such as the psychological motivations of a gunslinger, manifested by romantic conflicts, conflicted morals, self-examination, and even reluctant altruism were revolutionary for the traditional western genre.

But the relatively short-lived nature of Hawk Durango and Hawk Larabee might be the best indication that late 1940s Radio wasn't quite ready for an adult western. Both series' received laudatory critical reviews, but owing to their non-traditional nature, didn't find the popularity of the adult westerns that appeared only six years subsequent to Hawk Durango.

The Six Shooter legitimizes the adult western over Radio

Though The Six Shooter wasn't the first popular adult western to air over Radio, a case can be made that it was the first to thoroughly legitimize the genre over the medium. Not only were The Six Shooter scripts--and casts--the equal of any of the first wave of adult westerns to air over Radio, but the series carried the considerable weight of James Stewart in the starring role as Britt Ponset, the reluctant, yet highly efficient, western gunslinger.

 For the era, James Stewart was a natural choice to popularize the genre over Radio. His ground-breaking--for Stewart--depiction of the angst and inner turmoil of his protagonist, Lin McAdam in Winchester '73 (1950), launched a series of James Stewart appearances in other taut Anthony Mann and Alfred Hitchcock psychological thrillers over the following ten years. More importantly, the timing was perfect to cast Stewart in a psychological western thriller for Radio.

Stewart's extraordinary performance in Anthony Mann's twisty Winchester '73 (1950) was the most popular break-out rendition of the adult western genre in Film for its time. While the film is more about the elusive one-in-a-thousand Winchester rifle, the film also focuses on the various transformations that Stewart's Lin McAdam undergoes in his quest to recapture his fairly won prize, a rare, one of a kind--for its day-- .44 caliber Winchester Model 1873. Stewart followed up his performance in Winchester '73 with appearances as Tom Jeffords in Broken Arrow (1950), as Glyn McKlyntock in Bend In The River (1952), as Marsh 'Carbine' Williams in Carbine Williams (1952), and as Howard Kemp in The Naked Spur (1953). But it was the three Anthony Mann features, Winchester '73, Bend In The River, and The Naked Spur, that genuinely popularized James Stewart as a thinking man's adult western protagonist; at once resolute in his varying quests for justice, but at the same time fraught with conflicted angst over his means' to those ends. Mann and Stewart subsequently teamed for two more adult westerns, The Far Country (1954) and The Man From Laramie (1955).

Popular Film images of James Stewart the cowboy still fresh in the minds of contemporary audiences, Stewart would seem to have been the odd-on favorite to popularize the adult western genre over Radio. But there were two major hurdles to jump to coax Jimmy Stewart into an adult western Radio series: Jimmy Stewart's extraordinary recent popularity--and demand--as an adult western Film star, and finding the time in Jimmy Stewart's incredibly busy schedule to mount the thiry-nine episodes of the Radio production.

Frank Burt's creation, The Six Shooter, first came to Radio over Hollywood Star Playhouse, then sponsored by The Bakers of America. Hollywood Star Playhouse's third season production of the script, The Six Shooter, aired on April 13, 1952 over NBC, starring James Stewart and directed by Jack Johnstone. Frank Burt wrote the radioplay. Revue Productions, a subsidiary of MCA-TV, took an interest in Burt's Six Shooter package and by the summer of 1953, brought James Stewart and Jack Johnstone back together for an audition recording of the package. Frank Burt and James Stewart later worked together in Film--The Man From Laramie (1955)--and the package, at least by July 1953, had James Stewart fully on-board for the production.

The audition for the package was unique in several respects. Jimmy Stewart himself endorses the production at the mid-point of the audition, stating that he'd been interested in starring in a Radio production for some time, but simply hadn't found the right vehicle until The Six Shooter. The audition script, a tale of the town sheriff's son, Ben Scofield, stars Stewart as Britt Ponset, William Conrad as Sheriff Ed Scofield, Parley Baer as Fred Wilmer, and Herb Vigran as 'Heavy' Norton, the town blacksmith. William Conrad's performance especially, was wonderfully compelling in the audition. Jimmy Stewart, for his part, delivered precisely the tone and understated emotion one might expect from the great actor. Without giving away too much of the plot, the story traces a father's growing fear that his son may be involved in something he simply won't be able to help him with. Jimmy Stewart closes the audition with an endorsement of an unnamed product that he states he uses himself.

The audition also introduces Britt Ponset's horse, Scar, and Ponset's unique six shooter, described as 'grey steel and rainbow mother of pearl, and the handle unmarked'. The intro, virtually identical for the production run, also describes Britt Ponset as follows: "The man in the saddle is angular and long legged. His skin is sun-dyed brown." "The gun has killed and the man has killed. People call them both . . . 'The Six Shooter'."

The Six Shooter takes to the air for Coleman Home Heaters

After recording the audition, it took less than a month for NBC, in association with Revue Productions, to find a sponsor for The Six Shooter--Coleman Home Heaters. Though we find it highly unlikely that Jimmy Stewart personally used a Coleman Home Heater to heat his own home, we'll give him the benefit of the doubt. As must be obvious from the audition recording, Stewart clearly had no idea what product he'd be endorsing when the audition was recorded.

Coleman Home Heaters was also concurrently sponsoring The Eddie Cantor Show and Barrie Craig: Confidential Investigator. Coleman's national ad campaign, geared as it was for the Fall and Winter heating seasons of 1953-54 promoted a tie-in bonus offer of their latest Coleman oil-fired space heaters, combined with a 32-piece set of Libbey glassware--in a Western pattern, naturally. Since most of the circulating examplars of The Six Shooter are direct from their syndicated transcriptions, we've included the original Coleman Home Heaters spot (sidebar, left) that was originally heard with each episode of The Six Shooter. As you listen to it, note the tie-in to the print ad which most newspapers carried during the campaign (also in the sidebar, left).

The entire Six Shooter production from beginning to end, represented some of the finest exemplars of the emerging adult western genre ever aired over Radio. Jimmy Stewart's performances were the equal of anything he'd ever done before over Radio. The supporting casts represented some of the most successful West Coast Radio performers of the era, including 14-year old Sammy Ogg, who, portraying an 11-year old, performed marvelously in the touching Episode No. 5, Rink Larkin, from October 18, 1953.

Frank Burt's scripts were also the equal of anything ever aired over Radio for the genre. Frank Burt wasn't new to Radio, though his greatest success came in Television. He'd already written for Radio for The Whistler, The Unexpected and The Man Called X, prior to penning his first script, The Six Shooter, for Hollywood Star Playhouse.

