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This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories. Jimmy Hawkins is best known for his starring TV roles in shows like Annie Oakley, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Leave It to Beaver and the Donna Reed Show. He co-starred as Elvis Presley sidekick in two movies, Girl Happy and Spin Out. Most notably, he played Tommy Bailey.
son of George Bailey. In the 1946 film classic, It's a wonderful life. Without further ado, here's Jimmy Hawkins with the story. Of It's a Wonderful Life. Merry!
Are you happy and daddy? Come. Yeah. AI! Uh oh.
Mm-hmm. Kids, Jenny, Jenny, Tommy. My name is Jimmy Hawkins, and I had the pleasure of playing Tommy Batty. In the Frank Capra classic movie, It's a Wonderful Life. This was back in 1946, and I remember my mom getting me up very early in the morning to go to shoot the movie.
But let me start from where the actual story began. I owe everything to George Bailey. Help him, dear father. Joseph Jesus and Mary Help my friend, Mr. Bailey.
Help my son George tonight. He never thinks about himself, God. That's why he's in trouble. Charge is a good guy. Boom.
Give him a break, God. I love him, dear lord. Watch over him tonight. Yeah. Please, God.
Something's the matter with Daddy. Please Ben Gay Bear.
So, um One morning, a man by the name of Philip Van Dorenstern was shaving, and a story came to him. He was a very popular writer at that time. And so he thought about this story. He called it the greatest gift, and it was the story about a man who gets to see what life would have been like if he had never been born.
So he finished shaving and he went to his typewriter and he finished the story. Then he sent it out to his different publishers he knew that liked his work. And they all rejected it. And he didn't understand. He thought it was really good.
So, but he put it away for five years and he'd bump into friends of his along the line and they say, Hey, whatever happened to that story about the guy on the bridge? And he said, I know, I like that too.
So he took the story out and changed a couple things and then sent it around to all the publishers again. and they all rejected it. He didn't understand why it was being rejected because he thought it was very good.
So he printed 200 Christmas cards with this story in it. It's about 12, 13 pages. And he sent it to his friends. One person he sent it to was a Hollywood agent. And she got back to him, she said, I like your story.
I think it could make a movie. He didn't think of it as a movie, but she did. And she sold it to RKO Studios for a project for Carrie Grant. They hired one of the town's biggest writers, Dalton Trumbull, to do a screenplay. And he turned it in and They just didn't feel it was right.
It didn't say what was in that Christmas card to the studio.
So they ended up hiring two more writers. One of them is Mark Connolly. And they didn't come up with a good story, good script at all.
So about that time, World War II was ending, and Frank Capra had spent four or five years in World War II. uh making documentaries, films. And now he's out and he wants to get back in the business, but he didn't like working with. A studio.
So he started his own company, independent company, called Liberty Films.
So he could do his films his way. Nobody was there to tell him what to do or how to do it. I'm Frank Kapler, Jr. And although I was pretty young at the time, I do remember how excited my father was when he formed Liberty Films with his partner Sam Briskin. and his fellow directors William Wyler and George Stevens.
This was a real first, because in those days directors were thought of as studio employees. Liberty Films gave this talented group unprecedented creative freedom.
Now he's looking around for material. The head of the studio's wife said, You know, you have Frank Capra over at your studio now. You're going to distribute his films, I understand. Yeah, yeah, he's there. She said, you know, that holiday Christmas card.
I think that'd be perfect for Frank Capper. He says, you know, I think you're right. Let me go over to his office tomorrow.
So he showed up at Capra's office and asked him, How's it going? He said, Well, I don't know, still looking. He said, Well, I'd like to present you with something. We did this project, and he gave him the background and all the writers, and we think you might be good for it. He said, Well, if you had all these great writers, why do you need me?
I mean Why didn't you shoot one of the movies? He said, didn't capture what's in this little Christmas card.
So I'll make you a deal. I'll give you all three scripts and the Christmas card. For $50,000. That's what we have in it.
So read it and it back to me see what you think so capper read all three scripts Read the Christmas card, and he said they're right. Those scripts don't capture what this is all about. It was my first picture after being in the army for about five years. I was scared to death. I have not looked through the eyepiece of a camera, I have not acted here in all that length of time.
