How James Stewart convinced the mafia not to assassinate him: “Let him take his best shot”
Many words have been used to describe James Stewart over the decades, but ‘badass’ probably isn’t the first one that comes to mind. After all, his screen persona was synonymous with the bumbling everyman, which isn’t an archetype that sends chills down the spine of hardened criminals.
And yet, when he was threatened with assassination by the mafia, the ‘Golden Age’ icon proved himself to be one of the most formidable folks in Hollywood by refusing to back down. It could have gone very badly, but by sticking to his guns, Stewart ensured that his life was no longer in danger.
His issues with organised crime were derived mainly from one man: Benjamin ‘Bugsy’ Siegel. An infamous underworld figure who was laying roots in the film industry, the Academy Award-winning favourite didn’t seem to care that his nemesis gained notoriety as the co-founder of the Murder, Inc. hit squad.
Siegel had several friends in common with Stewart, including Cary Grant, Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, and George Raft, while he was also friendly with studio bosses like Louis B Mayer and Jack Warner. It was Bugsy’s infatuation with Jean Harlow that lit the touchpaper, though, after Stewart refused to set him up on a date with the actor, and that show of disrespect placed him in the mafia’s crosshairs.
Raft was particularly close with Siegel and genuinely feared for Stewart’s life. “Let me talk to Benny,” he said. “Try and calm him down.” In response, the It’s a Wonderful Life legend was nonplussed. “If Siegel wants to try his luck with me, let him take his best shot.”
Stewart’s wife, Gloria, informed Michael Munn that even his best friend, Henry Fonda, was concerned for his safety. “Hank told me that he’d told Jim to ease up on his criticism of Siegel,” she recalled. “It’s not that Jim was going around mouthing off to anyone and everyone, but he never stopped telling Coop and Cary to stop being in Siegel’s company, because Cooper and Grant were two of Jim’s best friends, and he was worried about them.”
Things threatened to boil over when Stewart and Siegel came face-to-face, but the star refused to be intimidated. When the gangster attempted to start their conversation by referring to him by his first name, he was stopped dead in his tracks: “It’s Mr Stewart to you.” Taken aback, Bugsy issued a threat. “Look, Jim, if you don’t stop badmouthing me, I’ll have to do something about it.”
Naturally, Stewart’s spouse wasn’t best pleased. “And Jim, like a fool, said, ‘Then go right ahead, Mr Siegel.” The way she remembers it, the one thing that helped save her husband from being assassinated by the mob was the fact he was brave, or reckless, enough to tell Siegel to his face that he wasn’t scared.
“I can only put Jim’s survival down to sheer bloody-mindedness and knowing that he could be powerfully dangerous himself when aroused to anger,” she said. “I think it’s just possible that it was Jim’s belligerence that kept him safe. Maybe Bugsy Siegel never wanted to find out how dangerous Jim could be.” How did Stewart convince the mafia not to kill him? From the sound of things, by being a badass.
