Incredible JIMMY STEWART MUSEUM & Childhood House 

I couldn't have said it better myself!

Jimmy Stewart is my favorite actor too. Every film I saw him in was great, but my favorite was Its a Wonderful Life.

Yes I remember him talking about his dog named Beau and the poem it totally melted my heart.

Jimmy was my all-time favorite actor as well and I will never forget his tribute to his dog Beau on the Johnny Carson show (at 14:00 in Jordan's video you can see a plaque on the wall for Beau). On the Tonight Show Jimmy recited a poem "to his dog named Beau". At first the poem was filled with lots of levity: "He never came to me when I would call Unless I had a tennis ball, Or he felt like it, But mostly he didn't come at all. When he was young He never learned to heel Or sit or stay, He did things his way. Discipline was not his bag But when you were with him things sure didn't drag. He'd dig up a rosebush just to spite me, And when I'd grab him, he'd turn and bite me. He bit lots of folks from day to day, The delivery boy was his favorite prey. The gas man wouldn't read our meter, He said we owned a real man-eater. He set the house on fire But the story's long to tell. Suffice it to say that he survived And the house survived as well" Of course at this point in the poem , Johnny, Ed and the audience were laughing along uproariously not knowing where the poem was headed. And then it hit.......... "We are early-to-bedders at our house -- I guess I'm the first to retire. And as I'd leave the room he'd look at me And get up from his place by the fire. He knew where the tennis balls were upstairs, And I'd give him one for a while. He would push it under the bed with his nose And I'd fish it out with a smile. And before very long He'd tire of the ball And be asleep in his corner In no time at all. And there were nights when I'd feel him Climb upon our bed And lie between us, And I'd pat his head. And there were nights when I'd feel this stare And I'd wake up and he'd be sitting there And I reach out my hand and stroke his hair. And sometimes I'd feel him sigh and I think I know the reason why. He would wake up at night And he would have this fear Of the dark, of life, of lots of things, And he'd be glad to have me near. And now he's dead. And there are nights when I think I feel him Climb upon our bed and lie between us, And I pat his head. And there are nights when I think I feel that stare And I reach out my hand to stroke his hair, But he's not there. Oh, how I wish that wasn't so, I'll always love a dog named Beau." Needless to say during the second part of the poem the studio went completely silent and by the time Jimmy said "I'll always love a dog name Beau" there was not a dry eye in the studio. You can watch Jimmy's tribute to Beau at this link (Kleenex recommend) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mwGnCIdHQH0.html

@@kevinkeswick1243 I remember that program. I'm a lifelong animal lover and member of several animal charities. I've had dogs and cats, and they've all been rescues. I had tears welling in my eyes reading this poem. My two current cats were both rescued as kittens from the Atlanta Humane Society and are 15 years old now. They are snuggling with me now, one right next to me and the other on my lap. They follow me all over the house, they keep me company dozing on the bathroom rug while I take my bath. I thought when my children grew up and moved out, I could finally close the bathroom door...but that doesn't seem to be the case. 😉 They much prefer to sleep with me than in their pricey, fluffy "marshmallow" beds. When Tia is ready to go to sleep, she snuggles into the curve of my arm and uses my hand as her pillow. I've had many dogs through the years as well, strays that I picked up off the street or adopted through the Atlanta Humane Society. I just love animals, always have, and they seem to love me as I seem to be some kind of stray magnet. 😄 Thank you for publishing this endearing and heartfelt poem. I'm going to watch that video now.

He was awesome.

Actually, Jimmy's childhood home still stands on North 7th Street in Indiana. The house where he was born, on Philadelphia Street, was torn down long ago. His childhood home is privately owned now.

Something I really, really regret not doing is Jimmy Stewert was well known for responding to his 'fan' mail. And if you wrote him, you would receive a personal letter written by him to you in response. I really, wish I had been older when he was alive to appreciate that sort of unique humanity and quality in a person!

The museum was extremely kind! They generally don't allow video, but did for me to share this and help let people know how great the museum is. They are extremely knowledgeable about his whole life, and have an extremely well displayed collection.