It's also apparent that Jimmy Stewart's work with Anthony Mann informed his performances in The Six Shooter. Stewart's characteristic soft-spoken, measured responses to any threat, social dilemma or human interaction proved as entertaining over Radio as they had in Film. The entire run was an unanticipated treat during the waning years of The Golden Age of Radio. The emerging extraordinary success of Gunsmoke, in particular, soon translated to even greater success over Television. Have Gun, Will Travel, by contrast, found its first audience over Television, transitiioning a year later to Radio.

 It took another four years for Revue Productions to take The Six Shooter to Television, aired in 1957 as The Restless Gun, sans Jack Johnstone and Jimmy Stewart, but retaining Frank Burt as the creator/consultant for all seventy-seven episodes of it's two-year run. John Payne starred in the Television rendition as Vint Bonner, a slightly altered rendition of Britt Ponset. The program was sponsored by Warner-Lambert. At its worst, the premiere episode of The Restless Gun aired to horrible revues, citing the script as too cerebral and Payne's performance as 'totem-like.' At its best, during mid-1958 the series was pulling a 33.5 Nielsen share, a 40.5 audience share, and running ten points above Wagon Train, to give a measure of comparison.

The Six Shooter franchise, over Radio and Television, extended from September 1953 to June 1959--39 episodes over Radio and 77 episodes over Television--all created by Frank Burt. Burt also reprised two of his Six Shooter scripts for Television's General Electric Theater, penned at least 48 scripts for Dragnet, and wrote for The Unexpected (1952), I Led Three Lives (1953), Noah's Ark (1956), and 'M' Squad (1960), prior to his death in 1964 (at the age of 82).

Jimmy Stewart knew he was working with some of Radio's greatest pros. He clearly rose to the occasion himself with forty highly sympathetic and rivetting performances as Britt Ponset (and another three reprises in General Electric Theater over Television). He continued to epitomize quiet, conflicted adult western heroes for another fifteen years in Film, culminating in his role as Mace Bishop in Bandolero! (1968) at the age of 60.

During a performing career of 60 years in Film, on Stage, over Radio and in Television, Jimmy Stewart set the same high standards he set during his twenty-six year career in the Air Force Reserve, retiring as a Brigadier General. For Golden Age Radio collectors, The Six Shooter is a prized component of every serious collection. Historic as both Jimmy Stewart's only recurring, leading role in Radio, and as the one of the first of its genre, The Six Shooter remains one of the most distinctive, well-performed, well-written, and well produced exemplars of the adult western genre ever to air during The Golden Age of Radio.

Series Derivatives:

 AFRTS END-370 'Six Shooter'
Genre: Anthology of Golden Age Radio Western Dramas
Network(s): NBC
Audition Date(s) and Title(s): 53-07-15 [Aud] Ben Scofield
Premiere Date(s) and Title(s): 53-09-20 01 Jenny
Run Dates(s)/ Time(s): 53-09-20 to 54-06-24; NBC; Thirty-nine, 30-minute programs; Sundays, 9:30 p.m., then Thursdays, 8 p.m.
Syndication: NBC in association with Revue Productions[MCA-TV]; The AFRTS
Sponsors: Coleman Home Heaters
Director(s): Jack Johnstone [Director/Production Supervisor]
Principal Actors: Jimmy Stewart, D.J. Thompson, Harry Bartell, Jess Kirkpatrick, George Neise, Howard McNear, Michael Ann Barrett, Will Wright, Herb Ellis, Lou Merrill, James McCallion, Jeanette Nolan, Herb Vigran, Sammy Ogg, Russell Thorson, Tony Barrett, Shirley Mitchell, Barney Phillips, Leone LeDoux, Paul Richards, Parley Baer, William Conrad, Bert Holland, Eleanor Audley,l Barney Phillips, Forrest Lewis, Sam Edwards, Frank Gerstle, Robert Griffin, John Stevenson, Lamont Johnson, Dal McKinnon, Ken Christy, Barbara Eiler, Virginia Gregg, Michael Ann Barrett, Dan O'Herlihy, Ted Bliss, Marvin Miller, Ted Bliss, Dick Beals, Will Wright, Tyler McVey, Jean Tatum, Robert Griffin, Bert Holland, Shepard Menken, Joel Cranston, Lillian Buyeff, Paul Richards, Elvia Allman, Ted de Corsia, Gerald Mohr, Carlton Young, Junius Matthews, Sandra Gould
Recurring Character(s): Britt Ponset, 'The Six Shooter'
Protagonist(s): Britt Ponset, 'The Six Shooter'
Author(s): Frank Burt
Writer(s) Frank Burt [Creator/Writer]
Les Crutchfield
Music Direction: Basil Adlam
Musical Theme(s): "The Highland Lament" by Ralph Vaughan Williams
Announcer(s): Hal Gibney, John Wald
Estimated Scripts or
Broadcasts:		 40
Episodes in Circulation: 40
Total Episodes in Collection: 40
Provenances:
RadioGOLDINdex, Hickerson Guide.

Notes on Provenances:

The most helpful provenances were the log of the radioGOLDINdex and newspaper listings.

We invite you to compare our fully provenanced research with the '1,500 expert researchers' at the OTRR and their The Six Shooter log, which the OTRR claims to be correct according to their 'OTTER log'. We've also provided a screen shot of their current log for comparison, HERE to protect our own further due diligence and intellectual property as we continue to research The Six Shooter.

Digital Deli Too RadioLogIc


OTRisms:

The delicate and haunting theme for The Six Shooter, was The Highland Lament, by Ralph Vaughan Williams. It was not penned or composed by Basil Adlam as widely represented throughout the otr community and their inaccurate Wikipedia Old Time Radio pages. Basil Adlam arranged the theme for Six Shooter. Nor, as stated in the WikiPedia page for The Six Shooter, was the original airing of an episode titled, The Six Shooter, broadcast over Bakers' Theatre of Stars. Bakers' Theatre of Stars didn't even air until February 1953. The program that the first The Six Shooter script aired over was Hollywood Star Playhouse, on April 13, 1952. It starred James Stewart, was written by Frank Burt, and was directed by Jack Johnstone. These were the same three principals responsible for bringing The Six Shooter to Radio a year and a half later as a recurring production.