What would my first film be about? A man from Archaeo, he came in, he says, I've got the story for you.
Well, boy, you know, it happens 100 times a day. I've got just the story for you. We got three scripts on it. One script by Mark Conley, one by Dalton Trumbo, one by Cliff Lodets. Three powerhouse guys.
had written scripts on this thing. They missed the idea. I said, What idea? He says, The idea I got.
Well, I bought this Christmas card. And in about nine paragraphs, there was this story. Man, it was a failure, eh? Was given the opportunity to come back and see the world as it would have been had he not been born. And he finds out no man is a fairy.
Well my goodness, this thing hit me like a ton of bricks.
So I wrote my own script lamp and that's the story of Under the Lamp. This is to me novel, new. in a wonderfully humane way of Pinning this idea down of the importance of the individual, which has always been that main. Theme of all my films. He said, It's the film I was born to make.
So he just concentrated on the greatest gift, which later became It's Wonderful Life. It was when my father started to cast the film that his second piece of good luck came along. The role of George Bailey. went to my father's old pal, Jimmy Stewart. Mm.
Jimmy Stewart got out of the army about the same time I did, and his agent said to me. Jimmy wants to make a picture with you. And in a few days I went to Jimmy and I said, Jimmy, I got a register, would you like to do it? Contract with MGM ran out during the war, and I just got a phone call. One day, it was Frank Capri, and he said, I have an idea for a story.
Why don't you come down and I'll. I'll tell it to tell it to you.
Well, I couldn't get down there quick enough and I sat down. And he said you're a fellow in a small town. Mary, I know what I'm gonna do tomorrow and the next day and next year and the year after that, I'm shaking the dust of this crummy little town off my feet and I'm gonna see the world. Then you get married and you have all these kids. Oh, buddy.
Oh, no, Daddy. And your father dies and you have to take over the building alone. Three. Two. One bingo!
We made it! Cooked it to our use! We made it! Look! Look, we're still in business.
We've still got two bucks left. And finally, you're gonna kill yourself. You're gonna jump off a bridge. And an angel by the name of Clarence, she comes down to help you, but he can't swim. Hey!
Will you go down? And uh save the He said, this really doesn't sound very good, does it? I said, Frank. If you want me to be in a picture about a guy that wants to kill himself, and an angel comes down named Clarence. and he can't swim and I say, when do we start?
In casting the important role of George's wife, Mary, Dad had to look beyond RKO to another studio. I don't know whether uh Donna Reed was from MGM, or she's from MGF, yeah, she was. And she was perfect in the pot, desperate. It's George Bailey, mother. George Bailey, what's he want?
I don't know. What do you want? And you've been listening to the man who played Tommy Bailey, Jimmy Hawkins, but also you're hearing from Frank Capra himself and others. And what Capper said about his own work about all of his work being the importance of the individual. That came straight from his Catholic upbringing, no doubt.
When we come back, more of this remarkable story. The story of It's a Wonderful Life told by Jimmy Hawkins and others. Here on Our American Stories. 10 athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points. You are the fittest of the fit.
Only one of you will leave here with an IFIT contract for $250,000. This is where mindset comes in.
Someone will be eliminated. Pressure is coming down. This is Trainer Games. Watch it on Prime Video starting January 8th. Then the space hamster flew his hot air balloon all the way to the bottom of the ocean.
Where did that story come from? Book? Dream? Nope. It came from a conversation.
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Uh Protect your pet with insurance from PetsBest. Plans start from less than a dollar a day. Visit PetsBest.com. Pet Insurance products offered and administered by PetsBest Insurance Services LLC are underwritten by American Pet Insurance Company or Independence American Insurance Company. For terms and conditions, visit www.petsbest.com backslash policy.
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This isn't just a wreath, it's a personal gift to an American hero. And we continue with our American stories in one of the most inspirational movies of all time, It's a Wonderful Life, and with actor Jimmy Hawkins, who played the role of Tommy Bailey. Let's pick up where we last left off. Not only did he cast the leads perfectly, He stocked the film with some of the greatest character actors in Hollywood. Oh, maybe I'm not.
