Tinsel Town’s Most Eligible Bachelor: Jimmy Stewart

9:54PM May 6, 2022

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Do you have a favourite classic movie star? Does yours have a wonderful love story? This week? Our wonderful producer Abbie joins us to tell the story of her eternal celebrity crush on a true Hollywood legend. I'm Alisha Rai,

and I'm Sarah Wendell. Welcome to lovestruck daily, where we bring a daily dose of joy and love to your earbuds each and every weekday. I'm in love with that I'm in love with you. Alicia, Who is your celebrity crush? Or who is on your celebrity crush list?

Okay, I have like a very weird lists.

That's the best kind of list. All right,

so I would say near the top probably is like Gordon Ramsay, but I don't crush on him as like a romantic partner. It's like a dad crush. Like I think of him like a father like a very distant father. Ah, is that? Is that what we're talking about?

either? Well, I mean, it could go many directions for it. I

went in a weird direction. So

it was a little weird, but I'm with you. I'm still with you. The platonic it's a familial crash. Gordon Ramsay is the Gordon Ramsay with his kids or with kids on on MasterChef Junior. It's where he's not like yelling at people that their salad or whatever it is. Yeah, that's, that's the tolerable Yeah. Ramsey.

So I would say him. Also, Captain von Trapp from founder music was a mad rush to

sensing a pattern. Yeah,

maybe I might have some daddy issues. I but as a child, I also like Donnatella from the Ninja Turtles. I also had a big crush on it. So I don't know. I don't know, Sarah,

or the data of the group was.

Whoa. So I have something to talk about in therapy. I think all the listeners do too. Okay, you don't want sir? Who are your celebrities? You're so cool.

My mind just went blank because I am so incredibly amused by the journey that we just went on in the last like 30

seconds. It was a long journey.

They don't know where we ended. Ernie. That really was that was a trip. All right. I had a massive, massive celebrity crush on Christian Slater specifically from the movie pop up the volume when he had a pirate radio station. Um, you know, I don't think

we're good at this question. I feel like we were supposed to say like one of the Chris's or something and we failed. None

of that is interesting to me. I'm sorry.

Nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong. Yeah. Like Yes. Later. Yeah. Okay. Absolutely.

All right. Cool. So you named two or three. I don't think I can do three. I'm not a turtle calves is a third mine. And I think I think a turtle totally counts as a celebrity crush. But I think it is time to bring on our guests today who she wants to come in. And I know she knows she might just be like, listen, y'all are too weird. And I cannot but we're here to share from from ninja turtles to classic Hollywood. We are here to share our celebrity crushes. And today our guest is our producer Abby who's going to tell us all about her classic Hollywood legend crush. Well, hello there, Abby. Hi, Sarah. Welcome to the part of the microphone where you do the talking. Oh, this

is wild wild to be actually using my mouth.

Yeah, instead of just hitting mute and disappearing. You guys are gonna make you talk. So my favourite thing that we do, or one of my favourite things that we do is talk about things and people and stories that we are obsessed with. And I want to talk to you about a story you're obsessed with. Please tell me. Why are you obsessed with Jimmy Stewart?

Oh my god, I love him. Like I genuinely love him. I think he's like one of the most attractive people who have ever lived. I don't know if you've like most people when they think of Jimmy Stewart they think of old Jimmy Stewart. But no, I mean, I'm not gonna lie I do find very attractive in his old age as well. But if you look at photos of him from the 30s He is just the cutest thing like so tall that like long face the biggest dyes you've ever seen. God I just think he's so cute. And I You know, I dig the like, really wholesome, genuine attitude that he has, like, I just think it's, it's delightful.

He has what I call and I mean this in a not in a gross way. He has a very mobile putty face. Like when he acts he can do so many expressions. Yeah, he doesn't even need to talk like his eyebrows are each their own character, cheekbones or their own character. So I get it. I mean, he's very cute. He was indeed. Okay. When did you first notice? The stirrings of a deep celebrity obsession was Jimmy Stewart.

