December 5, 2025 • 11 mins
"You really had a wonderful life. Don't you see what a mistake it would be to throw it away?" -CLARENCEIn this special book, Jimmy Hawkins helps us focus on the true meaning behind the classic holiday movie. It's not just the message or its many famous lines but rather the motivation behind the creation of the film and director Frank Capra's unrelenting vision for what it should be.As a boy, Jimmy played George Bailey's youngest son, Tommy. And he has spent the eight decades since living out the heart of the story and becoming arguably the world's foremost expert on the movie. Filled with unpublished facts that the author has collected about the cast and crew, this book gives a clearer understanding of what they all brought to the scripted pages.Through excerpts from the screenplay, never-before-seen photos, and a lifetime of friendship with both Frank Capra and the stars of the movie, Hawkins guides us to discover why this story still touches the spirit decades after its release. Because It's a Wonderful Life is not just George Bailey's or Frank Capra's story-it's the story of all of us, and of many generations to come.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Since twenty sixteen, I've been blessed with the opportunity to
share conversations with those that have been featured on NBC's
The Voice. Sure, we'd put them up on the platform,
but then most people were going, so where's it at?
So now we finally centralized.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
It for you.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Every performer from twenty sixteen forward ero dot net A
R R O E dot net enjoy the exploration.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Did ever ever play him?
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Yeah, okie frush, you know you play your interviews back?
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Right?
Speaker 1 (00:31):
What do you mean I play them back? You don't
just collect them and hide them in a fall ki
Oh my god. This is gonna sound so conceited, But
I take great pride in sharing, like like Jimmy's story
with the rest of the world. I mean, it's like,
that's that's what I love about this is that, you know,
because otherwise we're stuck with clickbait night and then to
hear his vocal tones, I mean, I realized, that's a
serious answer. But that's really the guy's honest truth. And
(00:54):
there's your answer, Jimmy, He's all yours until nine after Jimmy,
how how are you doing today?
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Jimmy great, doing real well.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
Excited to be able to talk about my new book
with you and share things that nobody knows about the
film because I bring them, the reader into the book.
It's really about them and how Capper work. Nobody ever
stopped they if they had stopped the Philip van Dornsteern
(01:26):
had written the short story that the movie is based on,
and he had no success selling it with publishers. But
he didn't stop, you know. He rewrote it and sent
it out again, got turned down, and then sent two hundred.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Of these little Christmas cards to his friends.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
And one of them was a agent, and she said, I
think this will make a good movie, and she sold
it to Rko. Rko carried the ball. They wrote three
scripts on it by three the greatest writers town. But
nobody captured what was in that card. And they kept going,
and they signed Caepra to distribute his movies, and they
(02:09):
brought the card to him. They didn't give up. You
can't give up. You have a vision or a dream
in life, go after it. Do it. It shows you
that Capra would never have gotten it's wonderful of life.
If any of those people had stopped it would just died.
And look what he did with that story. My god,
(02:32):
the shows were all important. We make a difference, And
that's why people kind of love that movie so much.
It shows that they they're important. They're not just some
guy going to work and doing nothing. They're adding to society.
So that's why it's so big. It just tells us
(02:54):
all one man can make a difference. Pal, it could
be you.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
Now, did you use any of that energy to move
through the creation of your book, because you know what
it's like to be an author now that you're sitting
there on chapter three realizing you are nowhere near finishing
this book. But you have to have that vigor, that
that fire that and then and then what's on the
opposite side editors, And from editors you get publishers. I
mean you didn't quit either, Jimmy. I mean you kept
moving forward with this book for it to be here
(03:21):
for us.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
Oh yeah, no, No, I just felt something more and
deeper had to be talked about this film. Not nothing
wrong with all my other books, but basically they were
talking to the people who were there and getting their
feelings of doing the movie, and that was it. But
(03:45):
this goes way beyond all that. We find out. How
did Jimmy Stewart dig deep into his memory bank to
get George Bailey? How would somebody react if their mother
said I don't know who you are and sent them
on their way. He just was so confused. He got
(04:11):
to realize that something's happened to me on that bridge.
This guy gave me this. Okay, you got your wish
you'd never been born. Oh my god. He was frightened
and he had to dig down, and he found it
in World War two because he was a bombedeer pilot
for four or five years in World War Two and
he lost crew members and took it personally. He felt
(04:34):
that he was responsible for them dying on that mission
or whatever. So when he dug deep, that's where he went,
because that's how far George Bailey had gone in his life.
