Simeon Strunsky
American writer (1879-1948)
Cary Grant was a legendary English-American actor known for his charming, debonair, and comedic performances. Despite a difficult childhood, he became one of the biggest stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, starring in classic films like ‘The Philadelphia Story’ and ‘North by Northwest’. He was nominated for two Academy Awards and received numerous honors for his contributions to cinema.
Table of Contents
About the Cary Grant
Cary Grantwas an English and American actor. Known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, lighthearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing, he was one of classic Hollywood’s definitive leading men. He was nominated twice for the Academy Award, received an Academy Honorary Award in 1970, and received the Kennedy Center Honor in 1981. He was named the second greatest male star of the Golden Age of Hollywood by the American Film Institute in 1999.
Grant was born into an impoverished family in Bristol, where he had an unhappy childhood marked by the absence of his mother and his father’s alcoholism. He became attracted to theatre at a young age when he visited the Bristol Hippodrome. At 16, he went as a stage performer with the Pender Troupe for a tour of the US. After a series of successful performances in New York City, he decided to stay there. He established a name for himself in vaudeville in the 1920s and toured the United States before moving to Hollywood in the early 1930s.
Grant initially appeared in crime films and dramas, such as Blonde Venusand She Done Him Wrong (1933), but later gained renown for his performances in romantic screwball comedies such as The Awful Truth (1937), Bringing Up Baby (1938), His Girl Friday (1940), and The Philadelphia Story (1940). These pictures are frequently cited among the greatest comedy films of all time. Other well-known films in which he starred in this period were the adventure Gunga Din (1939), the dark comedy Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), and the dramas Only Angels Have Wings (1939), Penny Serenade (1941), and None but the Lonely Heart (1944), the latter two for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
During the 1940s and 1950s, Grant had a close working relationship with director Alfred Hitchcock, who cast him in four films: Suspicion (1941), Notorious (1946), To Catch a Thief (1955), and North by Northwest (1959). For the suspense-dramas Suspicion and Notorious, Grant took on darker, morally ambiguous characters, both challenging Grant’s screen persona and his acting abilities. Toward the end of his career he starred in the romantic films Indiscreet (1958), Operation Petticoat (1959), That Touch of Mink (1962), and Charade (1963). He is remembered by critics for his unusually broad appeal as a handsome, suave actor who did not take himself too seriously, and in comedies was able to toy with his dignity without sacrificing it entirely.
Grant was married five times, three of them elopements with actresses Virginia Cherrill (1934-1935), Betsy Drake (1949-1962), and Dyan Cannon (1965-1968). He had daughter Jennifer Grant with Cannon. He retired from film acting in 1966 and pursued numerous business interests, representing cosmetics firm Faberge and sitting on the board of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He died of a stroke in 1986 at the age of 82.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cary Grant’s real name was Archibald Alec Leach.
Cary Grant was married five times, with three of them being elopements with actresses.
Cary Grant was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, lighthearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing.
Cary Grant was nominated twice for the Academy Award, received an Academy Honorary Award in 1970, and received the Kennedy Center Honor in 1981.
Cary Grant initially appeared in crime films and dramas, but later gained renown for his performances in romantic screwball comedies, as well as adventure and suspense-drama films.
Cary Grant had a close working relationship with director Alfred Hitchcock, who cast him in four films, including the suspense-dramas ‘Suspicion’ and ‘Notorious’.
Cary Grant was born into an impoverished family in Bristol and had an unhappy childhood, but he became attracted to theatre at a young age, which led to his successful career in Hollywood.
13 Quotes by Cary Grant
- 1.
I think that making love is the best form of exercise.
Cary GrantBritish-American actor (1904-1986)
- 2.
My formula for living is quite simple. I get up in the morning and I go to bed at night. In between, I occupy myself as best I can.
Cary GrantBritish-American actor (1904-1986)
- 3.
Divorce is a game played by lawyers.
Cary GrantBritish-American actor (1904-1986)
- 4.
Do your job and demand your compensation – but in that order.
Cary GrantBritish-American actor (1904-1986)
- 5.
My father used to say, ‘Let them see you and not the suit. That should be secondary.’
Cary GrantBritish-American actor (1904-1986)
- 6.
We have our factory, which is called a stage. We make a product, we color it, we title it and we ship it out in cans.
Cary GrantBritish-American actor (1904-1986)
- 7.
To succeed with the opposite sex, tell her you’re impotent. She can’t wait to disprove it.
Cary GrantBritish-American actor (1904-1986)
- 8.
When people tell you how young you look, they are telling you how old you are.
Cary GrantBritish-American actor (1904-1986)
- 9.
Ah, beware of snobbery; it is the unwelcome recognition of one’s own past failings.
Cary GrantBritish-American actor (1904-1986)
- 10.
Insanity runs in my family. It practically gallops.
Cary GrantBritish-American actor (1904-1986)
- 11.
I pretended to be somebody I wanted to be until finally I became that person. Or he became me.
Cary GrantBritish-American actor (1904-1986)
- 12.
I improve on misquotation.
Cary GrantBritish-American actor (1904-1986)
- 13.
Everyone wants to be Cary Grant. Even I want to be Cary Grant.
Cary GrantBritish-American actor (1904-1986)