美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Hank And Jim' Highlights The Long Friendship Of 2 Hollywood Legends

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Henry Fonda and James Stewart were two of the greatest stars of Hollywood's golden years. A new biography describes their 50-year friendship and dedication¹ to their craft. Each was an actor before he became a star, their biographer writes, and they both remained actors after they became legends. Here's NPR special correspondent Susan Stamberg.

SUSAN STAMBERG, BYLINE²: They met in 1932 in New York, two young theater actors sharing an apartment scratching out a living during the Depression, such different personalities³. If Stewart was a curious puppy, biographer Scott Eyman writes, Fonda was a cat - contrary, somewhat disgruntled and perfectly⁴ content to walk by himself. An odd couple, and they both loved cats, Fonda most.

SCOTT EYMAN: A stray showed up at the back door. He would feed it, which of course became three strays, which of course became 12 strays. Because there were so many cats, he couldn't possibly keep them all straight and name each one individually, so he called them all George.

STAMBERG: After Fonda and Stewart went to Hollywood in 1935, California cats assembled. The actors roomed together there, too.

EYMAN: Stewart took to Hollywood immediately. He liked the environment. He liked the sunshine. He liked working at the studios. He had no qualms⁵ about being a contract actor at MGM. Fonda bridled⁶. Fonda did not like being told what to do - not ever.

STAMBERG: Although he was an almost instant movie star, Henry Fonda always preferred theater.

EYMAN: I suspect because he was a control freak and because when the curtain goes up, essentially⁷ the actor is on his own.

STAMBERG: Fonda was a man apart, according to biographer Eyman, wary⁸, a perfectionist, hard on others. Stewart was relaxed, easy going, beloved. Actress Kim Novak once wondered, how could he be so nice and survive Hollywood? Both men were shy, tall, skinny, laconic⁹, gorgeous and both looked for virtue¹⁰ in the characters they played.

EYMAN: They both wanted their work to stand for something.

STAMBERG: Endurance and commitment in the case of Fonda's Tom Joad, hero of "The Grapes Of Wrath¹¹." Joad is a desperate Depression-era farmer, an Okie who leaves the Dust Bowl to find migrant field work in California.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE GRAPES OF WRATH")

HENRY FONDA: (As Tom Joad) I'll be all around in the dark. I'll be everywhere, wherever you can look. Wherever there's a fight so hungry people can eat, I'll be there. Wherever there's a cop beating up a guy, I'll be there. I'll be in the way kids laugh when they're hungry and they know supper's ready. I'll be there, too.

STAMBERG: Jimmy Stewart stood for democracy as an idealistic rookie senator in "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington."

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON")

JAMES STEWART: (As Jefferson Smith) Liberty is too precious a thing to be buried in books. Men should hold it up in front of them every single day of their lives and say, I'm free to think and to speak. My ancestors couldn't. I can.

STAMBERG: In addition to his always-convincing sincerity¹², Stewart was known for a certain oh gosh way of talking.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE")

STEWART: (As George Bailey) What'd you say just a minute ago, they had to wait and save their money before they even thought of a decent home? Wait? Wait for what?

STAMBERG: Did Jimmy Stewart really talk that way in real life?

EYMAN: Yes, that was absolutely the way he talked.

STAMBERG: Hesitant, a little stammer¹³. Biographer Eyman says Stewart drove that way, too, his old Volvo. He could have bought Bentleys, but that wasn't his style. Jimmy Stewart grew up near Pittsburgh. Fonda grew up in Omaha. Stewart was a Republican; Fonda, a liberal Democrat¹⁴ like his daughter Jane. Despite their differences, they were literally¹⁵ BFF's - best friends forever.

These were lifelong friends and very close, and many people wonder, especially now in the 21st century, were they gay?

EYMAN: (Laughter).

STAMBERG: Around 1939, when Orson Welles came out to LA for a screen test, he kept hearing about these two movie stars.

EYMAN: He thought it was the hottest affair in Hollywood or they were the two straightest men that ever lived. He said, and then I met them and I realized they were the two straightest man that ever lived. So no, they weren't gay, far from it.

