Hank & Jim: The Fifty –Year Friendship of Henry Fonda and James Stewart

Hank & Jim: The Fifty –Year Friendship of Henry Fonda and James Stewart by Scott Eyman          Audio Book: 13 hours     Hardback Book: 384 pages          

I hated to come to the end of this book.   It was that good.   I had no idea what great friends actors Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart were.    This is an absolutely charming book telling the life stories of both men from the time they met during their college days all the way to the end of their lives, every page was a joy making the reader feel so involved in their lives it was like living there right along with them and all of their showbiz pals.   Honestly, you get to see these two fellows grow up before your eyes from kids in their respective home towns, Fonda in Grand Island, Nebraska and Stewart in Indiana, Pennsylvania.   You meet their parents and siblings, get a feel for what their homelife and home training was like then to their childhoods (Jimmy Stewart was putting on plays and charging admission at an early age)  then to young men going to ivy league institutions for their collegiate years afterward soaring to careers on stage in first Summerstock then in New York spiraling to films in Hollywood, California where their legends grew on the big screen.   I learned so many things about each of these guys it was the most pleasureable read I have experienced in a long time.    It was like opening a family album, albeit two families of whom I learned a great deal about but the same kind of feel like looking at snapshots of the past with family elders telling you the story behind each.   I loved this book.    It discusses their military careers – Fonda got the bronze star for decoding info that saved lives and Stewart who entered the Army’s AirForce (they weren’t two different military units yet, during WWII) as an aviator having gotten his pilot’s license while living in Beverly Hills and flying his personal plane out of Burbank Airport.   Stewart remained in the reserves as long as they would let him before retiring him.  During which time, Stewart was promoted to Brigadier General in 1959 and they retired him on May 31, 1968 (he had been drafted for service in 1940).   Neither man would speak to anyone of their time in the military and once when Steart’s step-son had a school project to do on WWII he asked Jimmy about it and Jimmy replied, “There are lots of books on the subject go read them.”   The list of friends the two men shared reads like a who’s who of Hollywood’s golden years.   So fascinating to learn about their get-togethers of family BBQs and playing cards, having each other over for dinner, getting to know their kids and how the celebs inter-acted with them, the elaborate pranks Hank and Jim pulled every chance they got.    Such a fun read.    I recommend this to every fan of biographies, fans of the two stars themselves, fans of Hollywood and the A-Listers back in the day and really, anyone looking for a feel good read, it was so uplifting to see the inner lives behind the celebrity facades that hid a lot of inner turmoil and down to earth fun.    I had no idea what a ladies man Jimmy Stewart was.     Fonda himself had 5 wives but didn’t find his soulmate until the 5^th and last wife.   Jimmy Stewart waited to marry until he was 41.   He met the right gal (though he had apparently met a lot of the wrong gals prior from his 20s till then partying with loads of movie queens till then) and once married never strayed till death did them part after which he was a lost man until his death.   The book talks about the hobbies the two men shared – a love for building and flying remote control airplanes and building huge kites to in their later years growing fruit and vegetables on their properties with Fonda getting into Bee-Keeping and sharing the honey produced by his hive as gifts to friends titling it “Hank’s Honey”.    Two totally different personalities that jived so well it was an original bromance.   So many good tales are shared here and their passion for acting – Fonda loved the stage more than film, Stewart loved film more than the stage.    At face value two unique individuals once the layers are peeled in the pages of this book the reader will find out what truly unique individuals they really were.    So good!   I cannot recommend this book enough.   Truly delightful.