On screen and to his adoring public, Stewart was the classic nice guy, a clean-cut gentleman. In 1949, he married socialite Gloria McLean, relatively late in life at 41, and the couple remained devoted for 44 years. Before that, the actor had many high-profile (but hushed up) lovers and scandalous affairs. Ten years before his marriage, he had a torrid and short-lived affair with one of Hollywood’s most enduring icons that consumed the actor so much he was unable to control himself filing one passionate scene. The director’s fury at the time paled next to the actress’ when Stewart ended the affair.
1939’s Destry Rides Again was billed as “A lusty saga of a lusty age.” Its two stars certainly took that to heart, with a passionate and tumultuous affair.
Stewart was on a Hollywood high at the time, but his leading lady had been tarred as “box office poison” after a series of flops. A screwball Western romp was not what most would expect Marlene Dietrich to do next, but it was exactly what was needed for her career.
As trampy saloon singer Frenchie, the sophisticated German-born star gets into bar fights and performs iconic numbers like See What the Boys in the Back Room Will Have. Behind the scenes, she was up to her usual tricks with an initially bewitched Stewart.
When it became very obvious what was happening, director George Marshall was forced to step in. He immediately stopped filming, recounting that he told Stewart to get himself under control while “wagging his finger reproachfully.” This might have been permissive Hollywood, but time in Tinseltown always meant money.
But it was when Stewart put an end to the actual affair that the real drama began. Dietrich was furious, deeply hurt and (probably most importantly) her pride was deeply wounded.
It wasn’t helped when Stewart later dismissed it: “That was such a long time ago, in another lifetime. But yeah, we had some fun together. Nothing too serious, just horsing around.”
The actress quickly took her revenge. It wasn’t just with her husband that she shared inappropriate personal details about her lovers.
The popular story has always been that Dietrich was pregnant with Stewart’s child but he forced her to have it terminated. Orson Welles apparently went with her to the hospital.
Whether or not it is true, the story spread through Hollywood, painting Stewart in a callous light. And it came direct from the source.
The actress’ friend, Burgess Meredith, who died in 1997, said: “The person who started those rumours was Dietrich. I think she considered it an unpardonable sin when Jim told her it was over.”
After Dietrich and Stewart split so acrimoniously, they worked together again in 1951 on No Highway In The Sky. By then, he was happily married but she would continue having affairs until her seventies.
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