Where's my hand? Where's my ha- Oh. Oh, thank you, George. This is mine, the metal one. Gloria Graham.
Well, I only wear it when I don't care how I look. Frank Albertson. Hee-ho! Frank Phelan and Ward Bond. The original Burton Ernest.
Hey, hey, I'm a rich tourist today. How about driving me home in style? Let's hop in. And the great Lionel Barrimore. George.
I am an old man, and most people hate me, but I don't like them either, so that makes it all even. My dad brought in two great writers, Albert Hackett and Francis Goodrich, to help him polish the script. But my father always felt. that although a movie is a collaboration among dozens, sometimes hundreds of people, There must always be one single creative mind behind it all. He put more of himself on screen in Wonderful Life.
than in any other film. In fact, I remember he once told me It's the picture I waited my whole life to make. Then he made the film and it flopped. It just destroyed him because he thought it was the greatest movie he had ever made. He said it's in fact, I think it's the greatest film anybody made.
But if Capper had won the Academy Award, this movie never would have been what it is today. Never close to it. Hey, look, I'm the boss. You want a drink or don't you? I was talking to Sheldon Leonard.
Okay, all right. Double Berman, will you, quick, huh?
Okay. He was doing a favor for me and talking about the movie to take back to Donna Reed's hometown for the 50th anniversary. And he couldn't make it. He said, But I'd like to tape something for you.
So we were talking through the taping and everything. And then I said, Isn't that something that this picture with a flop and and now. It fell into public domain, and now everybody's watching it. They have It's a Wonderful Life trivia parties. It just keeps growing and growing and growing.
He said, You know, something's interesting though, Jimmy. The movie never changed. The people change. The people need that message more than ever now. That's a great film.
I love that film. It's my favorite film. And in a sense, it epitomizes everything I've been trying to do and trying to say in the other films, only does it very dramatically with a very unique story. The importance of the individual is a theme that I'm But it it it tells. And no man is a failure.
And every man has something to do with this life. If he's born, he's born to do something. I suppose it'd been better if I'd never been born at all. What'd you say? I said, I wish I'd never been born.
Wait a minute, that's an idea. What do you think? Then this idea Is carried out in this unique plot because a man who thought he was a failure and thought he'd be. Everybody around me would have been better off had he not been born. Was given the chance to see how the world around him would have been, his own small little world, would have been had he not been born.
Your brother Harry Bailey. Broke through the ice and was drowned at the age of nine. That's a lie. Harry Bailey went to war. He got the Congressional Medal of Honor.
He saved the lives of every man on that transport. Every man on that transport died. Harry wasn't there to save them because you weren't there to save Harry. You see, George. You really had a wonderful life.
Don't you see what a mistake it would be to throw it away? We went to Attica prison a few years ago. and showed the film to all the inmates. In fact, the superintendent of all 90 Samad prisons was sitting next to me. He said, Jimmy, I know you had a tough time getting here, but let me tell you something, I'm head of all the correctional facilities in the state of New York.
And if there's anyone you want to go to, consider it done. I've never seen this reaction. Isn't it wonderful about Harry? Your famous George. But I had 50 calls today about the parade, the banquet.
Your mother's so excited. Uh Capra, I was with him and I asked him, I said, What was the most difficult scene in the whole movie to direct? He said, Oh, that's easy, the one with you kids. And I said, What happened? What did we do wrong?
Oh, no, you guys were great. It's just that so much was going on in the scene. Must she keep playing that? I have to practice it for the party tonight, Daddy. Mom said we could stay up till midnight and sing Christmas carols.
Can you sing, Daddy? He'd lost the 8,000. He's thinking of his brother's coming home. He's going to be disgraced. He's won the Medal of Honor.
And then he's got the kid. Hey, how do you spell this? And the girl pounded on the piano. And he said, and then you, excuse me, excuse me. Hmm.
Open. Excuse me. Excuse you for what? I for... All right, Tom, you're excused.
Now go on upstairs and see if Rosuzu wants anything. He put that in there. He always went to humor. to break up a dramatic scene. And he said he wanted to capture a family, really being a family.
