Fell out with Anthony Mann during the shooting of Night Passage (1957), resulting in Mann being replaced (by James Neilson). A year later Mann shot Man of the West (1958), regarded by many as his greatest western of all and totally suited to Stewart, but with Gary Cooper in the lead role.
Following the release of Winchester '73 (1950), he appeared on the list of Top 10 Stars at the US box office for the first time, a position he retained until the end of the decade.
He actively sought the role of Charles Lindbergh in The Spirit of St. Louis (1957), even though the producers thought that he was far too old for the part. He did this simply because he admired Lindbergh so much.
He actively supported the presidential campaign of Senator Barry Goldwater in 1964, after Goldwater had voted against the Civil Rights Act.
He became good friends with the actress Maureen O'Hara during the filming of _Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962)_.
He considered himself to be miscast in Vertigo (1958) and Bell Book and Candle (1958).
He had a dislike of Hollywood war movies, explaining that they were hardly ever accurate. During his career he only starred in two war films - Strategic Air Command (1955) and The Mountain Road (1960).
He had four children - his twin daughters 'Judy Stewart-Merrill' and 'Kelly Stewart-Harcourt', plus two stepchildren. Kelly is also known as Kelly Stewart. The girls appeared with their parents in "Password All-Stars" (1961). He adopted his wife's two sons from her previous marriage - Ronald (age five) and Michael (age two)- as soon as they were married. Ronald was killed in action while serving in the Vietnam War, on Sunday, June 8, 1969.
He held the highest active military rank of any actor in history. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Air Forces, and he rose to the rank of colonel. After the war, he continued serving in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, ultimately becoming a brigadier general. Ed McMahon was also commissioned as a brigadier general in the California Air National Guard in 1966, and he continued to serve after he began his acting career. Two former actors outranked him: John Ford was an actor before becoming a director, and he became rear admiral in the U.S. Naval Reserve. President Ronald Reagan became the U.S. Commander-in-Chief, but he had made his last theatrical TV appearance in 1965.
He once said the public was his biggest critic, and that if they didn't like his performance, then neither did he.
He remained faithful to his wife Gloria Stewart throughout their marriage. While this may seem ordinary, it was rare in Hollywood for male stars to stay devoted to their wives, with many of his colleagues, such as Gary Cooper, John Wayne, and his friend Henry Fonda, having had a series of infidelities.
He stopped playing the romantic lead when he was 50 because he felt embarrassed playing Kim Novak's lover in Vertigo (1958) and Bell Book and Candle (1958), since she was half his age.
He was a frequent guest at the White House throughout the 1980s, addressing the inauguration of President Ronald Reagan on Tuesday, January 20th, 1981.
He was partly of Northern Irish heritage from the County Antrim.
He was the first movie star to enter the service for World War II, joining a year before Pearl Harbor was bombed. He was initially refused entry into the Air Force because he weighed 5 pounds less than the required 148 pounds, but he talked the recruitment officer into ignoring the test. He eventually became a colonel(active duty) and then a brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. He had earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, the French Croix de Guerre, and other decorations. He served in the Air Force Reserve before retiring as a brigadier general. (Walter Matthau was a sergeant in his unit active-duty unit duuring World War II).
He was voted the 9th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Premiere Magazine.
He wore the same hat in all of his westerns. John Ford complained on the set of Two Rode Together (1961): "Great, now I have actors with hat approval!".
His best friend was probably Henry Fonda, whom he met while at acting camp. Early on they got into a fistfight over politics (Stewart was a very conservative Republican, Fonda a very liberal Democrat) that was won by Fonda, but they apparently never discussed politics again. When Fonda moved to Hollywood he lived with Stewart and the two gained a reputation as among Hollywood's biggest playboys. However, after each married and settled down, their children noted that their favorite activity when not working seemed to be silently painting model airplanes together.
His daughter Judy married the banker Steven Merritt in 1979, but they later divorced.