In 1973, James Stewart finally played the role he’d spent 15 years waiting for. That’s when he knew it was time to “give it up”

In 1973, James Stewart took the lead in *Hawkins*, a television drama about a defence lawyer, fulfilling a wish he had held since *Anatomy of a Murder* in 1959. The experience also made him realise that the pace and demands of television acting were too much for him, prompting him to step back from the profession.

Stewart made eight *Hawkins* films for television over two years, and won a Golden Globe for the series. He said the fast schedules left him little time to learn lines, which became harder as he got older; after struggling to see cue cards when he forgot them, he reduced his acting work. He later appeared in a handful of films and television productions, ending his screen career with a voice role in *An American Tail: Fievel Goes West* in 1991.