I mean, I grew up watching. It's a Wonderful Life. And so I knew of him but I didn't really feel anything for him until high school when I got really into Frank Capra as a director. And it's funny because I feel like in high school, a lot of people they kind of lean in to like the angst and the like, rebellious media. And I kind of went the opposite way where I was like, I have all these feelings. I feel very confused. So I want to watch and consume media that makes me feel good. And to me, that was like, cute Depression era films from the 1930s that were literally designed to like, make you feel better in a difficult situation. And it was around that time that I watched The Philadelphia Story for the first time and that film is like, I will say it now. It's like problematic on a lot of levels. Just a few. It doesn't entirely hold up. No. But Jimmy is just the cutest thing in that film. Like I just think I like I could not get over how funny he was. And mould.

How does a man with potty face smoulder? I don't know. But he pulled it off. He does. Exactly.

And that scene where he like, carries Katharine Hepburn into the night. Anyway, so that was just like very, it awoke my imagination. For sure.

Your imagination? Yes. I see. Yes. Clearly. How's your love of Jimmy Stewart affected your real life?

Love life? Yes. Oh, 100% 100%. So

tell me everything. Um,

it's time to take a brief break to hear from our lovely sponsors. And we will be right back.

For many years, I was definitely like on the hunt for the like 21st century Jimmy Stewart. And I was looking for folks that like really embodied kind of that really wholesome, genuine, Americana, like, vibe. And it's funny because there was a guy that I had a massive crush on throughout a lot of high school. And he looked just like Jimmy Stewart and I didn't really like put two and two together until later when someone else pointed it out. And he just guy was not at all right for me. And he truly had no interest in me whatsoever. And it was actually very embarrassing because my parents do his parents. And they like, conspire. They both thought it was like a cute match. They like they had a lot of like inner family dinners together where I just was like, so excited. And he was just like, I don't I don't think he knew what was happening. Like it was very obvious. That was Yeah, so I didn't work out. So yeah, that was a lesson.

That's fine with you. Jimmy Stewart can remain your you know, your

impossible. Yes. I mean, Jimmy Stewart will always be my Jimmy Stewart, you know, I don't really find his is like, replacement in my life. Right?

Yeah. So Jimmy Stewart was a real person, but was also playing a bunch of similarly. Similarly flavoured characters for a better term

that was definitely in an era where actors were, you know, had decades long often contracts with studios, who really just want them to play the same character over and over again. So you were very typecast and so he was definitely the like, homegrown American. Good boy. And that's the character he played for a

long time. very earnest, not very sophisticated.

No, no very, like, you know, optimistic and honest, like disturbingly honest. Yeah. Yeah. Like, I mean, I think his character Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. That's kind of a great example of him and his vibe, because he's this very, like he believes in the real America, and then brought to Congress where he finds out that the real American government is like, very corrupt, and people are located horrible. And it's like a real awakening for him. And so that's a good example, I guess. Later in his life, he definitely pivoted a bit And boys, you know play different sorts of characters Hitchcock cast him a lot of different films where he plays like different shades of creepy so I'm not a fan of those films really, but different shades of creepy or not. Yeah, that's a much.

I'm really looking forward to the Instagram posts that will go with this episode because I wish to see some excellent Jimmy Stewart photographs. I know that it's going to be a real real trial for you to go out and find images of Jimmy Stewart already

in my tune.

It's not hard to grow Jimmy Stewart gallery where you just I need a little Jimmy Stewart you bring up all the pictures.

Yeah, I just like it's like a little like a hit of dopamine like to see in as low phase. That's adorable. So Jimmy Stewart also is like very apropos for this podcast because he had a fantastic love story of his own is a love story. His love story,

tell me everything.

Essentially, when he first moved to Hollywood, he was like, so shy and kind of so sincere that a lot of the execs were kind of were like worried that he was gay. They were like he's like too well behaved. Oh, it was not acceptable to be gay. At that time. They were like, We have to make sure he's straight, you know, before we can promote him. So basically Louis B. Mayer of MGM sent him round to a bunch of big studios and stuff to be like, show like give him all the hottest girls like really, we just gotta make make sure he's straight. And they sent him up on a tonne of dates with some of like the hottest stars at the time. And it it worked like he went out on dates and kind of prove the world that he was straight, which I guess was good for his career,

which is good for the studio anyway, because that's what they cared about.