The root source of the circulating misinformation regarding Hollywood Star Playhouse vs. Bakers' Theatre of Stars apparently stems from the inaccurate log of audio-classics.com which mistakenly claims that Hollywood Star Playhouse changed its name to Baker's [sic] Theatre of Stars with its move to the NBC Network. Bakers Theatre of Stars was a CBS production that aired six days after the final episode of its Hollywood Star Playhouse over NBC. As anyone who's actually listened to The Six Shooter episode of Hollywood Star Playhouse can clearly hear, Jimmy Stewart himself, introduces the program as Hollywood Star Playhouse. The shame of it is, with the preponderance of rampant commercial otr 'borrowing,' such misinformation from audio-classics.com makes get exponentially disseminated throughout the fanciful world of commercial otr as factual Radio history--to the detriment of all genuine vintage Radio collectors throughout the world.

Here's the thing: vintage Radio collecting isn't a commodity collecting activity--it's an aural and historical activity. Real vintage Radio collectors actually listen to what they collect. Poser collectors or 'authorities' rarely, if ever, actually listen to anything they collect. They simply acquire. Like baseball card collectors, their idea is that if they simply acquire what they collect, that's enough--the more they acquire, the more 'expertise' they're osmotically imbued with. If that sounds a bit absurd to anyone reading this, congratulations--you get it.

The Six Shooter script for Hollywood Star Playhouse was neither intended nor employed as a 'pilot' for The Six Shooter productions that aired in 1953. The notion to expand the Hollywood Star Playhouse script of The Six Shooter into a Radio production of its own, came well after the airing of The Six Shooter over Hollywood Star Playhouse, in response to overwhelming interest in the episode from listeners.

If you're wondering how such bald-faced misinformation can make it to the pages of the Old Time Radio sector of Wikipedia, it's not hard to figure out. The senior editors of Wikipedia have long abandoned the process of vetting Wikipedia's Old Time Radio articles, leaving the inmates to run the Old Time Radio asylum for that sector. If you've ever made the mistake of trusting what passes for 'scholarship' on the Old Time Radio pages of Wikipedia, under the patina of Wikipedia's other, often fine and accurate sectors, you can disabuse yourselves of that notion. The Wikipedia Old Time Radio articles have been overwhelmingly subsumed by the highly inaccurate and utterly unprovenanced commercial proponents of otr for the past six years.

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The Six Shooter Radio Program Log
Date Episode Title Avail. Notes
--
--
 Ben Scofield
Y
 [Audition]
53-09-20
1
 Jenny
Y
 53-09-19 Chester Times
Sunday
Jimmy Stewart will open a Western adventure series, "Six Shooter," on NBC at 9:30.

53-09-19 Daily Review - Jimmy Stewart draws his "Six Shooter" on KNBC at 7 tomorrow night.

53-09-20 Wisconsin State Journal
8:30 p.m.--Six Shooter (WIBA): James Stewart in new series of Western thrillers.
53-09-27
2
 The Coward
Y
 53-09-26 Wisconsin State Journal
Sunday 8:30 Six Shooter
53-10-04
3
 The Stampede
Y
 53-10-03 Wisconsin State Journal
Sunday 8:30 Six Shooter

53-10-03 San Mateo Times
Fear and hatred mingle with strong brotherly love to weave thetragic fate as Britt Ponset, played by Jimmy Stewart, joins a three-man cattle drive on "Six Shooter" heard over KNBC at 6:30
53-10-11
4
 Silver Annie
Y
 53-10-10 Wisconsin State Journal
Sunday 8:30 Six Shooter
53-10-18
5
 Rink Larkin
Y
 53-10-17 Wisconsin State Journal
Sunday 7:30 Six Shooter

53-10-19 Oakland Tribune
another better than anybody else's old-West-gun-toting radio shows by' Jimmy Stewart as "The Six Shooter" with an 11-year-old boy [Sammy Ogg] probably acting better than he knew how opposite such a fine actor
53-10-25
6
 Red Lawson's Revenge
Y
 53-10-25 Wisconsin State Journal
7:30 p.m.--Six Shooter (WIBA): threat comes out of man's past.
53-11-01
7
 Ben Scofield
Y
 53-10-31 Wisconsin State Journal
Sunday 7:30 Six Shooter
53-11-08
8
 The Capture Of Stacy Gault
Y
 53-11-07 Wisconsin State Journal
Sunday 7:30 Six Shooter
53-11-15
9
 Escape From Smoke Falls
Y
 53-11-14 Wisconsin State Journal
Sunday 7:30 Six Shooter
53-11-22
10
 Gabriel Starbuck
Y
 53-11-21 Wisconsin State Journal
Sunday 7:30 Six Shooter
53-11-29
11
 Sheriff Billy
Y
 53-11-29 Wisconsin State Journal
7 p.m--Six Shooter (WIBA): new sheriff seeks long lost father.

53-11-28 Tucson Daily Citizen
6--Six Shooter. Jimmy Stewart plays Britt Ponsett in an episode concerning a fast-shooting outlaw who doesn't resist arrest (KVOA).
53-12-06
12
 A Pressing Engagement
Y
 53-12-05 Wisconsin State Journal
Sunday 7:00 Six Shooter

53-12-06 The Zanesville Signal
Britt Ponsett (Jimmy Stewart) finds himself engaged to be married without having courted the bride-to-be tonight on "Six Shooter" (WHIZ-NBC 8 p.m.).
53-12-13
13
 More Than Kin
Y
 53-12-12 Wisconsin State Journal
Sunday 7:00 Six Shooter
53-12-20
14
 Britt Ponset's Christmas Carol
Y
 53-12-19 Wisconsin State Journal
Sunday 7:00 Six Shooter
53-12-27
15
 Cora Plummer Quincy
Y
 53-12-27 Wisconsin State Journal
7:00 Six Shooter
54-01-03
16
 A Friend In Need
Y
 54-01-02 Wisconsin State Journal
Sunday 7:00 Six Shooter

54-01-03 Times-Recorder
Britt Ponset (Jimmy Stewart) meets a boyhood friend who is wanted by the sheriff for murder during tonight's Six Shooter episode . . .WHIZ-NBC 8-8:30.
54-01-10
17
 Hiram's Goldstrike
Y
 54-01-09 Wisconsin State Journal
Sunday 7:00 Six Shooter
54-01-17
18
 The Silver Buckle
Y
 54-01-17 Wisconsin State Journal
7 p.m.--Six Shooter (WIBA): bandits pose as posse members.
54-01-24
19
 Helen Bricker
Y
 54-01-24 Wisconsin State Journal
Sunday 7:00 Six Shooter
54-01-31
20
 Trail To Sunset
Y
 54-01-31 Wisconsin State Journal
7:00 Six Shooter
54-02-07
21
 The Apron-Faced Sorrel
Y
 54-02-06 Wisconsin State Journal
Sunday 7:00 Six Shooter
54-02-14
22
 The Quiet City
Y
 54-02-14 Wisconsin State Journal
7:00 Six Shooter
54-02-21
23
 The Battle At Tower Rock
Y
 54-02-21 Wisconsin State Journal
7 p.m.--Six Shooter (WIBA): family feud splits community.
54-03-07
24
 The Cheyenne Express
Y
 54-03-07 Wisconsin State Journal
7:00 Six Shooter
54-03-14
25
 Thicker Than Water
Y
 54-03-14 Wisconsin State Journal
7 p.m.--Six Shooter (WIBA): deserter visits his son.
54-03-21
26
 Duel At Lockwood
Y
 54-03-21 Wisconsin State Journal
7 p.m.--Six Shooter (WIBA): youth threatens battle with sheriff.

