On July 2, 1997, legendary actor Jimmy Stewart died at his Beverly Hills home of cardiac arrest. He was 89 years old. Reportedly, he was overdue to have the battery changed in his pacemaker at the time of his death, but had chosen not to undergo the procedure, preferring instead to let nature take its course -- presumably because he had never gotten over the death of his wife who had passed away in 1994 and longed to be with her again. One of the most beloved actors in the history of American film, Jimmy Stewart appeared in such films as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), The Philadelphia Story (1940), It's a Wonderful Life (1946), Harvey (1950), Rear Window (1954), and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). In 1980, he received the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award. He is buried next to his beloved wife Gloria in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.