Despite his romance with Dinah Shore in the 1940s Stewart was also known to express some mildly anti-Semitic views during the counterculture movement. Aka: Stick Em Up, Darlings To promote Brotherhood Week, Jimmy Stewart opened and closed a 3 minute trailer that played before feature films at theaters across the United States. Woody Strode movie reviews & film summaries | Roger Ebert. Thanks for commenting. But I could tell he preferred to be around Lee Marvin or [John] Wayne than me., Also in the Munn interview, Strode relates an incident in whichLiberty Valance director, John Ford, asked Jim what he thought of Woodys costume, which consisted of old overalls an equally old hat. Jim spoke of his Hollywood career in a series of interviews with journalist James Bawden between 1971 and 1983 [aff. Bit of a game changer." Though Woody usually means well, he's not always the . He served as a caregiver to Ford in his final years and was at Ford's deathbed in 1973. Watch the video below to hear what Jim and the other stars had to say about brotherhood: Freedom, brotherhood, and equality were issues Jimmy Stewart clearly felt strongly about, for he returned to headline American Brotherhood Week the following year. Regarding your claim that Jimmy expressed mildly anti-Semitic views: Ive never found any evidence to support this, either. Stewart said: It looks a bit Uncle Remussy to me. This was a reference to the controversial fictional narrator of 19th century African-American folktales, who was later the main character in Disneys 1946 movie Song of the South a film that Disney does not make available today due to its racist stereotyping. Youd never see them in the big department stores. Blacks usually sat at the back of the bus. Also, his agent Bill Frye, in Jimmy Stewart: A Biography, says that Stewart turned down the role of Atticus Finch in Mockingbird because he was uncomfortable with the liberal racial tone (though without using those words). I almost fell for that rumor , but to just listen to Mr. Stewarts interview i know in my heart that he was not a racist. Hi Pete, thanks for your comment. Even in his later films, like Vigilante (1982) and Jungle Warriors (1984), the 70 year-old Strode looks The fame he had built through football and movies helped open up wrestling as well, and Strode wrestled white grapplers in Texas in the early 50s. Bride of the Gorilla (1951) John Wayne was a supporter of Israel, but is known to have made several anti-Semitic remarks. (After she died in 1980, Strode would marry Tina in 1982, and they were together until his death.). According to Strode: Stewart was never rude to mehe was never rude to anyone. Strode would play two more seasons in Calgary before an injury ended his football life. He wasnt just an athlete on a scholarship at UCLA, he was an academic. TIMES STAFF WRITER. Then, when the steeds had halted, he tried to pick a punch up with his younger co-star. If Michael Munns interview with Woody Strode did take place, its craftily presented, with Munns own words inserted in key places to suggest that Jimmy Stewart was a racist. Williams has never addressed Kanters allegations, nor has he said that Jimmy mistreated him. What is it whats the idea? And I said, I dont know!, And I didnt know, Stewart added. Freedom, brotherhood, and equality were issues Jimmy Stewart clearly felt strongly about, for he returned to headline American Brotherhood Week the following year. Woody Strode and Jimmy Stewart in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). Star Spangled Rhythm (1942) Aka: Boot Hill According to Peter Fonda, the sheer fact that Jimmy Stewart was best friends with Peters father, Henry Fonda, proves that Jim was not racist. That year, he would head to Canada to work for Stu Hart in his Klondike Wrestling promotion in Calgary, Alberta (later renamed Stampede Wrestling), before returning to the US to work for his hometown NWA Los Angeles. Hi Wyman! While at UCLA, he met his future wife when the football team was playing the University of Hawaii in Honolulu Hawaiian princess Luukialunan Kalaeloa. The Man Who Made The Stars Shine Brighter: An Interview with Woody Strode. His last film was The Quick and the Dead, which starred Sharon Stone. Pete Thodos would score shortly thereafter to seal a 12-7 Calgary win. link], Goal Dusta book that accurately presents Strodes words and thoughtshe never calls Jimmy Stewart a racist, neither does he relate any of the incidents about Jim described in Munns book. Click here to subscribe. Thanks for setting me straight. Woody Strode was 6-3 (190 cm) tall. And late Hollywood legend James Stewart got to watch their dynamic up close. Every old Hollywood fan should read this. Thanks for commenting! debut in 1941 in Henry Hathaway' s