Pennsylvania HR 420: A Resolution designating May 20, 2026, as "Jimmy Stewart Day" in Pennsylvania.

Bill Text

PRINTER'S NO. 2941
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No. 420
Session of
2026
INTRODUCED BY STRUZZI, BANTA, COOPER, FREEMAN, GAYDOS, GREINER,
HADDOCK, KAUFFMAN, KHAN, RAPP, SANCHEZ, SMITH AND WEBSTER,
FEBRUARY 25, 2026
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TOURISM, RECREATION AND ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT, FEBRUARY 25, 2026
A RESOLUTION
Designating May 20, 2026, 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 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 University, 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 resolve, striving to overcome his position in life to
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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
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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 July 2, 1997, at his home in
Beverly Hills, California; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate May 20,
2026, as "Jimmy Stewart Day" in Pennsylvania.
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