Beau (poem)
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"Beau", also known as "I’ll Never Forget a Dog Named Beau",
Background
James Stewart owned a "willful but beloved"
While shooting a movie in Arizona, Stewart received a phone call from Dr. Keagy, his veterinarian, who informed him that Beau was terminally ill, and that Gloria sought his permission to perform euthanasia.[4] Stewart declined to give a reply over the phone, and told Keagy to "keep him alive and I'll be there."[4] Stewart requested several days' leave, which allowed him to spend some time with Beau before granting the doctor permission to euthanize the sick dog.[4] Following the procedure, Stewart sat in his car for ten minutes to clear his eyes of tears.[4] Stewart later remembered:
After [Beau] died there were a lot of nights when I was certain that I could feel him get into bed beside me and I would reach out and pat his head. The feeling was so real that I wrote a poem about it and how much it hurt to realize that he wasn’t going to be there any more.[4]
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
"Beau" was first recited on an episode of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on July 28, 1981.[1][5] Ed McMahon later described the poem itself as "forgettable",[1] but added that both he and Johnny Carson, a couple of "maudlin mutt mourners", were nevertheless moved to tears by Stewart's passionate delivery.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d McMahon, Ed. (2006) "Ed McMahon says farewell to Johnny Carson." MSNBC, September 12, 2006, p. 3.
- ^ Stewart, James (1989) Jimmy Stewart and his poems, Crown Publishers
- ^ Fishgall, Gary (1997) Pieces of time: the life of James Stewart, Scribner, p366
- ^ a b c d e f g Coren, Stanley (2000) Why We Love the Dogs We Do: How to Find the Dog That Matches Your Personality, Simon and Schuster, p148-9
- ^ Jimmy Stewart Reads a Poem About His Dog Beau on "The Tonight Show" – Johnny Carson – 1981 Johnny Carson's official YouTube channel, accessed June 11, 2011
External links
- Jimmy Stewart Reads a Poem About His Dog Beau on "The Tonight Show" – Johnny Carson – 1981 Johnny Carson's official YouTube channel, accessed June 11, 2011