But yeah, he dated like literally almost like all the hottest stars at that time. He dated Ginger Rogers he dated Marlene Dietrich Watson Olivia de Haviland from Gone With the Wind like he just stated, like everybody, and he like often had issues where he would like fall head over heels in love with different women and they really had no interest in him whatsoever and would move on. The the woman he played opposite with in It's a Wonderful Life. He also like was super in love with. But she was married at the time. And they didn't like have an affair. He was like I can't like you're married, but I love you, which was very sweet. And he was also he had a major crush on Margaret Sullivan, who he played opposite in shop around the corner. And they had like this tremendous affair. And it was very exciting. But then she went on to marry Henry Fonda right before he married Jane Fonda. So why Hollywood craziness back then. So anyway, Jimmy was just like very forlorn. Around this time, you know, in he fought in World War Two as well. He was he flew in the Air Force. That's a whole nother story. But he was like, very passionate about, just like his characters, fighting for what he believed in, which was like America and freedom and defeating the Nazis. So he was, yeah, very anti Nazis.

I'm a fan of anyone who's who's anti Nazi. It's a it's a real turn on for Nazism. Very high. Very hot. Very, very hot.

But yeah, so then, like several years later, he was invited to a dinner party at the Cooper's house. Gary Cooper, as you do, as one does you go when Gary Cooper invites you to a party, you go to a party? Yes. And so he was at this party and across the table from him was sitting this model 31 year old model, whose name was

Abbie blocked it out because it's not Abbie, her name is not Abbie. So we're

unfortunately it was not Abbie Steckler sitting across from him, although in a retelling. Like if I had a time machine, you know, what dinner party I would go to in 1948. Anyway, so instead of me there was Gloria McLean. And he like, instantly was like from what they kind of recall, it was love at first sight. She had just divorced, a man who was like an heir to the Washington Post family. And he basically was like cheating on her. And he left her after six years and basically, like, left her with two sons to be a single mom, which was like, it's very challenging now to be a single mom, but it was even more challenging in the 40s when you're trying to be a model and you have these two sons, one was three and one was five st yet anyway, they their eyes locked across the table and fell instantly in love. And they got married a year later, and Jimmy adopted her two sons. And that was the start of like a truly gorgeous marriage. They were married for 45 years. And like, according to everything, it does not look like you know there was any cheating or infidel. Are you going on they were like really quite dedicated to each other.

Oh, how

lovely and rare.

And this is a quote like from Gloria that I thought was like very cute. She said, I can honestly say that in all the years of our marriage Jimmy never once gave me cause for anxiety or jealousy. The more glamorous the leading lady he was starring opposite, the more attentive he'd be to me. That was cool.

This is a man who hung out with Grace Kelly, so I can understand her feelings. Yeah, so

he was, you know, definitely with continue to act with like very, very beautiful women, even when he was ageing, and so but he like never gave her cause Tory, which I think is lovely. And she died of lung cancer in 1994. And it just like, devastated him. She was really the centre of his universe. So it, he really struggled to find motivation to live after that. And he died only a couple of years later in 1997. And apparently his last words. Were I'm going to be with Gloria now. So hope wherever they are, now they are together. And yeah, that's that's Jimmy Stewart's love story and why I love

him. All right. Well, usually with the end of the episodes we as we as we exit, we do a love to go, but I have one. I have one for this episode. Be ready. No shame and whatever is in your dopamine folder or whatever folder you have on your phone that gives you a little bit of joy. There's no shame put whatever you want in there, including Jimmy Stewart. In fact, if one of us maybe more than one of us recommends Jimmy Stewart in your dopamine images folder

would recommend 100% but

we want to know what's in your dopamine folder of images. What images do you look at? You should email us one of your favourite dopamine hit images because we want to see them at law struck daily at Frolik dot media. And please follow us on Instagram and Twitter at lovestruck daily, especially Instagram where there's lots of extras including pictures of the couples we talked to. super adorable sometimes there's a picture Seriously Don't miss out. It's just a glorious hit of serotonin. It's a great companion to the show. If you go to our Instagram. Our researcher is Jesse Epstein. Our editor is Jen Jacobs. We are produced by Abigail steckler and little Scorpion studios with executive producer frolic media. This is an I Heart Radio Podcast. Wherever you are going today with your dopamine folder we wish you a very happily ever after. I'm in love with that I'm with you. I'm in love with you