Sundown. La spina dorsale del diavolo (1971) As already mentioned, Woody has a real hard time knowing when to keep from over sharing. We need him!, In the end, Wayne told Strode: We gotta work together. The evidence proves that Jim was not racist. In the trailer, Jim, Van Johnson, Shirley Temple, Eddie Cantor, Jennifer Jones, Ingrid Bergman, Walter Pidgeon, Katharine Hepburn, and Edward G. Robinson encouraged Americans to stand together in support of freedom for all, a message particularly relevant in the wake of World War II. He was a decathlete and football star who was one of the first Black American players in the National Football League in the postwar era. La collina degli stivali (1969) Your email address will not be published. A recently posed question casts a shadow on the otherwise pristine legacy of Jimmy Stewart. Thanks for reading Tracy! Woody Strode. Well researched! Is Woody Strode in the Hall of Fame? Im glad you made it.. American Brotherhood Week, sponsored by the National Conference of Christians and Jews, was meant to encourage not just religious tolerance, but acceptance and equality for all races and nationalities. Ive done everything but play an Anglo-Saxon. I am so glad that I read this article. WOODY STRODE TRIBUTE SPANISH FILMS 11K views James Caan on John Wayne filmSCHOOLarchive 2.4M views Jimmy Stewart is Delightfully Funny, FULL Interview on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show 1989. May Mr. Stewart Rest In Peace. But I must say I got a little smug about it. Woody Strode was a Black Indian (his grandmother was Black Cherokee and his grandfather was Black Muscogee) and an outstanding athlete. Woody acknowledges that he has a daughter he's worried about, but it's really the "43 Twitter followers who depend on" him that cross his mind when he's worried this might be it for him. It is known that Stewart made racist remarks about people in Vietnam, and he also strongly campaigned for Barry Goldwater in 1964 after the senator had voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Id play a Viking with blue contact lenses and a blond wig if I could. (Proving the point: In Androcles and the Lion, Strode actually dressed as the lion.). He was not racist, and your essay more than demonstrates this. Stewart was never rude to mehe was never rude to anyone. Holmes. Woody eventually becomes a major player in the world ofPsych, but he's also clearly not part of the main friendship group for most of the series' run. ), Wrestling was next on his resume. How tall was Woody Strode? Key West (TV) (1973) Sundown (1941). It's also one that finds Woody being pulled into the action - albeit not as willingly or successfully as before. Strode praised Ford in a 1960 interview. Strode played as an End with the Rams in 1946, playing in 10 games that season. Jim and Duke got to know each other during filming in Marquette County, Michigan, where the entire company stayed at the same hotel and shared meals. Spartacus is probably Strodes most famous role as the warrior Kirk Douglas refuses to kill. But Kanter says that Jimmy mixed up the roles: he explained to Jim that Hal Williams had not been cast as a police officer, but as an FBI agent in a different episode. But Kanter says that Jimmy mixed up the roles: he explained to Jim that Hal Williams had not been cast as a police officer, but as an FBI agent in a different episode. After handing over ME duties to Alex Richards, he remains a frequent contributor to the site. Of course, their football rhythm had been broken up by World War II. Lee Marvin was impressed by Jimmys impassioned response: I liked Jimmy before that incident, but after it, I liked him a whole lot more.. Buruuba (1955) According to Peter Fonda, the sheer fact that Jimmy Stewart was best friends with Peters father. ", Strode blamed Ford for almost all the tension on The Man From Liberty Valances set. But one anecdote Kanter shared has since been used as evidence that Jimmy Stewart was racist. Thankfully, the show never subjected Woody - or viewers - to that possibility. Hi James, thanks for commenting. Donald Bogle, Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies & Bucks (New York: Continuum, 1992); Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB) title search by key word; Woody Strode,; The Timeout Film Guide, edited by Tom Milne, Penguin Books, 3rd Edition, 1992. you have laid my thoughts about him to rest, and that he truly was a good, good man. Founded in 1969 and hailed by The New York Times as a journal in which the writings of many of todays finest black thinkers may be viewed, THE BLACK SCHOLAR has firmly established itself as the leading journal of black cultural and political thought in the United States and remains under the editorship