American author, especially in the music field.
Born in 1926in Champaign, Illinois.
Died March 8, 2013, age 86, in Beverly Hills, California, USA.
After attending several colleges he obtained his B.A. in 1948, his M.A. in 1949 and the PhD. degree in 1952, all from Northwestern University. He taught English at the University of California at Los Angeles from 1952 to 1954 and at California State University at Northridge from 1969 to 1977. From 1977 to 1979 he was a Fulbright scholar in Iran and India.
Between teaching positions during the years 1955 to 1968, Stewart served as archivist for Ira Gershwin's private letters, papers, and memorabilia collected from the joint careers of George and Ira Gershwin. It was while serving in this capacity that Stewart met Jablonski and they began their joint book project. The free access and intimate relationship that Stewart enjoyed with Ira Gershwin and his family helped provide unique information and research materials for The Gershwin Years. In 1959 Stewart wrote the booklet entitled The Gershwins: Words upon Music for the Verve Records release Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Song Books. Much of this material was incorporated into the second edition of The Gershwin Years.