State Representative Jim Struzzi’s House Resolutions honoring Jimmy Stewart were approved yesterday, designating May 20th as Jimmy Stewart Day in Pennsylvania and honoring the Jimmy Stewart Museum the same day for its 25th Anniversary. May 20th, which is next Wednesday, is Jimmy’s 112th birthday.
Struzzi said “Mr. Stewart’s impact on Indiana County, our state and nation are immeasurable. His relatability and fame still attract tourists, holiday enthusiasts and film lovers alike, providing a depth of appeal to our region.”
He added that while the primary focus in Harrisburg remains working to reopen Pennsylvania and deal with the COVID-19 pandemic…the legacy of an incredible Pennsylvanian…is cause for celebration.”
HOUSE RESOLUTION 687:
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
INTRODUCED BY STRUZZI, BARRAR, BERNSTINE, BIZZARRO, BOBACK, BURNS, COX, SCHLEGEL CULVER, DUSH, FREEMAN, GLEIM, GREINER, HEFFLEY, HOHENSTEIN, JAMES, JONES, JOZWIAK, KIM, KNOWLES, KORTZ, LONGIETTI, MACKENZIE, MILLARD, MURT, OWLETT, PICKETT, PYLE, RAPP, READSHAW, RYAN, SANKEY, SAPPEY, SAYLOR, SCHMITT, SONNEY, TOEPEL AND YOUNGBLOOD, JANUARY 22, 2020
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TOURISM AND RECREATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, JANUARY 22, 2020
A RESOLUTION
Designating May 20, 2020, as “Jimmy Stewart Day” in Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, Jimmy Stewart was one of Hollywood’s most respected and admired stars during his nearly 50-year-long movie career; and
WHEREAS, Jimmy Stewart was born on May 20, 1908, in Indiana, Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS, Jimmy Stewart attended high school at Mercersburg Academy, in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, where he played football and was a member of the glee club and the drama club; and
WHEREAS, Jimmy Stewart entered Princeton University in 1928, graduating with a degree in architecture; and
WHEREAS, After graduating from Princeton, Jimmy Stewart joined the University Players, a theater group in West Falmouth, Massachusetts; and
WHEREAS, Jimmy Stewart often played a man of modest means, with moral resolute, striving to overcome his position in life to reach his dreams; and
WHEREAS, Jimmy Stewart’s slow, halting line delivery and naive, engaging manner was quickly accepted by the moviegoing public; and
WHEREAS, In 1939, Jimmy Stewart’s portrayal of a shy, idealistic young senator fighting corruption in Congress in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” won him the New York Film Critics best actor award and gave him his first Academy Award nomination; and
WHEREAS, Jimmy Stewart is best remembered for his role in the 1946 sentimental, holiday favorite, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” in which he plays the embittered idealist, George Bailey, a decent, small-town citizen; and
WHEREAS, In 1940, Jimmy Stewart won an Academy Award, performing in “The Philadelphia Story” with Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant; and
WHEREAS, In 1941, Jimmy Stewart enlisted in the United States Army and was assigned to the United States Army Air Corps; and
WHEREAS, In 1943, Jimmy Stewart was sent to Europe as commander of a bomber squadron and awarded the Air Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross; and
WHEREAS, During the late 1940s, Jimmy Stewart enjoyed success on Broadway as the ingratiating inebriate Elwood P. Dowd, whose best friend was an invisible 6-foot rabbit in “Harvey”; and
WHEREAS, The play “Harvey” was adapted for the movie screen in 1950 earning another Academy Award nomination for Stewart; and
WHEREAS, Jimmy Stewart received an Honorary Academy Award in 1985 for, as the Academy noted, “his 50 years of meaningful performances, for his high ideals, both on and off the screen, with the respect and affection of his colleagues”; and
WHEREAS, In 1985, Jimmy Stewart was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor; and
WHEREAS, In 1995, Jimmy Stewart was honored when The Jimmy Stewart Museum opened in his hometown of Indiana, Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS, Jimmy Stewart died on July 2, 1997, at his home in Beverly Hills, California; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate May 20, 2020, as “Jimmy Stewart Day” in Pennsylvania.
HOUSE RESOLUTION 688:
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
INTRODUCED BY STRUZZI, BERNSTINE, BIZZARRO, BOBACK, BROOKS, BURNS, COX, DUSH, FREEMAN, GREINER, HEFFLEY, HOHENSTEIN, JAMES, KIM, KORTZ, LONGIETTI, MACKENZIE, MILLARD, MURT, OWLETT, PICKETT, READSHAW, RYAN, SAYLOR, SCHMITT AND SONNEY, JANUARY 22, 2020
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TOURISM AND RECREATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, JANUARY 22, 2020
A RESOLUTION
Honoring the 25th anniversary of the Jimmy Stewart Museum.
WHEREAS, The Jimmy Stewart Museum celebrates the life and work of the beloved entertainer highlighting its namesake’s accomplishments in film, radio and television; and
WHEREAS, Located in Jimmy Stewart’s hometown of Indiana, Pennsylvania, the museum highlights his role as military hero, family man, award-winning actor and world citizen; and
WHEREAS, The Jimmy Stewart Museum, located on the third floor of the Indiana Public Library, opened on May 20, 1995, and provides a place where visitors can view some of Jimmy Stewart’s movies in a replica 1930s theater; and
WHEREAS, The museum highlights the career of Jimmy Stewart, including his role in the 1946 Christmas classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life”; and
WHEREAS, Jimmy Stewart personally selected favorite mementos of his career to display, such as a Winchester commemorative rifle and a propeller blade autographed by the cast and crew of “Flight of the Pheonix”; and
WHEREAS, A special room in the museum is dedicated to the Stewart family’s long and colorful history in Western Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS, Near the location of the museum are several other Stewart-related sites, including his birthplace, childhood home, his family’s former hardware store and Jimmy Stewart’s statue on the courthouse lawn; and
WHEREAS, The museum is overseen by the James M. Stewart Museum Foundation, a nonprofit organization, which offers several events, including the Harvey Award presentation on the actor’s birthday in May, the “It’s a Wonderful Life” Festival before Thanksgiving and a “Light-Up Night” in late November; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor the 25th anniversary of the Jimmy Stewart Museum.
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