54-03-31 Oakland Tribune
7:30 p.m. KNBC-GUEST STAR: Replaces the program, "Six Shooter, which moves to Thursday night.
54-04-01
27
 Aunt Emma
Y
 [moves to Thursday night]

54-04-01 Wisconsin State Journal - 7:30 p.m.--Six Shooter (WIBA): James Stewart's program on new schedule; bachelor dodges Cupid's arrows.

54-04-01 Long Beach Independent

Stewart Series Moves

'Actor Jimmie Stewart's "The Six Shooter" adventure series moves from its former Sunday broadcasting time to Thursdays effective with today's show on KFI at 9 p. m.

54-04-01 Oakland Tribune
9 p.m., KNBC—SIX SHOOTER (new time and day): Britt Ponset, played by
James Stewart, can handle a six-gun, but it is his ability to play cupid that tonight saves him from "a fate worse than death."
54-04-08
28
 General Guilford's Widow
Y
 54-04-08 Wisconsin State Journal
7:30 Six Shooter
54-04-15
29
 The Crisis At Easter Creek
Y
 54-04-15 Wisconsin State Journal
7:30 Six Shooter
54-04-22
30
 Johnny Springer
Y
 54-04-22 Wisconsin State Journal
7:30 Six Shooter (WIBA): sheriff runs down killer of hotel owner.
54-04-29
31
 Revenge At Harness Creek
Y
 54-04-29 Wisconsin State Journal
7:30 Six Shooter
54-05-06
32
 Anna Norquist
Anna Norquest
Y
 54-05-06 Logansport Press
7:30 Six Shooter
54-05-13
33
 The Double Seven
Y
 54-05-13 Logansport Press
7:30 Six Shooter
54-05-20
34
 The Shooting Of Wyatt King
Y
 54-05-20 Logansport Press
7:30 Six Shooter
54-05-27
35
 Blood Relations
Y
 54-05-27 Logansport Press
7:30 Six Shooter
54-06-03
36
 Silver Threads
Y
 54-06-03 Long Beach Press-Telegram
Jimmy Stewart, as Brit Ponset in "The Six Shooter" on KFI at 9 p.m., tracks down a killer through a song the murderer sang.
54-06-10
37
 The New Sheriff
Y
 54-06-10 Long Beach Press-Telegram
"Six Shooter" Jimmy Stewart is elected sheriff of Virtue City during tonight's adventure of the old West on KFI at 9.
54-06-17
38
 When the Shoe Doesn't Fit
Y
 54-06-17 Long Beach Press-Telegram
9:00 P.M. KFI--The Six Shooter
54-06-24
39
 Myra Barker
Y
 [Last Program; Replaced by Karl Weber as Dr. Sixgun]

54-06-24 Long Beach Press-Telegram
Romance comes to Britt Ponset's life when he meets the niece of a friend of his during "Six Shooter" on KFI at 9 p.m. starring Jimmy Stewart.
54-07-01
--
--
 54-06-24 Long Beach Press-Telegram
9:00 p.m. KFI--Dr. Sixgun

AFRTS END-370 'Six Shooter' Radio Program Log
Date AFRTS No. Title Avail. Notes
53-09-20
1
 Jenny
N
53-11-01
Ben Scofield
N
53-12-06
A Pressing Engagement
N
53-12-13
More Than Kin
N
54-01-03
A Friend In Need
N
54-01-17
The Silver Buckle
N
54-01-24
Helen Bricker
N
54-05-06
Anna Norquist
N
54-05-13 The Double Seven
N
54-05-20 The Shooting Of Wyatt King
N
54-06-03 Silver Threads
N
54-06-10 The New Sheriff
N
54-06-17 When the Shoe Doesn't Fit
N
54-06-24 Myra Barker
N

The Six Shooter Radio Program Biographies
James Maitland Stewart
(Britt Ponsett)
(1908-1997)

Birthplace: Indiana, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

Radiography:
1936 Hollywood Hotel
1937 Lux Radio Theatre
1937 Silver Theater
1938 Good News
1939 Gulf Screen Guild Theatre
1941 We Hold These Truths
1942 Plays For Americans
1942 This Is War
1945 Cavalcade Of America
1945 Theater Of Romance
1946 March Of Dimes
1946 Academy Award
1947 Guest Star
1947 It Pays To Be Ignorant
1947 The Fred Waring Show
1947 Family Theatre
1947 Lady Esther Screen Guild Theatre
1947 The Barbara Welles Show
1948 Philco Radio Time
1948 Radio Reader's Digest
1948 Bill Stern Colgate Sports Newsreel
1948 Camel Screen Guild Theatre
1949 The Lucky Strike Program
1949 Screen Director's Playhouse
1949 Suspense
1949 Sealtest Variety Theater
1949 The Bing Crosby Show
1950 The Tex and Jinx Show
1951 Stars In the Air
1952 Theater Guild On the Air
1952 Hollywood Star Playhouse
1953 The Bob Hope Show
1953 The Traitor Within
1953 The Six Shooter
1954 Bud's Bandwagon
1954 Fibber McGee and Molly
1954 The Edgar Bergen Show
1954 Hallmark Hall Of Fame
1956 The New Edgar Bergen Hour
1958 Biography In Sound
1959 The Jack Benny Program
1960 Hedda Hopper's Hollywood
Voice Of the Army

Filmography:

