Hank and Jim: The Fifty-Year Friendship of Henry Fonda and James Stewart Audiobook

Henry Fonda and James Stewart were two of the biggest stars in Hollywood for forty years. They became friends and then roommates as stage actors in New York, and when they began making films in Hollywood, they roomed together again. Between them they made such memorable films as The Grapes of Wrath, Mister Roberts, Twelve Angry Men, and On Golden Pond; and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Destry Rides Again, The Philadelphia Story, It’s a Wonderful Life, Vertigo, and Rear Window.

They got along famously, with a shared interest in elaborate practical jokes and model airplanes, among other things. Fonda was a liberal Democrat, Stewart a conservative Republican, but after one memorable blow-up over politics, they agreed never to discuss that subject again. Fonda was a ladies' man who was married five times; Stewart remained married to the same woman for forty-five years. Both men volunteered during World War II and were decorated for their service. When Stewart returned home, still unmarried, he once again moved in with Fonda, his wife, and his two children, Jane and Peter, who knew him as Uncle Jimmy.

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“Actor and veteran narrator Colacci reads in a deep, resonant voice that conveys a sense of two men reflecting on long, eventful lives. He embellishes quotations from both actors and their contemporaries with subtle accents, including shades of Stewart’s drawl, Fonda’s twang, and even Marlene Dietrich’s German accent. Negotiating the large cast of characters that populated the men’s lives, Colacci’s interpretations never feel forced or unnatural. Fans of Hollywood stories will appreciate this satisfying presentation of Stewart and Fonda’s shared history.”

— Booklist (audio review)