He was just hit bottom. He just didn't know what
to do. So suicide was the answer. I'll just get
out of it that way. And then he got to
(04:57):
see what life would have been like if he had
never been born, saw how important he was. My god,
one man can make a difference, this big a difference
from Bedford Falls to Pottersville, Oh my god. And he
was just happy he was going to get to go
to jail. Didn't make any difference. I'm back, I've got
my family, I've got it all. I'm here in the
(05:20):
game still. And so that's where he dug deep and
the reader goes along with it and they see that
they have a dream to do something, go out and
do it, but do it your way.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
So do it your way.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
That's what kaeper did. He was there, one man, one vision,
and people who come up with thoughts all the time
and they go, wow, where'd that come from? But they
did it their way, and that's the people that succeed.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
Please do not move. There's more with Jimmy Hawkins coming
up next. The name of the book, The Heart of
It's a Wonderful Life. We are back with author and
history Jimmy Hawkins. This is every bit the reason why
I love the art of writing in the way that
I wish people would take the time to share their
own stories. But no, they'll they'll rush out there and
(06:10):
they'll put it up on social media. But we need
a book such as this, The Heart of It's a
Wonderful Life, and to say, look, take your time, be you,
don't brag about you just figure out what you want
to do and change people's lives on your own. It's
going to happen no matter what.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
I mean.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
We don't know when, but it is going to happen.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Right, Oh yeah, definitely. But you've got to get up
and make it happen. Yes, you do, you know, And
that's the hard part to actually do it because you
don't know your fright. And I've never written before whatever
they might say, but this book says something and it's
about something, and that's.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Why I picked a picture that's.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
Never been shown to anybody, or anybody has seen this
photo that captures what the There's another photo that I
used on three of my other books, and it's it
shows the warmth of the family, and I wanted to
repeat that but coming at you, and that's I think
I achieved that. I fought hard to get that picture
(07:12):
on the cover. So you have to do every little
minute thing you have to fight for. There's a little
bell inside the book, exactly of the book, and I said,
you know, I said, well, what do you have? You
have a little squiggly line there. Why don't you put
something from the movie at this that separates these thoughts.
(07:35):
So I came up with the Bell and the Holly
from the movie. I said, this was from the movie.
Every place you see, you've got to see the movie.
Why have a squiggly line? The squiggly line wasn't in
the movie, but that bell was. So it's a whole
big thing. You whatever anybody gets an idea for they
(07:56):
see the vision, you know, they see all the elements,
and then they have to bring in people that think
like they do, but bring their gifts to it so
that you get your vision up there or on paper
or whatever you want to do. But it's got to
be your way. That's what's going to make it unique
because you're different.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
Well, I think that your book is going to get
a serious boost in the next week or so because
of the new movie Drink and Be Merry, which stars
actor Jeremy White. They feature It's a Wonderful Life all
the way through this movie. They feature scenes from it,
and people that go to the theater are going to
be going what is this movie or what can I
learn from this movie? And Jimmy, your book is going
(08:37):
to be right there for them. It is coming out
at such a perfect time.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Oh yeah, that's for sure.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
Hell yeah, they're in the mood for it, and that's
very important. So and that's what I say. People talk
about it's a wonderful life. Here's another movie that you
bring up, It's a wonderful Life. You go, wow, here,
that's some nineteen forties It was a flop, and people
everybody knows it.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Everybody. You're very, very in freak with that.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
Somebody says, what, oh, you're the one, Okay, but everybody.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Does because that look at those movie makers.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
They're betting that everybody knows it's a wonderful life because
it helps tell their story.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Well, here's how you changed my life, Jimmy. And I
mean this in a very serious way. I'm sixty three
years old. I've never seen the movie It's a Wonderful
Life because my real name is Clarence. And because I
kept hearing Clarence on that screen, it was like, I
can't deal with this because I don't even like my
own name. So therefore, but because you are sharing this
journey inside these pages, because of you, Jimmy, I need
(09:43):
to go watch this movie and experience this movie. See
how you're working. Because the writers and the creators of
all those years ago are tapping on your heart. Going
go get the rest of them, Jimmy, go get them.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
Well that just it's so you're so lucky.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
You're gonna wish you didn't see it because you'll lost
that experience of seeing it and you go, oh my god,
oh I want more. It just it just you will cry.
I mean, and the same place you'll see it fifty
times from now and you'll cry. You know it's coming,
(10:20):
but it gets you. Well, you grab and you just wow.
All these people came to help this guy. I wonder
if people would do that for me. But in order
to do that, you got to give. You've got to
be a giver in life. There's too much greed in
this world. I just see it and I just go, why
if they had it all, it wouldn't be enough. Well,
(10:40):
people are just too greedy, and this film shows you
what greed is. That's why in the book, for the
first time, it's explained why Caepra didn't deal with old
man Potter and get his come up. And uh, he
just he tells me and the reader why he didn't
(11:02):
go after him, and very interesting his thoughts everywhere. It's
just a great filmmaker and he was right. It's a
film he was born to make.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Wow, Well, you've got to come back to this show
anytime in the future. Ten minutes with you is nowhere
near enough time. You've got too many stories to share. Bet,
I'm gonna get it from the book. And now I
can't thank you enough for this book.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Please, And you'll see the script.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
You see the words that Jimmy Stewart had to bring
to this part, and you go there it is, that's
right there one night and look what he did with
those words. So it's it's fun to see. And really
because you got the script there that they all got
and Capa wrote with Albert Hackett and his wife. So anyway,
thank you for having me a merry Christmas.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
You be brilliant the film you bet, thank you, Thank
you all right,
Since twenty sixteen, I've been blessed with the opportunity to
share conversations with those that have been featured on NBC's
The Voice. Sure, we'd put them up on the platform,
but then most people were going, so where's it at?