Murder Man
(MGM--1935)
Rose Marie
(MGM--1936)
Next Time We Love
(Universal--1936)
Wife Vs. Secretary
(MGM--1936)
Small Town Girl
(MGM--1936)
Speed
(MGM,1936)
The Gorgeous Hussy
(MGM--1936)
Born To Dance
(MGM--1936)
After The Thin Man
(MGM--1936)
Seventh Heaven
(20th Century-Fox--1937)
The Last Gangster
(MGM--1937)
Navy Blue and Gold
(MGM--1937)
Of Human Hearts
(MGM--1938)
Vivacious Lady
(RKO--1938)
The Shopworn Angel
(MGM--1938)
You Can't Take It With You
(Columbia--1938)
Made For Each Other
(United Artists--1939)
Ice Follies of 1939
(MGM--1939)
It's a Wonderful World
(MGM--1939)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
(Columbia--1939)
Destry Rides Again
(Universal--1939)
The Shop Around The Corner
(MGM--1940)
The Mortal Storm
(MGM--1940)
No Time For Comedy
(Warner Bros.--1940)
The Philadelphia Story
(MGM--1940)
Come Live With Me
(MGM--1941)
Pot O' Gold
(United Artists--1941)
Ziegfeld Girl
(MGM--1941)
It's A Wonderful Life
(RKO--1946)
Magic Town
(RKO--1947)
Call Northside 777
(20th Century Fox)
On Our Mary Way
(United Artists--1948)
Rope
(Warner Bros.--1948)
You Gotta Stay Happy
(Universal--1948)
The Stratton Story
(MGM--1949)
Malaya
(MGM--1950)
Winchester '73
(Universal--1950)
Broken Arrow
(20th Century-Fox--1950)
The Jackpot
(20th Century-Fox--1950)
Harvey
(Universal--1950)
No Highway in the Sky
(20th Century-Fox--1951)
The Greatest Show on Earth
(Paramount--1952)
Bend of the River
(Universal--1952)
Carbine Williams
(MGM--1952)
The Naked Spur
(MGM--1953)
Thunder Bay
(Universal--1953)
The Glenn Miller Story
(Universal--1954)
Rear Window
(Paramount--1954)
The Far Country
(Universal--1955)
Strategic Air Command
(Paramount--1955)
The Man From Laramie
(Columbia--1955)
The Man Who Knew Too Much
(Paramount--1956)
The Spirit of St. Louis
(Warner Bros.--1957)
Night Passage
(Universal--1957)
Vertigo
(Paramount--1958)
Bell, Book and Candle
(Columbia--1958)
Anatomy of a Murder
(Columbia--1959)
The FBI Story
(Warner Bros.--1959)
The Mountain Road
(Columbia--1960)
Two Rode Together
(Columbia--1961)
X-15
(United Artists--1961)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
(Paramount--1962)
Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation
(20th Century-Fox--1962)
How The West Was Won
(MGM--1963)
Take Her, She's Mine
(20th Century-Fox--1963)
Cheyenne Autumn
(Warner Bros.--1964)
Dear Brigitte
(20th Century-Fox--1965)
Shenandoah
(Universal--1966)
The Flight of the Phoenix
(20th Century-Fox--1966)
The Rare Breed
(Universal--1966)
Firecreek
(Warner Bros.--1968)
Bandolero!
(20th Century-Fox--1968)
The Cheyenne Social Club
(National General--1970)
Fool's Parade
(Columbia--1971)
That's Entertainment
(MGM--1974)
The Shootist
(Warner Bros.--1976)
Airport '77
(Universal--1977)
The Magic of Lassie
(International Picture Show Co.--1978)
The Big Sleep
(United Artists--1978)
A Tale of Africa
(Japanese, 1981)
An American Tale: Fievel Goes West
(Amblin/Universal--1990)

Military Awards and Decorations:

During James Stewart's military career he was awared the following medals:

General James Stewart's ribbons

  • Distinguished Service Medal
  • Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster
  • Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters
  • Army Commendation Medal
  • American Defense Service Medal
  • European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 3 Service Stars
  • World War II Victory Medal
  • Armed Forces Reserve Medal
  • French Croix de Guerre with Palm
  • Presidential Medal of Freedom
James Stewart circa 1935
James Stewart circa 1935

James Stewart circa 1936
James Stewart circa 1936

James Stewart amateur Film editor circa 1938
James Stewart amateur Film editor circa 1938

James Stewart going over a script in 1939
James Stewart going over a script in 1939

Publicity photo from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Publicity photo from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

James Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1930)
James Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

James Stewart deliberates about what to knosh on the lot circa 1940
James Stewart deliberates about what to knosh on the lot circa 1940

James Stewart and Kathryn Hepburn in The Phildelphia Story (1940)
James Stewart and Katharine Hepburn in The Phildelphia Story (1940)

Jimmy Stewart reading LIFE Magazine circa 1943
Jimmy Stewart reading LIFE Magazine circa 1940

James Stewart with Hedy Lamarr in Come Live With Me publicity shot (1941)
James Stewart with Hedy Lamarr in Come Live With Me publicity shot (1941)

Operations Officer Major James Stewart escorts a bomber crew to their ship circa 1944
Operations Officer Major James Stewart escorts a bomber crew to their ship circa 1944

Lt. Colonel James Stewart is awarded his second Air Medal
Lt. Colonel James Stewart is awarded his second Air Medal

Colonel James Stewart is awarded the Croix de Guerre
Colonel James Stewart is awarded the Croix de Guerre

Colonel James Stewart on LIFE Magazine cover September 24 1945
Colonel James Stewart on LIFE Magazine cover September 24 1945

James Stewart, Donna Reed and Karolyn Grimes in Its A Wonderful Life (1939)
James Stewart, Donna Reed and Karolyn Grimes in Its A Wonderful Life (1946)

James Stewart as Elwood P. Dowd in Harvey (1950
James Stewart as Elwood P. Dowd in Harvey (1950)

James Stewart confers with Alfred Hitchcock on the set of Rear Window circa 1954

James Stewart confers with Alfred Hitchcock on the set of Rear Window circa 1954

All work and no play . . . James Stewart and Georgine D'Arcy clown on the set of Rear Window circa 1954
All work and no play . . . James Stewart and Georgine D'Arcy (Miss Torso) clown on the set of Rear Window circa 1954

James Stewart as Glenn Miller in The Glenn Miller Story (1954)
James Stewart as Glenn Miller in The Glenn Miller Story (1954)

James and Gloria Stewart circa 1957
James and Gloria Stewart circa 1957

Brigadier General James Stewart, USAF Reserve circa 1955
Brigadier General James Stewart, USAF Reserve circa 1959

James Stewart with Valerie Varda in Mr. Hobbs Takes A Vacation (1962)
James Stewart with Valerie Varda in Mr. Hobbs Takes A Vacation (1962)
James and Gloria Stewart circa 1957
James and Gloria Stewart circa 1957

James Stewart was honored with a commemorative stamp as the 13th honoree in the Legends of Hollywood series on August 17 2007
James Stewart was honored with a commemorative stamp as the 13th honoree in the Legends of Hollywood series on August 17 2007

James Stewart circa 1977
James Stewart circa 1977

 Recounting James Stewart's biography and history would be a monumental task for any biographer. We can't presume to do better than his own home town's affectionate memories. We felt the following four obituaries, in particular, from Stewart's hometown and peers would most appropriately summarize this great man's life.