STAMBERG: Fonda was married five times. Before he got married for life, Jimmy Stewart had lots of lady friends. Marlene Dietrich and Olivia de Havilland were on his dance card. The actors served in World War II, Fonda in the Navy, Stewart, the Air Force. Both were war heroes. War over, they came back to a very different country.

EYMAN: Well, the war changed everything. It changed Hollywood, partially¹⁶ because you had millions of people going off to Europe and across the world and the South Pacific and seeing that what really went on in the world didn't resemble what Hollywood had been producing before the war.

STAMBERG: As a result, movies got darker. Stories and characters were tougher, harder. Actors had to make huge transitions.

EYMAN: Stewart went back to MGM and looked at a bunch of his old movies, and he said later that they made me want to vomit¹⁷.

STAMBERG: He thought his characters had been too soft, young, sweet, charming, too acquiescent¹⁸. So he played a cynical¹⁹, driven reporter in "Call Northside 777," and he worked with Hitchcock.

EYMAN: He plays harsh, and he plays obsessed²⁰, and he plays ornery.

STAMBERG: Henry Fonda made a few films after the war, went back on stage, then did more movies and TV. The friends grew older together. In the 1970s, Fonda's heart began giving him trouble. In 1982, his last year, Fonda was in and out of the hospital. Jimmy Stewart visited him every day. Once, Fonda fell into a deep sleep while his wife and Stewart were nearby talking.

EYMAN: And suddenly, there was this stirring, and Fonda says, is that you, Stewart? And Stewart said, well, yeah, yeah, yeah, Hank, it's me. And Fonda opened his eyes and said, well, where's my root beer float? And at that point they knew he was going to live because Fonda was very serious about root beer floats.

STAMBERG: In the hospital, the friends would sit and talk, never about movies or show business but about their years as young actors in New York, the fun they'd had, the hard times, too. It did them good, that kind of talk. In old age, Scott Eyman writes, when they were together, they were still young.

EYMAN: And sometimes they wouldn't speak at all. They would just sit there in companionable silence. And it was Stewart doing whatever he could do for his friend.

STAMBERG: All their lives, they were men of few words. At the end, their silence spoke²¹ volumes. Scott Eyman's book is called "Hank & Jim: The Fifty-Year Friendship Of Henry Fonda And James Stewart." In Washington, I'm Susan Stamberg, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE ECHELON EFFECT'S "SIGNALS")

1 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 personalities   

n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
• Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。

4 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

5 qualms   

n.不安；内疚

参考例句：

• He felt no qualms about borrowing money from friends.他没有对于从朋友那里借钱感到不安。
• He has no qualms about lying.他撒谎毫不内疚。

6 bridled   

给…套龙头( bridle的过去式和过去分词 )； 控制； 昂首表示轻蔑（或怨忿等）； 动怒，生气

参考例句：

• She bridled at the suggestion that she was lying. 她对暗示她在说谎的言论嗤之以鼻。
• He bridled his horse. 他给他的马套上笼头。

7 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

8 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

9 laconic   

adj.简洁的；精练的

参考例句：

• He sent me a laconic private message.他给我一封简要的私人函件。
• This response was typical of the writer's laconic wit.这个回答反映了这位作家精练简明的特点。

10 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

11 wrath   

n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒

参考例句：

• His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
• The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。

12 sincerity   

n.真诚，诚意；真实

参考例句：

• His sincerity added much more authority to the story.他的真诚更增加了故事的说服力。
• He tried hard to satisfy me of his sincerity.他竭力让我了解他的诚意。

13 stammer   

n.结巴，口吃；v.结结巴巴地说

参考例句：

• He's got a bad stammer.他口吃非常严重。
• We must not try to play off the boy troubled with a stammer.我们不可以取笑这个有口吃病的男孩。

14 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

15 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

16 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

17 vomit   

v.呕吐，作呕；n.呕吐物，吐出物

参考例句：

• They gave her salty water to make her vomit.他们给她喝盐水好让她吐出来。
• She was stricken by pain and began to vomit.她感到一阵疼痛，开始呕吐起来。

18 acquiescent   

adj.默许的，默认的

参考例句：

• My brother is of the acquiescent rather than the militant type.我弟弟是属于服从型的而不是好斗型的。
• She is too acquiescent,too ready to comply.她太百依百顺了。

19 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

20 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

21 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。