of Robert Chrisman, Editor-In-Chief, Robert Allen, Senior Editor, and Maize Woodford, Executive Editor. At many times throughout the stressful saga, Woody is also fearing for his life, even pleading desperately with his captor and the episode's villain. Ford had to accept those terms or not make the film.. Her brother Peter said that Jimmy Stewart was not racist. Born July 28, 1914, in Los Angeles, California, Woody Strode (Woodrow Wilson Woolwine Strode) was first of the star football athletes to become a successful film actor. Your email address will not be published. His wrestling career? I almost died inside when I heard he was a racist. This article looks at Woody Strode, an early African-American and Native American star who left pro wrestling in the early 1960s to become an actor in Hollywood for decades. In 1962, he retired from pro wrestling to concentrate on his film career, which exploded after his role in John Fords Sergeant Rutledge, and then his first starring role in the Western The Professionalsthat starred Lee Marvin and Burt Lancaster in 1966. Its such a demoralizing rumor. Excellent points Dennis, thanks for commenting! Strode was a black cavalry officer on trial for rape and murder, and during the court-martial his story is recounted in flashback. The answer is no. After Gus and Shawn are implicated in yet another murder scene, they scramble to cover up the evidence which Woody is already all too keenly aware of. Strode died in his sleep at his home in Glendora, California of lung cancer on December 31, 1994. Jimmy Stewart has deserved an article like this for a long time. Your email address will not be published. As Kanter recalled, Jim didnt like the idea of a black police officer lecturing him on television, and threatened to use his casting approval to get Hal Williams out of the show. Terrible rumors about Jimmy Stewarts beliefs have sprung from an interview that possibly never occurred. That tendency to be excluded, either intentionally or unthinkingly, clearly plays a major part in his excitement whenever he's actually looped into any episodic adventure - even if it means the friendship group may have killed someone. He went on to play in the Canadian Football League before becoming a prolific Hollywood actor,. Part African American and part Native American, Strodes first big break was in 1960s Spartacus, as the Ethiopian gladiator whose death sparks a rebellion. Horror Safari (1982) He competed in track and field and played football as a tight-end at UCLA. Was Vera-Ellen Anorexic in White Christmas? The couple would have a son and a daughter to compliment Kalaeloas two sons from a previous marriage. No freeways. And strangely enough, Duke Wayne who, over the years, you know, has made lots of pictures with Ford Duke Wayne has been at the bottom of the list, in the barrel, more than anybody else. Aka: The Million Dollar Fire At one point in their conversations, Jim shared that his 1934 arrival in Los Angeles was marred only by the obvious mistreatment of the black community. I encourage you to read my full article for further insights into the character of Jimmy Stewart. And he was dressed in blue overalls, a blue work shirt and boots. But only Woody could think up this "footwear mullet," and that's what makes it great. He became part of Hollywood lore after meeting director John Ford and becoming a part of the Ford "family," appearing in four Ford motion pictures. It is such a terrible rumor. So yes, Woody's idea of the "snoafer" might not be the best concept in the world. According to Woody, he's even less in control of himself, and all of his faculties, when tickling is involved. There is no FBI agent in the 24 episodes of, In the dozens of interviews Hal Kanter gave about, Hal Williams also never called Jimmy Stewart a racist, or said that Jim mistreated him on. Cutting Her Down to Size? Tarzans Fight for Life (1958) Im so glad that you decided to do your own research, and that you came across my article. Find on Wikipedia. James Stewart Once Described What It Was Like Working with a Frequent John Wayne Collaborator, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5mcU74rHGM, James Stewart on what it was like to work with John Ford (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5mcU74rHGM). Woody Strode 22 languages View history Woodrow Wilson Woolwine Strode (July 25, 1914 - December 31, 1994) was an American athlete and actor. African Treasure (1952) If she's not ranting about characters who deserved better or typing away at one of her many fan fiction epics, she's probably asleep. 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Jimmy Stewart voiced his support for this goal in a 16 second radio campaign that played the week of February 16-23, 1947.