In October of 2013, a routine Jimmy Stewart search of Ebay turned up the following record:
The listing carried no information other than what could be seen on the label. We bid and won the recording and when it arrived, we listened and found it to be Louella Parsons interviewing Stewart on her radio program. Despite the date on the label (which might just be the date the record itself was made), we believe the interview to be from Stewart’s appearance on her show of January 5th of 1947, which was documented in the book. There are two reasons for this belief: (1) among the things they talk about in the interview is Stewart’s just released film, It’s a Wonderful Life. That film had been previewed in New York City on December 20, 1946, and went into general circulation in the U.S. on January 7, 1947, and (2) no references to Stewart appearing on her program between January 5th and the date on the record have been located. In fact, the next reference to his appearing on the program doesn’t come until February 6, 1949.
Stewart’s hometown newspaper, The Indiana Gazette, published this article about the program in it’s January 4th edition:
The following day, the day of the broadcast, this small blurb appeared in the Wisconsin State Journal, Madison, WI:
The interview itself, as it appears on the record, has been edited. The record begins with Stewart finishing up some thought before Louella begins to question him again. You’ll hear Jimmy talking about golf, getting back into movie making after the war, It’s a Wonderful Life and the award Louella has given the film, avoiding answering her question about when he’s getting married.
