James Stewart (14) (1908–1997)

It is impossible to sum up Jimmy Stewart in such a short space. Most know him as one of America's quintessential leading men of the mid-20th Century (#3 on the American Film Institute's list of greatest American male actors) - the Christmas tearjerker, "It's a Wonderful Life;" "The Philadelphia Story," which won him the Academy Award for best male actor; the series of Alfred Hitchcock films; the list goes on and on. His somewhat stuttering/stammering delivery represented Everyman to generations of film viewers.

Few, however, know, that he served in the US Army Air Corps and the the Us Air Force from the time of his enlistment in World War II until he reached mandatory retirement age after 27 years, in 1968! In 1959, he became a brigadier general, the highest ranking actor in US military history. And he wasn't just a desk jockey, his many American and French military commendations were awarded because of action in battle.

Because Stewart did not marry until he was in his 40s, he became known as the Great American Bachelor, although he dated many starts and starlets in the 1930 and '40s. In 1947, he married divorcee Gloria Hatrick McLean and eventually adopted her two sons. The pair also had twin daughters of their own. She predeceased him in 1994.