And he came up with the excuse me line because his son always used to say that. It was a running gag in their family. And then the little boy would go, excuse me, and they'd go, oh. He's doing it. And then excuse you for what?
I burped, aha, everybody.
So he threw that in. And that next, the night before, my mom would. Tell me what I'm gonna do tomorrow. But that was never there until Frank squatted down, told everybody, Jimmy Stewart, down to read: stop right here. Then he scrunched down and talked to me eye to eye.
Here you see where we are here and the carpet is Yes. I want you to pull on this man's coat and say, excuse me, right here. When you get right to this spot, say, excuse me.
Okay, you get that? Yes, sir. All right, everybody, let's go. And we walk two, three more feet. Stop there, everybody, stop.
Then he come back to me. And you know. talk to me eye to eye, he'd stoop down and tell me again. And I say, you've hearing, you're here. Say that, excuse me, lying again here.
And he did that three times, and then I got it. Mine up in the kitchen with me while I finished it. Goofy. Excuse me! Excuse me!
Excuse me! Excuse you for what? I burnt.
So that's what makes this thing so much fun because people want to talk about its wonderful life. They want to know, oh my god, somebody's still alive from the movie? Oh, whoa, tell me about it. Or what was it like? And so this will live forever.
Well then. Molly. What do you want? Mother, that's This is George. I thought sure you'd remember me.
George who? But nobody could have dug down with George Bailey. There's insurmountable things. When your mother says she doesn't know who you are and get out of here, and you run down that lane into that big close-up, Capra directed, and that's great direction, and filled that picture with Jimmy Stewart. And you saw in his eyes, oh my God, where is this man gone?
To get that look in his eyes, it told everything. You j it scared you. You go, where did he dig down?
Well, he was on that Bombardier pilot, World War II. Seeing his crew get shot and killed by them coming by. Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives. And when he isn't around, he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?
And you've been listening to Jimmy Hawkins tell the story of It's a Wonderful Life, and also Frank Capra. What Capra said was just so fascinating. He said, It's a picture I'd waited all my life to make. And then of course it flopped. It flopped until it didn't, until we got cable and we got more channels, and there it was.
It's a wonderful life. Almost as if in syndication running continually. It epitomizes everything I ever wanted to do in my work, Capra said. And there he was again, stressing the importance of the individual as the driving theme of all of his work. What he also wanted to do was capture a family being a family on film.
When we come back, more of It's a Wonderful Life, the story behind the story with Jimmy Hawkins and with Frank Capper too, here on Our American Story. 10 athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points. You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave here with an IFIT contract for $250,000. This is when mindset comes in.
Someone will be eliminated. Pressure is coming down. Pit. It's Trainer Game. Watch it on Prime Video starting January 8th.
Shhh. You won't believe what my new friend just told me about dinosaurs. Is your child having conversations you never imagined? Are they learning without realizing it? It's not a tablet.
It's not a toy. It's Miko Mini Plus, the AI-powered companion that turns curiosity into endless learning. Hear the future of playtime. Meet the extraordinary Miko Mini Plus. Only at Costco.
Come for the Black Friday seasonal savings. Stay for the award-winning reporting. For a limited time, access to the Washington Post is just 99 cents. That's unlimited access to all of the posts for only 99 cents every four weeks. That's a great deal for the first year.
After that, it'll cost $12 every four weeks. You can cancel any time. But don't wait, this Black Friday seasonal offer won't be here for long. Go to Washington Post dot com slash iHeart and grab this deal before it's gone. That's Washington Post dot com slash iHeart.
Protect your pet with insurance from PetsBest. Plans start from less than a dollar a day. Visit PetsBest.com. Pet Insurance products offered and administered by PetsBest Insurance Services LLC are underwritten by American Pet Insurance Company or Independence American Insurance Company. For terms and conditions, visit www.petsbest.com backslash policy.
Products are underwritten by American Pet Insurance Company, Independence American Insurance Company, or MS Transverse Insurance Company and administered by PetsBest Insurance Services LLC. $1 a day premium based on 2024 average new policyholder data for accident and illness plans pets aged 0 to 10. Every generation, every sacrifice, our nation's service members have stood up for our freedom, our families, and our future.