So now we finally centralized.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
It for you.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Every performer from twenty sixteen forward ero dot net A
R R O E dot net enjoy the exploration.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Did ever ever play him?
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (00:27):
Yeah, okie frush, you know you play your interviews back?
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Right?
Speaker 1 (00:31):
What do you mean I play them back? You don't
just collect them and hide them in a fall ki
Oh my god. This is gonna sound so conceited, But
I take great pride in sharing, like like Jimmy's story
with the rest of the world. I mean, it's like,
that's that's what I love about this is that, you know,
because otherwise we're stuck with clickbait night and then to
hear his vocal tones, I mean, I realized, that's a
serious answer. But that's really the guy's honest truth. And
(00:54):
there's your answer, Jimmy, He's all yours until nine after Jimmy,
how how are you doing today?
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Jimmy great, doing real well.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
Excited to be able to talk about my new book
with you and share things that nobody knows about the
film because I bring them, the reader into the book.
It's really about them and how Capper work. Nobody ever
stopped they if they had stopped the Philip van Dornsteern
(01:26):
had written the short story that the movie is based on,
and he had no success selling it with publishers. But
he didn't stop, you know. He rewrote it and sent
it out again, got turned down, and then sent two hundred.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
Of these little Christmas cards to his friends.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
And one of them was a agent, and she said, I
think this will make a good movie, and she sold
it to Rko. Rko carried the ball. They wrote three
scripts on it by three the greatest writers town. But
nobody captured what was in that card. And they kept going,
and they signed Caepra to distribute his movies, and they
(02:09):
brought the card to him. They didn't give up. You
can't give up. You have a vision or a dream
in life, go after it. Do it. It shows you
that Capra would never have gotten it's wonderful of life.
If any of those people had stopped it would just died.
And look what he did with that story. My god,
(02:32):
the shows were all important. We make a difference, And
that's why people kind of love that movie so much.
It shows that they they're important. They're not just some
guy going to work and doing nothing. They're adding to society.
So that's why it's so big. It just tells us
(02:54):
all one man can make a difference. Pal, it could
be you.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
Now, did you use any of that energy to move
through the creation of your book, because you know what
it's like to be an author now that you're sitting
there on chapter three realizing you are nowhere near finishing
this book. But you have to have that vigor, that
that fire that and then and then what's on the
opposite side editors, And from editors you get publishers. I
mean you didn't quit either, Jimmy. I mean you kept
moving forward with this book for it to be here
(03:21):
for us.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
Oh yeah, no, No, I just felt something more and
deeper had to be talked about this film. Not nothing
wrong with all my other books, but basically they were
talking to the people who were there and getting their
feelings of doing the movie, and that was it. But
(03:45):
this goes way beyond all that. We find out. How
did Jimmy Stewart dig deep into his memory bank to
get George Bailey? How would somebody react if their mother
said I don't know who you are and sent them
on their way. He just was so confused. He got
(04:11):
to realize that something's happened to me on that bridge.
This guy gave me this. Okay, you got your wish
you'd never been born. Oh my god. He was frightened
and he had to dig down, and he found it
in World War two because he was a bombedeer pilot
for four or five years in World War Two and
he lost crew members and took it personally. He felt
(04:34):
that he was responsible for them dying on that mission
or whatever. So when he dug deep, that's where he went,
because that's how far George Bailey had gone in his life.
