Cary Grant
British born actor Cary Grant (by his civil name, Archibald Alec Leach) arrived to Earth January 18, 1904 and died November 29, 1986. With his prominent Brittish accent and gentleman-like manners he became the liebling of Hollywood. He was handsome, witty and irresistible. He was named the second Greatest Male Star of All Time American Cinema (after Humphrey Bogart), a title issued by the American Film Institute.
Cary Grant's Childhood
Archibald Alec Leach was born in Horfield, Bristol, England in 1904. He attended Bishop Road Primary School. His childhood could be described as rather unhappy, due to the fact that his mother one day was removed from his sight. She didn't leave voluntarily; but Cary did not know that. He was told his mother Elsie had left for a "long vacation." In reality, however, she was placed into institutionalized care due to her debilitating post-partum depression and other mental health condition resulting from the fact that she lost a baby, before Cary was born. Cary's father had another relationship in the meantime, and another son, Cary's half-brother. It wasn't until Cary turned 30 years old that he found out the truth, and that his mother was still alive. One can't help but wonder, which discovery was more traumatic for Cary: The fact that he missed all those years with his mother, or that he was served up a lie regarding her whereabouts?[Picture: Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman].
Cary Grant Montage on YouTube
Sildes created by cmcb06
Cary Grant Montage
This is a tribute that I made recently to Cary Grant. Background Music: An Affair To Remember, by Vic Damone. Special thanks to Debbie Dunlap Webmaster of www.carygrant.net for graciously supplying the photos of cary grant used for this montage.
Runtime: 2:47
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Cary Grant's Early Career
After being expelled from Fairfield Grammar School in Bristol in 1918, he joined the "Bob Pender Stage Troupe" and arrived with them in the United States in 1920, on the RMS Olympic, for a two-year tour. When the troupe returned to England, he decided to stay in the U.S. and pursue an acting career. His name at the time was still Archie Leach. He performed on the stage at The Muny in St. Louis, Missouri, in Irene (1931); Music in May (1931); Nina Rosa (1931); Rio Rita (1931); Street Singer (1931); The Three Musketeers (1931); and Wonderful Night (1931).Over time, he created a unique style of his own mark, which mixed working and upper class accents. He supported himself as a male escort for socialites for a while.
After some success in light Broadway comedies, he went to Hollywood in 1931, where he changed his name to Cary Grant.
Grant starred in some of the classic comedies, for example, The Awful Truth with Irene Dunne (the pivotal film in the establishment of Grant's screen persona), Bringing Up Baby with Katharine Hepburn, His Girl Friday with Rosalind Russell and Arsenic and Old Lace with Priscilla Lane. These performances established him as the man with sex-appeal on screen. The Philadelphia Story, with Audrey Hepburn and James Stewart, became his best-known screen role. The story is about a handsome but rather unreliable man, and a bright and beautiful woman who get married but then divorce because of his immature behavior. The strong-willed woman then slowly realizes that despite the shortcomings of her ex husband, he still was the love of her life.
Grant was one of Hollywood's top box-office attractions for several decades. He was a multi-faceted actor, who also performed exceptionally in physically demanding roles, like in Gunga Din. Howard Hawks said that Grant was "so far the best that there isn't anybody to be compared to him." [Photo" Cary Grant with Irene Dunne in Awful Truth].
Cary Grant and Irene Dunne in Awful Truth
Video by icecoldkatie
Cary Grant's Mid-Career
Grant was one of Alfred Hitchcock's favorite actors, and that is something because the director was famous for disliking actors. Hitchcock said Grant was "the only actor I ever loved to work with, in my whole life". Grant appeared in many Hitchcock classics, for example Suspicion, Notorious, To Catch a Thief (see picture with Grace Kelly), and North by Northwest.In the mid-1950s, Grant formed his own production company, Grantley Productions, and produced a number of movies distributed by Universal, such as Operation Petticoat, Indiscreet, That Touch of Mink (co-starring Doris Day), and Father Goose.
Cary Grant's Awards and Late Life Accomplishments
Although Grant was nominated for two Academy Awards in the 1940s, he was denied the Oscar throughout his active career as he was considered a maverick. The reason for this was his attempt to outwit the picture studios and create his own movies, while was strongly advocating for more freedom and rights to actors thus thrashing the power of giant movie makers who obtained complete control over those under contract with them. Grant finally received a special Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1970. In 1981, he was given the Kennedy Center Honors.During the last years of his life, Grant had been touring across the USA with a show entitled, "A Conversation with Cary Grant". In this show he presented clips from his movies and answered the questions presented by his delighted audience. It was just before one of these performances, in Davenport, Iowa, on November 29, 1986 that Grant suffered a severe stroke and died.
Cary Grant's Marriages
After becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1942, Grant married ultra-wealthy socialite Barbara Hutton, becoming a surrogate father and lifelong influence on her son, Lance Reventlow, who later died in a plane crash. The couple were derisively nicknamed "Cash and Cary," although in an extensive prenuptial agreement Grant refused any financial settlement in the event of a divorce. After divorcing in 1945, they remained lifelong friends.
Grant's third wife was actress Betsy Drake (born September 11, 1923), with whom he appeared in two films. This was his longest marriage (December 25, 1949 - August 14, 1962). Drake introduced Grant to LSD, and in the early '60s he related how treatment with the hallucinogenic drug at a prestigious California clinic - legal at the time - had finally brought him inner peace after yoga, hypnotism, and mysticism had proved ineffective.
His fourth marriage to actress Dyan Cannon (thirty-three years his junior) took place on July 22, 1965 in Las Vegas, and was followed by the premature birth of his only child, Jennifer Grant, on February 26, 1966 when Grant was sixty-two (he frequently called her his "best production", and regretted that he hadn't had children sooner). The marriage was troubled from the beginning and Cannon left him in December 1966 claiming that Grant flew into frequent rages and spanked her when she "disobeyed" him. The divorce, finalized in 1968, was bitter and public, and custody fights over their daughter lasted for almost a decade.
On April 11, 1981 Grant married his long-time companion, British hotel PR agent Barbara Harris, who was forty-seven years his junior; she was by his side when he died.
Source: Wikipedia
Cary Grant Stuff on Amazon
Cary Grant: A Celebration of Style
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Evenings With Cary Grant: Recollections in His Own Words and by Those Who Knew Him Best
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Cary Grant: The Wizard of Beverly Grove
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Cary Grant
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Cary Grant: A Life in Pictures
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Cary Grant Items for Your Attention
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Cary Grant is undoubtedly one of the most dashing, charming, and comically gifted leading men in the history of Hollywood film. This
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A pair of classic Hollywood films starring screen legend Cary Grant. HIS GIRL FRIDAY is the hilarious screwball comedy starring Grant and Rosalind Rus... more »
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George Stevens' last film with Cary Grant represents yet another hit in his string of classic comedies. Grant stars as Leopold Dilg, a
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Cary Grant on Amazon Plexo
Reader Feedback
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sisterra
Great lens! I love his movies as well as Audrey Hepburn's. Posted June 17, 2008 |
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KimGiancaterino
Nice job. Cary Grant was one of a kind! Posted May 29, 2008 |
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harry2
Nice lens, feel free to visit my lens about Posted November 21, 2007 |
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jodeven
Great lens. I really have enjoyed the show and learned more from reading here. Posted September 03, 2007 |
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kellfinder
Great lens! I see you love Cary Grant as much as I love James Stewart. Maybe you could visit my lens about him http://www.squidoo.com/jamesstewart/ Posted August 29, 2007 |