Now it's our turn to stand up for them. This year, you can honor their service in a deeply personal way by sponsoring a $17 Veterans Wreath. Each wreath is more than a symbol. It's a heartfelt tribute to the heroes who served and to the families who carry their legacy. Visit WreathsAcrossAmerica.org to sponsor a wreath today.
This isn't just a wreath, it's a personal gift to an American hero. And we return to our American stories and the story of It's a Wonderful Life. And you'll be hearing from Jimmy Hawkins, who played Tommy Bailey, the son of George. And we'll be hearing also from Frank Capra. When we last left off, Jimmy Stewart was able to tap into his experience.
As a war pilot in World War II, where his decisions had consequences, some for the better. and some for the worse. Let's return to the story. He dug down there and he took it personally. They died because I should have maneuvered different.
You know, what if I kid up none this or done that? He'd went there. Caper new. I either got it or I didn't. I think if you can do a part and not have the acting show.
Then Then believability starts sinking in. And if you get those people down in the audience believing. What's going on up there?
Well, you're in pretty good shape. Get me back! I don't care what happens to me. Get me back to my wife and kids. Have retired, please!
Hmm. How would you like to be remembered?
Well, I'm saying guy that believed in hard work. Um Decent values. love of country, love of family. Love of Camille Louffe. Love of God.
That's why he wanted, when he was at the bar praying to God. He just was on a like a. Full shot, and he saw while he was doing that, oh, I should be pushing in on him.
So, okay, that was great, great. Jimmy, could you do it again? Because he wanted to push in. He said, No. Uh-oh.
This isn't like him.
So, in post-production, he did it. He showed it again and then put another camera and moved in just enough to clutch that up, to really, oh, this is a moment this man's going through. I want to feel I'm really capturing what George Bailey is thinking. He's down. You know, he's really down.
That scene I remember when I first read the first draft of the script. And that scene That was a little prayer. affected me. Um When I read it, nice. When I did it in the movie it did And it it did the same to m to me right now.
Here's books. Burn heaven. I'm not a press. Amen. But if you're up there and you Can hear me?
Show me the way. I'm at the end of my rope, huh? Yeah. You can love your broader Hey, this is my day. Oh, why don't you stop annoying me?
Well, I'm sorry. Hey. He was, uh,. scouting locations and they needed a gymnasium for the big grad party. And so they took him to Beverly Hills High School in the gymnasium at the basketball court and asked him, Do you think this will work, Frank?
I can make this work, he said. The AD said, you know, see that the basketball court? Yeah, underneath that is a pool. Oh yeah, no. Oh yes, oh yes, the big Charleston contest.
Let's go. This a real? Open it up. I want to see it. What's the matter, Othello?
Jealous? Did you know there's a swimming pool under this floor? And did you know that button behind you caused this floor to open up? And did you further know George Bailey is dancing right over that crack. I've got the key.
So they open it up and So now they had to get all the extras. You have to swim, stunt people for Jimmy Stewart to go and Donna Reed into the pool. Uh, all that. He was always thinking. Capper was always giving me business to do.
Sitting on Jimmy Stewart's lap, putting tinsel on his head. He comes in the room.
Now you go through his pockets like maybe he brought you some. Capra was always giving me business to do. Yes, sir? You're not praising me, Canary. No, sir.
And we learn years later By me finding him all these people that old man Gower Park was a method actor. He went out and got drunk during lunch and played the scene drunk. Why that medicine should have been there an hour ago? We'll be over in five minutes.
Well they really blade and voice the capsules.
Okay. Didn't you hear what I said? Yes, sir. What kind of drinks do you put anyway? Why don't we went into the living room right away?
Don't you know that boy's exciting? Green must over here. You lazy loafer. Mr. Gower, you don't know what you're doing.
You put something wrong in those capsules. I know you're upset. B. You got the telegram and you're upset. You put something bad in those capsules.
It wasn't your fault, Mr. Gower. Just look and see what you did. Look at the bottle you took the potter from. It's poison, I tell you, it's poison.
