January 18: Cary Grant, Actor

b. January 18, 1904
d. November 29, 1986

I pretended to be somebody I wanted to be until finally I became that person. Or he became me

One of Hollywood's most distinguished actors, Cary Grant finished behind only Humphrey Bogart as the American Film Institute's second greatest male American screen legend. Grant starred in over 70 films and earned two Academy Award nominations for Best Actor. In 1970, Grant won the Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Originally Archibald Alexander Leach, Grant was born in Bristol, England as the only child in an impoverished family. When Grant was nine years old, his mother was institutionalized.

Grant left school at age 14 and joined the Bob Pender comedy troupe, which helped develop his dancing and acrobatic skills. In 1920, the troupe stopped performing in small English towns and took a two-year tour of the US. Grant decided to stay in New York, and in 1927 he performed in the musical "Golden Dawn." In 1931, Grant moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film. When he signed a 5-year contract with Paramount, Paramount had him change his name to Cary Grant.

Grant debuted in "This is the Night" (1932), but "The Awful Truth" (1937) made him a star. Handsome, witty and charming, Grant succeeded in creating a unique onscreen character. After starring in hits such as "Bringing up Baby" (1938), "Holiday" (1938), "Gunga Din" (1939), "Only Angels Have Wings" (1939), "His Girl Friday" (1940), "My Favorite Wife" (1940) and "The Philadelphia Story" (1940), as well as three Hitchcock films, Grant retired in 1966 as a mega-star.

While Grant married five women and fathered a child with his fourth wife, he was sexually active with men. Between marriages, Grant often resided with fellow actor Randolph Scott.

Grant died of a stroke on November 29, 1986.

Bibliography

Eliot, Marc. Cary Grant: A Biography. Three Rivers Press. 2005

Kael, Pauline. “Cary Grant: The Man from Dream City.” PBS: American Masters. June 30, 2007

McCann, Graham. Cary Grant. Columbia University Press. 1998

Selected Works

• An Affair to Remember (1957)
• Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
• Bringing Up Baby (1938)
• Cary Grant: Screen Legend Collection (2006)
• Charade (1963)
• Crisis (1950)
• Destination Tokyo (1943)
• Father Goose (1964)
• Gunga Din (1939)
• His Girl Friday (1940)
• Holiday (1938)
• Houseboat (1958)
• I Was a Male War Bride (1949)
• Indiscreet (1958)
• Kiss Them for Me (1957)
• Monkey Business (1952)
• Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)
• My Favorite Wife (1940)
• Night and Day (1946)
• North by Northwest (1959)
• Notorious (1946)
• Once Upon a Time (1944)
• Only Angels Have Wings (1939)
• Operation Petticoat (1959)
• Penny Serenade (1941)
• People Will Talk (1951)
• Suspicion (1941)
• That Touch of Mink (1962)
• The Awful Truth (1937)
• The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947)
• The Bishop's Wife (1947)
• The Grass Is Greener (1960)
• The Howards of Virginia (1940)
• The Philadelphia Story (1940)
• The Pride and the Passion (1957)
• The Talk of the Town (1942)
• To Catch a Thief (1955)
• Topper (1937)
• Walk Don't Run (1966)