"It's a Wonderful Life" Actor Jimmy Stewart Holds Back Tears As He Reads A Heartfelt Poem For His Dog Beau
Jimmy Stewart is the last person you’d expect to make you cry over a dog, but somehow he absolutely did. In a clip that still circulates online, the beloved actor holds back tears while reading a heartfelt poem for his late companion, Beau.
The moment is set on a soundstage, with Johnny Carson sitting there as witness and audience. Stewart’s voice trembles as he recites lines about nights when Beau would climb onto the bed, stare from the dark, and wait for him to reach out and stroke his fur. Then comes the gut punch, “And now he’s dead.”
By the time the silence lands, it is not just a tribute, it is the kind of goodbye that makes everyone in the room feel like they’ve lost something real, too.
Stewart's voice trembled as he read, "And there were nights when I'd feel him climb upon our bed/ And lie between us,/ And I'd pat his head."
He soldiered on and continued, "And there were nights when I'd feel this stare/ And I'd wake up and he'd be sitting there/ And I'd reach out my hand and stroke his hair."
He would wake up at night
And he would have this fear
Of the dark, of life, of lots of things,
And he'd be glad to have me near.
"And now he's dead."
"Oh, how I wish that wasn't so,/ I'll always love a dog named Beau."
The silence filled the soundstage as Jimmy Stewart finished his loving tribute. He and Johnny Carson wiped away their tears as the actor concluded the eulogy.
Long-time fans of Stewart still find comfort in the video years after his passing. He and his beloved dog Beau are surely making up for lost time.
Heartbreaking, just like “A Dog’s Last Will And Testament” telling humans the painful truth.
His poem showed the kind of person Stewart was. He was an incredible person.
He was the kind of person who willingly showed authentic emotion to a massive audience to pay tribute to a dearly departed pet.
Anyone who has ever had an animal companion can relate to that poem and the mix of pain and joy behind it.
In that aspect, Jimmy Stewart was no different from the rest of us.
Here's the clip of his reading:
The second Stewart gets to the part about Beau slipping between him and the covers, you can practically hear the room go quiet with him.
When the poem turns from comfort to the blunt final line, “And now he’s dead,” even Johnny Carson’s composure has no chance.
That’s when Stewart and Carson both wipe away tears, because this isn’t a staged performance anymore, it is a real eulogy for Beau.
And long after the clip ends, fans still replay it, wondering what shenanigans Beau is getting into while Stewart mourns from the other side.
He was a pet owner who was grateful for the time spent with his beloved animal. He was someone who sorely missed the routine of ruffling his dog's fur for comfort.
He and Beau shared the kind of friendship we have with our own pets. We can only imagine the kind of shenanigans Beau is getting into that makes Jimmy Stewart shake his head in the beyond.
Stewart proved that even a Hollywood legend can fall apart over a dog named Beau.
Move to tears again, watch the dog crawl to Gordon Lightfoot’s casket at the memorial.
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