I know you feel bad. And he really hit him and everything. He said, Afterwards, I'm sorry. Don't hear my story again! Don't hear my story right again!
Oh gosh.
Sorry. Oh, Mr. Carol, I would never tell anyone. I know you're feeling. I would have felt so hooked to die, I won't.
But if that film, like I told you earlier, had won the Oscar, it never would have been what it was. It took that picture to fall into public domain. It took it for all the stations in the United States could show it for free. And so it filled up two, three hours of time that they could sell time to. And then it just picked up and kept going.
It's a wonderful life. like its hero George Bailey. went through times of both optimism and despair. Also like George Bailey. The film was rescued from oblivion by its friends.
The film might not have made a fortune for my father and the others who worked on it. But it has enriched the lives of every person who ever fell under its warm, joyful spell. I think. Then the time goes by, it'll just just go. More and more.
Uh poppy. Because it's a theme that is hits everybody. Everybody has gone through that. thing when they're practically Rather die than live.
So so that's why I think that the big picture will live on. They've lost beyond our time. And a boy cloud. It is a wonderful life. This is one of the wonderful things about the picture, I think.
the scene at the end of the picture uh This is r after that's r It's a different place and nobody knows me and everything. But I just uh I stop for a minute and I say God. I'm not a praying man, but Please bring me back. Please. Please.
I want to love again. I want to live again. I'm not sure if I can do it. Please, God.
Let me live again. Anyway, it's just get the message. We're all important, we all can make a difference. Look at Frank Capra. My God, what he started if there was no Frank Capberg.
Well it's amazing it's become such a a Christmas picture. all over the world. Bert, do you know me? It came from just little bits of thinking. Just remember, no man is born to be a failure.
Just remember. No man is poor who has friends. It shows values that are really very close to an awful lot of us and are really very basic. American values. Merry Christmas!
Well, Merry Christmas.
Now it's just gone. You know, out of sight. It just, everybody talks about it. Not just the holiday classic, the AFI, Countdown 100, most inspirational movies came in number one. It just doesn't stop.
People need it. I mean, things are happening now that people feel like they're being treated like they're nobodies. And they want to feel that I'm somebody, I have something to give. And Frank Capper wanted, he's a very religious person. And that picture tells you, yes you do.
But Sheldon Leonard said it all. The film, it wasn't like, oh, I'm the director's cut, I'm going to go in and to. Not a frame was the same one in 46 that bombed is the same one that is now on the road to being the greatest movie ever made. And a terrific job on the production, editing, and storytelling by our own Greg Hengler. And a special thanks to Jimmy Hawkins.
For sharing his story, and he played Tommy Bailey, son of George Bailey. in the classic nineteen forty six film And I think Jimmy Stewart said it best, and in essence he was talking about these classic American values. He said, I believe in hard work. Decent values, love of country, love of community. Love of God.
And him talking about that prayer scene, how much it moved him, just reading it on paper. God, I'm not a praying man. Please bring me back. Let me live again. And in the end, that theme: we're all important, we can all make a difference.
In the end, as Jimmy Stewart and Frank Capra noted again and again. It's about the individual. And in the end, basic American values, a story of its a wonderful life. Here on Our American Stories. Ten athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points.
You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you. Will leave here with an IFIT contract for $250,000. This is when mindset comes in.
Someone will be eliminated. Pressure is coming down. This. It's Trainer Games. Watch it on Prime Video starting January 8th.
Yeah. Shhh. You won't believe what my new friend just told me about dinosaurs. Is your child having conversations you never imagined? Are they learning without realizing it?
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That's Washington Post dot com slash iHeart. Every generation, every sacrifice, our nation's service members have stood up for our freedom, our families, and our future.
Now it's our turn to stand up for them. This year, you can honor their service in a deeply personal way by sponsoring a $17 Veterans Wreath. Each wreath is more than a symbol. It's a heartfelt tribute to the heroes who served and to the families who carry their legacy. Visit WreathsAcrossAmerica.org to sponsor a wreath today.
This isn't just a wreath. It's a personal gift to an American hero. Ah. Greetings for my bath, festive friends. The holidays are overwhelming, but I'm tackling this season with PayPal and making the most of my money.
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