From the July 3, 1997 edition of the Indiana Gazette (Pennsylvania):

James M. Stewart

From Indiana to Hollywood,
one wonderful life

Legendary Hollywood actor
Jimmy Stewart dies at 89

By FRANK HOOD
For the Gazette

     James Maitland Stewart, 89, Indiana County's most illustrious native, died at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif., Wednesday from a lingering illness that triggered a blood clot in his lung.
     Stewart, the only son and eldest child of Alex and Elizabeth "Bess" Jackson Stewart, was born May 20, 1908, in Indiana.  Jimmy, as he was affectionately known, last visited his hometown with his wife, Gloria Hatrick McLean, in May 1983 during a three-day celebration that focused on the dedication of the nine-foot statue honoring him and his smalltown virtues.  That statue stands in front of the Indiana County Court House.
     He was the last surviving member of his family, having been preceded in death by his parents (his father also died at 89); his two sisters, Virginia Tiranoff and Mary Perry; his wife; and Ronald McLean, a son from Gloria's previous marriage, a Marine officer killed in Vietnam.
     He is survived by his twin daughters, Judy Merrill and Kelly Harcourt, who represented their father in Indiana in May 1995 for the dedication of the Jimmy Stewart Museum.  Also surviving is stepson Michael McLean.
     As a youth in Indiana, Stewart worked in his father's hardware store and was active as a Boy Scout.  He worked for Sam Gallo in the projection room of the Strand Theater in the Thomas Flat Building in the 700 block of Philadelphia Street, where he rewound the film, set the carbons in the carbon arc lamps, operated the hand-cranked projector, and placed a green slide in front of the projector for the-undervvater scenes in "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea."
     As a teen-ager, Stewart assisted his friend, Bill Neff, in the latter's magic shows.  On Oct. 16, 1938, Stewart and Neff appeared on the stage of the Manos Theater for a 12-minute skit at the 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. shows.  The duo often paired up with pianist Delos "Dutch" Campbell for other entertainment in the area.
     Stewart learned to play the accordion with the help of a local Italian barber, arid there is a report of his having played the musical saw. 
     After attending the Model School at Indiana Normal School, now the University School at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Stewart continued 'his education in 1923 at Mercersburg Academy, where he was active in track and field events and lightweight football.  He was art director of the yearbook, performed with his accordion, and was a member of the cast for the senior class play, "The Wolves."
     In 1927, scarlet fever and a lingering kidney infection kept him home from Mercersburg.
     That was the year Charles Lindbergh flew across the Atlantic and Stewart, who had a love of flying, was captivated by the adventure.
     The Indiana Evening Gazette office at that time was just across Philadelphia Street from the Stewart
Hardware store operated by Stewart's father.  The younger Stewart kept up on Lindbergh's progress in the Gazette office, and then went back to the hardware store and moved a model plane closer to the Eiffel Tower in a New York-to-Paris display in the store window.
     After graduating from Mercersburg in 1928, he entered Princeton University as an electrical engineering major, but switched to architecture.  While at Princeton Stewart was active in the Triangle Club's musical productions.  When he graduated in the summer of 1932 he was invited by fellow Princetonian Josh Logan to join the University Players in Falmouth, Conn., as a "resident accordionist."
     That was followed by parts in Broadway shows, including a seven-week run of "Carrie Nation" and 216 performances of "Goodbye Again."  In the spring of 1933 he played in "Spring in Autumn" and as an accordion player on Broadway in "All Good Americans."
     His next big role on Broadway was that of Sergeant O'Hara in "Yellow Jack."  Three more roles on Broadway ended his appearances on The Great White Way until 1947, when he returned to star in "Harvey."
     In 1935 he headed for Hollywood to begin his career in films.  Enrolled as an actor in the studio system, he had continuous employment and appeared in a variety of roles en route to stellar performances in films such as "You Can't Take It With You" and "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."  Many thought the latter, made in 1939, was of Academy Award stature, but the following year he won an Oscar for his role in "The Philadelphia Story."
     His first feature film in Hollywood was "Murder Man," starring Spencer Tracy.  That was followed by a bit role in "Rose Marie."
     After Stewart appeared with Margaret Sullavan in "Next Time We Love," he was no longer a $350-a-week actor.  He was of star stature and appeared in a variety of films including a musical, "Born to Dance."
     It was his association with director Frank Capra in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" and "You Can't Take it with You" that elevated Stewart to superstar status.
     In March 1941, after learning he held a low number in the Selective Service draft and true to a family tradition of military service, Stewart enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force and put his acting career on hold for the duration of World War II.
     His military career was no less outstanding than his acting career.  He rose from private and retired as
a brigadier general, certified in every aircraft the Air Force had in the air.  He retired from the Air Force Reserves in 1968.
     During World War II he was commander for 20 missions over Europe, including 14 wing commands and one division lead.  Among his military citations, Stewart received the Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, the Distinguished Flying Medal and the French Croix de Guerre with Palm.
     He returned to the United States aboard the Queen Elizabeth in August 1945 and quietly returned to
Indiana to spend time with his family.
     Stewart's homecoming was.documented by Life magazine with pictures showing him with his family and on the streets of Indiana.  It was on this occasion that he appeared in his colonel's uniform on the cover of the Sept. 24, 1945, Life in a photograph that showed the "Welcome Jim" sign hung by his father from the clock tower of the 1870 Indiana County Courthouse.
     On his return to Hollywood, Stewart joined with his friend Frank Capra for the making of "It's a Wonderful Life," the story of the difference one man can make in a small American community.  The film was Stewart's favorite and one that has become a national tradition for viewing at Christmas.
     His career skyrocketed as he played a wider variety of roles in numerous movies and on the small screen when he moved to television. 
     After his return to live theater on Broadway in 1947 in "Harvey, " he brought the story of the invisible rabbit to the screen.
     He was in Indiana in 1948 to receive a Pennsylvania Ambassador award from Gov. James Duff in ceremonies in front of the courthouse.  Ten years later, on the occasion of his 50th birthday, Stewart made a special pitch for the Boy Scouts in Indiana.
     He returned in 1959 to participate in ceremonies dedicating the new Indiana County airport as The Jimmy Stewart Airfield.
     On Sept. 13,1974, he was given an honorary doctor of letters degree at IUP's Centennial Convocation.
     His most significant reception by the broader Indiana community was the three-day celebration for his 75th birthday arid his statue dedication.
     Stewart made occasional visits to Indiana, many unannounced and unnoticed.  It was traditional for him to come to town every year or so to purchase a new Packard automobile for his mother.
     Throughout his career, he stayed close to the Indiana community, of which he said, "This is where my roots are."
     He publicly acknowledged in a press conference here in 1983 that in addition to the influence of his grandfather and father, Dr. Frederick Hinitt, pastor of First Presbyterian Church (now Calvary Presbyterian), helped him develop the small-town virtues that had made him a personality known around the world as a man of integrity.
     Funeral arrangements were not immediately known..

