Airport ’77 announces, right from the start, that it is also keeping up the series’ prominent level of star quality by opening with the face of Jimmy Stewart helicoptering in from Mecca or, I assume, someplace proper for those who live a wonderful life. Wealthy tycoon Phillip Stevens (Stewart) is opening a luxurious art museum on his Palm Beach, Florida estate to display his lengthy collection. As a bonus, he is planning to host a celebration and is flying several guests of his to Palm Beach aboard his private luxury Boeing 747, under the command of veteran pilot Don Gallagher (Jack Lemmon) and co-pilot Bob Chambers (Robert Foxworth.) The various guests include Gallagher’s girlfriend and Stevens employee Eve (Brenda Vacarro), his friend and plane engineer Stan Buchek (Darrin McGavin), and Stevens’ own estranged daughter Lisa (Pamela Bellwood) and his grandson Benjy, both of whom he is hoping to use the invitation to reconnect with. As we later learn, through Eve, Stevens is secretly dying, with only a few months left to live.
© 2024 Michael Kantu Rwamunahe
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