1908- . US actor. He made his Broadway debut
in 1932 and soon after worked in Hollywood.
Speaking with a soft drawl, he specialized in
the role of the stubbornly honest, ordinary
American in such films as Mr Smith Goes to
Washington 1939, The Philadelphia Story 1940
(Academy Award), It's a Wonderful Life 1946,
Harvey 1950, The Man from Laramie 1955, and
The FBI Story 1959. His films with director
Alfred Hitchcock include Rope 1948, Rear
Window 1954, The Man Who Knew Too Much 1956,
and Vertigo 1958. Born in Indiana,
Pennsylvania, he was an air force pilot in
World War II.