20. Stewart’s acting career continued into the 1970s
In 1962, Jimmy Stewart appeared for the first time in a film which also included John Wayne, How the West Was Won. They were both parts of a huge ensemble cast and had no scenes together. The next year they worked together for the first time in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, a western shot in black and white. In 1965, Stewart played a major role in the antiwar film Shenandoah, though in real life Stewart supported America’s then expanding presence in Vietnam. He made several other westerns and family-friendly films during the 1960s, and in 1970 he performed in a revival of Harvey on Broadway, which ran for three months.
In 1971, he starred in a regrettable sitcom on NBC called The Jimmy Stewart Show. He expressed relief when it was canceled after just one season. Another television series, a mystery program named Hawkins, featured Stewart in the title role and was also canceled after one season. He performed Harvey on television and returned it to the stage in London in 1975. He was also a frequent guest on variety shows and late-night talk shows during the 1970s. In 1976 he again teamed with John Wayne in The Shootist, playing a doctor who informed Wayne’s character he has terminal cancer. During the scene with Wayne, numerous takes and retakes were required, a problem noted by Wayne.