He was just hit bottom. He just didn't know what
to do. So suicide was the answer. I'll just get
out of it that way. And then he got to
(04:57):
see what life would have been like if he had
never been born, saw how important he was. My god,
one man can make a difference, this big a difference
from Bedford Falls to Pottersville, Oh my god. And he
was just happy he was going to get to go
to jail. Didn't make any difference. I'm back, I've got
my family, I've got it all. I'm here in the
(05:20):
game still. And so that's where he dug deep and
the reader goes along with it and they see that
they have a dream to do something, go out and
do it, but do it your way.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
So do it your way.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
That's what kaeper did. He was there, one man, one vision,
and people who come up with thoughts all the time
and they go, wow, where'd that come from? But they
did it their way, and that's the people that succeed.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
Please do not move. There's more with Jimmy Hawkins coming
up next. The name of the book, The Heart of
It's a Wonderful Life. We are back with author and
history Jimmy Hawkins. This is every bit the reason why
I love the art of writing in the way that
I wish people would take the time to share their
own stories. But no, they'll they'll rush out there and
(06:10):
they'll put it up on social media. But we need
a book such as this, The Heart of It's a
Wonderful Life, and to say, look, take your time, be you,
don't brag about you just figure out what you want
to do and change people's lives on your own. It's
going to happen no matter what.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
I mean.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
We don't know when, but it is going to happen.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Right, Oh yeah, definitely. But you've got to get up
and make it happen. Yes, you do, you know, And
that's the hard part to actually do it because you
don't know your fright. And I've never written before whatever
they might say, but this book says something and it's
about something, and that's.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
Why I picked a picture that's.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
Never been shown to anybody, or anybody has seen this
photo that captures what the There's another photo that I
used on three of my other books, and it's it
shows the warmth of the family, and I wanted to
repeat that but coming at you, and that's I think
I achieved that. I fought hard to get that picture
(07:12):
on the cover. So you have to do every little
minute thing you have to fight for. There's a little
bell inside the book, exactly of the book, and I said,
you know, I said, well, what do you have? You
have a little squiggly line there. Why don't you put
something from the movie at this that separates these thoughts.
(07:35):
So I came up with the Bell and the Holly
from the movie. I said, this was from the movie.
Every place you see, you've got to see the movie.
Why have a squiggly line? The squiggly line wasn't in
the movie, but that bell was. So it's a whole
big thing. You whatever anybody gets an idea for they
(07:56):
see the vision, you know, they see all the elements,
and then they have to bring in people that think
like they do, but bring their gifts to it so
that you get your vision up there or on paper
or whatever you want to do. But it's got to
be your way. That's what's going to make it unique
because you're different.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
Well, I think that your book is going to get
a serious boost in the next week or so because
of the new movie Drink and Be Merry, which stars
actor Jeremy White. They feature It's a Wonderful Life all
the way through this movie. They feature scenes from it,
and people that go to the theater are going to
be going what is this movie or what can I
learn from this movie? And Jimmy, your book is going
(08:37):
to be right there for them. It is coming out
at such a perfect time.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Oh yeah, that's for sure.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
Hell yeah, they're in the mood for it, and that's
very important. So and that's what I say. People talk
about it's a wonderful life. Here's another movie that you
bring up, It's a wonderful Life. You go, wow, here,
that's some nineteen forties It was a flop, and people
everybody knows it.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
Everybody. You're very, very in freak with that.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
Somebody says, what, oh, you're the one, Okay, but everybody.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Does because that look at those movie makers.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
They're betting that everybody knows it's a wonderful life because
it helps tell their story.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Well, here's how you changed my life, Jimmy. And I
mean this in a very serious way. I'm sixty three
years old. I've never seen the movie It's a Wonderful
Life because my real name is Clarence. And because I
kept hearing Clarence on that screen, it was like, I
can't deal with this because I don't even like my
own name. So therefore, but because you are sharing this
journey inside these pages, because of you, Jimmy, I need
(09:43):
to go watch this movie and experience this movie. See
how you're working. Because the writers and the creators of
all those years ago are tapping on your heart. Going
go get the rest of them, Jimmy, go get them.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
Well that just it's so you're so lucky.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
You're gonna wish you didn't see it because you'll lost
that experience of seeing it and you go, oh my god,
oh I want more. It just it just you will cry.
I mean, and the same place you'll see it fifty
times from now and you'll cry. You know it's coming,
(10:20):
but it gets you. Well, you grab and you just wow.
All these people came to help this guy. I wonder
if people would do that for me. But in order
to do that, you got to give. You've got to
be a giver in life. There's too much greed in
this world. I just see it and I just go, why
if they had it all, it wouldn't be enough. Well,
(10:40):
people are just too greedy, and this film shows you
what greed is. That's why in the book, for the
first time, it's explained why Caepra didn't deal with old
man Potter and get his come up. And uh, he
just he tells me and the reader why he didn't
(11:02):
go after him, and very interesting his thoughts everywhere. It's
just a great filmmaker and he was right. It's a
film he was born to make.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Wow, Well, you've got to come back to this show
anytime in the future. Ten minutes with you is nowhere
near enough time. You've got too many stories to share. Bet,
I'm gonna get it from the book. And now I
can't thank you enough for this book.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Please, And you'll see the script.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
You see the words that Jimmy Stewart had to bring
to this part, and you go there it is, that's
right there one night and look what he did with
those words. So it's it's fun to see. And really
because you got the script there that they all got
and Capa wrote with Albert Hackett and his wife. So anyway,
thank you for having me a merry Christmas.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
You be brilliant the film you bet, thank you, Thank
you all right,
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