Reporter remembers Stewart
as a man of integrity

By BOB THOMAS
Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES — He was everything you would want in a movie star:  gentleman, war hero, devoted husband and father, actor with remarkable range.
     In the cardboard world of Hollywood, Jimmy Stewart was a man of real integrity.  He seemed to make no wrong moves.  He could kid himself, as he regularly did in television visits with Johnny Carson and Carol Burnett.  But he was dead serious about his responsibilities to his country and to his work.
     To many film viewers, he seemed shy.  He was not.  About 25 years ago, I invited him to a dinner on the Queen Mary in Long Beach where the Associated Press Managing-Editors were convening.  Thinking he might feel .uneasy at such an event, I assured him he needn't do anything but lend his presence.  Stewart, of course, was the center of .attention.  He greeted people cordially, and told me, "I think I'd like to be on the program."  To my surprise, he not only made a very funny speech but also sang his signature number, "Ragtime Cowboy Joe."  He had an audience, and he wasn't going to disappoint them.
     In interviews over the years, he answered questions thoughtfully.  He spoke amusingly of his, youth in Indiana, Pa., his life at Princeton, his stage years with Josh Logan, Henry Fonda and Margaret Sullavan, his big-studio adventures at MGM.
     Always he spoke fondly of Gloria, his bright, un-Hollywood wife.  She had no qualms about deflating the Stewart image.  At a party one night, he started telling a story in his trademark faltering style "Now, dear," she chided, "don't talk like Jimmy Stewart."  
     Stewart admitted he had never thought about marriage until he was 40 — "I was so busy and having so much fun."  Then he met divorcee Gloria Hattrick McLean at a dinner party at Gary Cooper's house.
     Jimmy and Gloria started playing golf together, and one day she remarked, "I enjoy the game, but are we just going to play golf or maybe you'll buy me a meal?"
     He acquired a ready-made family when they married; Gloria had two sons.  Stewart admitted that the transition from bachelorhood required adjustment:  "I do remember Gloria saying when I came home from work, 'Did it occur to you during the day that you didn't say goodbye this morning?'"
     Later came twin girls, and it seemed the Stewarts had an ideal existence.  But, as with many American families, the Vietnam War brought tragedy.  Their Marine son Ron died on the battlefield in 1969.
     Stewart, a decorated World War II bomber commander who reached the rank of brigadier general in the Army Reserve, told me how he and Gloria viewed Ron's death:  "It was a loss; we'll never forget the terrible loss.  But it was not a tragedy.  The strength, the patriotic feeling, the guts that went with the boy — that takes the tragedy away."
     When I spoke to him on his 80th birthday, he said quite candidly that he didn't expect to act any more.  "I don't like the way I've grown old; I don't like my looks."
     Gloria kept him busy.  She took him on trips to Africa to observe the wildlife.  At 85, he seemed to have slowed down, remarking that he had trouble with an infection caused by a pacemaker.
     He admitted he missed making movies:  "After 55 years and 80 pictures, I look back on it and say over and over again, 'What a wonderful time it was!  What good fortune I had to work in that period!" 
     Bob Thomas has covered Hollywood for The Associated Press for more than 50 years.

Celebrities recall co-star, friend

     Everyone had something to say about Jimmy Stewart, following his death Wednesday at age 89, Here are some reactions: 
     "He is the last of the-great leading men," said actor Robert Wagner, a longtime friend who was co-host of Stewart's charity road race.  "He was a very kind, very generous person.  Everybody who knew Jimmy is better off."
     "Jimmy Stewart had a wonderful life, and there was no one more dear or more fun than he was," Doris Day, his co-star in "The Man Who Knew Too Much," said in a statement.
    "America lost a national treasure today," President Clinton said, describing Stewart as "a great actor, a gentleman and a patriot."
     Former President Ronald Reagan and wife, Nancy, Stewart's close friends who presented him with the
Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1985, said in a statement that Stewart's modesty meant he "never really understood the greatness that others saw in him."
     Kim Novak, his "Vertigo" costar, said Stewart was "one-of-a-kind."  "Others would merely be copies.
He was my friend, my role model.  He taught me that it was possible to remain who you are and not be
tainted by your environment:"
     Frank Sinatra, who appeared with Stewart as a narrator in the 1974 documentary "That's Entertainment," called him "uniquely talented and a good friend."  "I treasure wonderful memories of the time we spent together—both on and off the screen.  I think of Jim with admiration and a special closeness that comes with 50 years of friendship."
     To Charlton Heston, who starred with Stewart in "The Greatest Show on Earth" in 1952, Stewart was the "quintessential American."  "He was deeply patriotic, deeply professional, a fine actor and, more important than any of those things, perhaps, he was a gentleman.  That's kind of a rare creature these days."

