In the Company of Legends by Joan Kramer & David Heeley & Richard Dreyfuss

Author:Joan Kramer & David Heeley & Richard Dreyfuss
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Midpoint Trade Books
Published: 2015-04-15T16:00:00+00:00

JK Once Johnny Carson confirmed that we were “stuck” with him, we knew he wouldn’t back out. What we didn’t know was that he was such a movie buff—and especially a Jimmy Stewart movie buff. We asked if he wanted any research materials or tapes of any films. He said, “I don’t need anything. I was a fan of his from the time I was a teenager in Nebraska, and I’ve seen all his pictures.”

DH We scheduled the shoot with Jimmy and Johnny together on the Universal backlot where Stewart had made many films, including Harvey and several westerns. Another advantage of shooting there was that both he and Carson were good friends of the studio’s Chairman, Lew R. Wasserman, who at one time had also been Jimmy’s agent. It was undoubtedly as a result of their friendship that Universal had not only agreed to let us use the lot, but didn’t charge us a dime in rental fees.

JK Then I got one of those calls from John Strauss.

“Joan, we have a problem. Jim doesn’t want to shoot at Universal.”

“Why? He thought it was a good idea a few weeks ago. What happened? It’s all been arranged.”

“I don’t know. He just called and told me he doesn’t want to shoot there. He wouldn’t give me a reason.”

By then John had become a trusted ally. So after delivering the “official” message from Stewart, he felt comfortable enough to share his personal opinion. “Jim can be stubborn once he makes up his mind about something. And my guess is that he thinks going to Universal will be an inconvenience for Johnny Carson.”

“But I know that Johnny’s more than happy to shoot there. He’s always been crazy about movies, and about Stewart’s in particular, so going to a studio backlot where Jimmy made some of his films will be a real kick for him. He certainly doesn’t see it as an inconvenience. In fact, he told us to be sure to schedule it for a Monday because that’s his day off from The Tonight Show.”

John said, “Let me talk to Jim again. I’ll get back to you.”

A few hours later, he called. “Well, I was right. Jim says if you’re sure it’s okay with Johnny, then it’s okay with him.”

At 8 am on Monday, December 15th, 1986, two limousines drove onto the Universal backlot: one carrying Jimmy Stewart from his home in Beverly Hills, the other with Johnny Carson from Point Dume. We’d asked them both to bring additional wardrobe, and Jimmy also had his favorite cowboy hat, which he’d worn in almost every one of his westerns.

Not long after they arrived, Johnny came up to me and said, “If Jim tells me one more time how nice it is of me to be doing this, I’m going to strangle him. Doesn’t he know who he is?”

“No. He thinks you are the only star here today.”

A few minutes later, Jimmy said to me, “Isn’t it wonderful of John to be doing this?”

I smiled and said, “Yes, it sure is.

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