Actor's hometown fans mourn loss

By MARY ANN SLATER
and RANDY WELLS
 
Gazette Staff Writers
     It was silent in the lobby of The Jimmy Stewart Museum in downtown Indiana about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.
     No one was behind the museum's ticket booth and no one was in its front two galleries.  The museum store was also quiet.
     But in the back offices there was the low hum of voices and the constant ring of the telephone.
     Jay Rubin, president of The James M. Stewart Museum Foundation, was trying to make an outgoing call.
     "How can I get an outside line?" Rubin asked, the phone receiver in his hand.  "I want to get out before the phone rings again."
     But his efforts seemed pointless.  Lines were jammed by callers from around the country—including an agent from the London-based Reuters news service— all trying to learn more about the death of Indiana's favorite son, Jimmy Stewart.
     Stewart died Wednesday at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif.
     Rubin and other museum officials made their way to the offices around 4 p.m., as soon as they learned about his death.  By banding together, they hoped to learn more about Stewart's passing and give each other support and comfort.
     "We are sad for his family, friends, colleagues and the citizens of Indiana," said Anthony Lenzi, executive director of the museum.
     "An era" has passed.  Jimmy Stewart was one of a kind in his era and in our era," Lenzi said.  His passing will leave "a big hole in the rank of the heroes."
     "He's a great American and great Americans will always be remembered," Rubin said when asked about Stewart's place in history. 
     As an actor and as a citizen, he embodied the virtues of trust, patriotism", hope, perseverance and sincerity, Rubin said.  He was also a religious man who loved his family. .
     "He was the personification of everything that was good in this country," Rubin said.
     During a press conference in the early evening, Rubin said the museum won't mourn the passing of Stewart. Instead it plans to celebrate his life with screenings of his movies during this holiday weekend.  There is no schedule for the screenings, a museum representative said this morning.
     "We hope people will come here and express their feelings," Rubin said.  "Jimmy Stewart will be missed. But he will live on as long as there are motion pictures and the ability to look back into history."
     The museum will remain open, with hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. Friday and Sunday.  Information about Stewart also is available on the museum's Internet web site at www.jimmy.org
     Rubin said a date will be selected for a memorial service when the entire community can show its affection and respect for Stewart: 
     "Our hearts go out to his three children, and to all of those who count him as friend, to all of his fans," he said.
     "We hope that in the years to come, when they need to have that extra touch of Jimmy Stewart, that we will be here to provide that touch, and that we will fulfill our mission, which is even.more important now.  That is to teach and educate new generations about a man with humble beginnings who became a great man." :
     Linda Moore-Mack, a member of the museum board, was overcome with emotion Wednesday afternoon, shortly after learning about Stewart's death.  She first met the actor in California in 1982 while she helped organize Indiana's celebration of his 75th birthday.  Stewart and his wife, Gloria, now deceased, came back to Indiana to visit for the celebration in 1983.
     "We were immediately made to feel at home," Moore-Mack remembered about her visit to Stewart's home. "Like he was one of us.  Of course, he was one of us."  Her voice cracked several times as she fought back tears.
     Moore-Mack said Stewart was wonderful during his visit to Indiana.  "He was a gentleman.  He spent time with everyone who wanted to speak to him.  A lot of people appreciate that we could share his roots."
     Elinor Blair, a longtime friend of Stewart's, certainly appreciated knowing him.  Blair grew up in a house on North Eighth Street, "just down the alley from the Stewart house," she said.
     She was close friends with Jimmy's sisters.  "I ran into him sometimes when I was with the girls."
     Blair and Stewart got to know each other better later in life because her husband, Hall, and Jimmy were very close friends.  As young boys the two had shared an interest in aviation, and they camped and built radios together.
     The Blairs played host to Stewart when he visited Indiana in 1983.
     "He was a very considerate houseguest," she said, recalling that Stewart and her husband talked about Hollywood and their boyhood days in Indiana as well as the Boy Scouts, education and religion.
     "He was a very natural person, no airs of any kind," she said.  "He could make anybody relax.  He would never say anything unkind about anybody."
     "I think he was a very tenderhearted person," Blair said, and remembered that Stewart once told her he always kept two dogs so neither would be lonely.
     A few years after his last visit to Indiana, Stewart played host to the Blairs and some of his other Indiana friends at a cocktail party in Pittsburgh.
     "I think we're going to value him for a long time," she said.
     Nell Fish is another longtime fan who once met Stewart.  Now 94, Fish lives in the house on South Seventh Street, Indiana, that was once occupied by Jimmy's grandparents.
     "I've been a fan ever since we young people went to the movies," she said.  "The Philadelphia Story" is her favorite Stewart film.
     When Stewart returned to Indiana in 1983 for his 75th birthday celebration, Fish shook hands with the star and chatted briefly with him.
     "He was so delighted," she said, to meet someone living in his grandparents' house.
     State Sen. Patrick J. Stapleton, D-41st, and his father, Patrick Sr., had a restaurant for many years on Philadelphia Street, right across from the hardware store run by Stewart's father, Alex.
     Stapleton said Jimmy used to visit the restaurant with Alex every time he came home from Hollywood. Jimmy was always plain and humble, the senator said, and always took the time to visit with the customers.
     Stewart would rarely mention his life in Hollywood. 
     "He didn't come in for publicity," Stapleton said.  "He just stopped to see his parents.  He didn't want any fanfare."
     Stapleton also remembered Stewart's visit to Indiana in 1983 and how during the celebration ceremonies, then-President Ronald Reagan called to extend his best wishes.  During the phone call, several Air Force jets flew overhead.
     Stapleton said that Stewart, in all humility, quipped, "there goes our tax dollars."
     Mayor J.D. Varner has ordered the Indiana Borough flag to be flown at half-staff as Stewart's friends and fans mourn his death.

During a performing career of 60 years in Film, on Stage, over Radio and in Television, Jimmy Stewart set the same high standards he set during his twenty-six year career in the Air Force Reserve, retiring as a Brigadier General.

James Stewart's Radio career began with appearances in promotional Radio air trailer programs sponsored by the studios he was working for in Film. His first known acting appearance over Radio was in Hollywood Hotel (1936). Stewart was soon appearing in the finest drama and movie anthology programs of the era, including thirteen appearances in Lux Radio Theatre, eight appearances in Silver Theater, eight appearances in Screen Guild Theatre, an appearance in Radio's historic We Hold These Truths broadcast of December 15, 1941, an appearance in Arch Oboler's Plays for Americans, and countless appearances as himself in the popular variety programs during The Golden Age of Radio.

 His first leading role in a recurring program of his own came with 1953's The Six Shooter, which aired for thirty-nine compelling episodes. The one common denominator of all of his appearances over Radio were the extraordinary anticipation built with each appearance. Jimmy Stewart's appearances over Radio were always met with prominent announcements in newspapers and magazines of the era.

He was unquestionably one of Radio's most beloved guest artists and his lone recurring lead in The Six Shooter series is a prized component of every serious vintage Radio collector throughout the world.

Jimmy Stewart was an American Treasure and his memory lives on through literally thousands of Radio recordings, movies, shorts, and Television recordings. The archetypal quiet American, Jimmy Stewart embodied the qualities that every American aspires to--and we're all the better for it.

"For He shall give His angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways"
 --James Stewart's Epitaph
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