Biography for
Cary Grant
Mini biography
Once told by an interviewer "Everybody would like to be Cary Grant". Grant is said to have replied: "So would
I." His early years in Bristol, England, would have been an ordinary lower middle class childhood except for one extraordinary event. At age 9, he came home from school one day and was told his mother had gone off
to a seaside resort. She was in a mental institution for years and he never was told. From the age of 9 until his late 20s, he didn't see his mother at all. He left school at 14, lying about his age and forging his
father's signature on a letter to join Bob Pender's troupe of knockabout comedians. He learned pantomime as well as acrobatics as he toured with the Pender troupe in the English provinces, picked up a cockney accent in
the music halls in London, and then in July 1920 he was one of the eight Pender boys selected to go to America. Their show on Broadway, "Good Times", ran for 456 performances, giving Grant time to acclimatize.
He would stay in America. The opening Hollywood chapter is titled "She Done Him Right". Mae West wanted Grant for She Done Him Wrong (1933), because Grant combined virility with the aura and bearing of a
gentleman. Grant was young enough to begin the new career of fatherhood when he stopped making movies at age 62. One biographer said Grant was alienated by the new realism in the film industry. In the 1950s and early
1960s, he had invented a man of the world persona and a style -- "high comedy with polished words". In To Catch a Thief (1955) he and Grace Kelly were allowed to improvise some of the dialogue. They knew what
the director, Alfred Hitchcock, wanted to do with a scene, they rehearsed it, put in some clever double entendres that got past the censors, and then the scene was filmed. His biggest box office success was another
Hitchcock 1950s film, North by Northwest (1959) made with Eva Marie Saint since Kelly was by that time Princess of Monaco.
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IMDb mini-biography by
Dale O'Connor <daleoc@worldnet.att.net>
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Spouse
'Barbara Harris' (11 April 1981 - 29 November 1986) (his death)
Dyan Cannon (22 July 1965 - 21 March 1968); 1 daughter
Betsy Drake (25 December 1949 - 14 August 1962) (divorced)
'Barbara Hutton' (8 July 1942 - 30 August 1945)
Virginia Cherrill (10 February 1934 - 26 March 1935) (divorced)
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Trivia
(October 1997) Ranked #7 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list.
Grant's only child is Jennifer Grant (II) whose mother is Dyan Cannon
Jen Grant graduated from Stanford University in 1988.
Ian Fleming modelled the James Bond character with Grant in mind.
Suffered a major stroke prior to performing in his one man show "An Evening
With Cary Grant" at the Adler Theater in Davenport Iowa on November 28, 1986. Died later that night at St. Luke's Hospital at 11:22 p.m.
From 1933 on, he shared a house with Randolph Scott.
Ashes scattered in California, USA.
Grant gave his entire fee for Philadelphia Story, The (1940) to the British war effort.
Cary Grant once phoned hotel mogul Conrad Hilton in Istanbul, Turkey, to find
out why his breakfast order at the Plaza Hotel, which called for muffins, came with only one and a half English muffins instead of two. When Grant insisted that the explanation (a hotel efficiency report had found that
most people ate only three of the four halves brought to them) still resulted in a gyp, the Plaza Hotel changed its policy and began serving two complete muffins with breakfast. From then on, Grant often spoke of
forming an English Muffin-Lovers Society, members of which would be required to report any hotel or restaurant that listed muffins on the menu and then served fewer than two.
Turned down the role of James Bond 007.
(1995) Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#22).
Donated his entire salary for "Arsenic and Old Lace" ($100,000) to the U.S. War Relief Fund.
Refused the part of Humbert in Lolita (1962).
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Personal quotes
"He is personality functioning." - Katharine Hepburn
A reporter once asked him, "Who is Cary Grant? He replied,
"When you find out, tell me."
A reporter in search of information wired Grant's agent: "HOW OLD CARY GRANT?" Grant
happened to read the message himself, and wired back "OLD CARY GRANT FINE. HOW YOU?"
"I have spent the greater part of my life fluctuating between Archie Leach and Cary Grant, unsure of each,
suspecting each."
"Everybody wants to be Cary Grant. Even I want to be Cary Grant."
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Salary
People Will Talk (1951) $300,000
Night and Day (1946) $150,000
Philadelphia Story, The (1940) $150,000
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) 100,000
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Actor - filmography
(1990s) (1980s) (1970s) (1960s) (1950s) (1940s) (1930s)
Cary Grant on Film (1999) (V) .... Himself
Sophia Loren: Actress Italian Style (1999) (V) (archive footage) .... Himself
... aka A&E Biography, Sophia Loren: Actress Italian Style (1999) (V) (USA: complete title)
Cary Grant: A Celebration of a Leading Man (1988) (TV) (archive footage) .... Himself
That's Dancing! (1985) (archive footage)
Salute to Alfred Hitchcock, A (1979) (TV) .... Himself
... aka 7th American Film Institute Life Achievement Award: A Salute to Alfred Hitchcock, The (1979) (TV) (USA:
complete title)
Has Anybody Here Seen Canada? A History of Canadian Movies 1939-1953 (1979) (TV) (archive footage) (uncredited) .... Himself (at Oscar dinner, 1942, with Roz Russell)
... aka From the Dawn of the
Documentary to the Coming of the Box (1979) (TV) (Canada: English title: subtitle)
... aka Has Anyone Here Seen Canada? (1979) (TV) (Canada: English title: short title)
That's Action (1977)
That's Entertainment! (1974) (archive footage)
Elvis: That's the Way It Is (1970) (uncredited) .... Himself
Walk Don't Run (1966) .... Sir William Rutland
Love Goddesses, The (1965) .... Himself
... aka Love Goddesses: A History of Sex in the Cinema, The (1965)
MGM's Big Parade of Comedy (1964) (uncredited) (archive footage)
... aka Big Parade of Comedy, The (1964)
Father Goose (1964) .... Walter Christopher Eckland/Mother Goose
Charade (1963) .... Peter Joshua/Alexander Dyle/Adam Canfield/Brian Cruikshank
That Touch of Mink (1962) .... Philip Shayne
Grass Is Greener, The (1960) .... Victor Rhyall
Operation Petticoat (1959) .... Commander Matt Sherman
North by Northwest (1959) .... Roger O. Thornhill/George Kaplan
Houseboat (1958) .... Tom Winters
Indiscreet (1958) .... Philip Adams
Kiss Them for Me (1957) .... Commander Andy Crewson
Pride and the Passion, The (1957) .... Anthony
Affair to Remember, An (1957) .... Nickie Ferrante
To Catch a Thief (1955) .... John Robie
Dream Wife (1953) .... Clemson Reade
Monkey Business (1952) .... Barnaby Fulton
... aka Be Your Age (1952)
... aka Darling I Am Growing Younger (1952)
Room for One More (1952) .... George "Poppy" Rose
... aka Easy Way, The (1952)
People Will Talk (1951) .... Doctor Noah Praetorius
Crisis (1950) .... Dr. Eugene Norland Ferguson
I Was a Male War Bride (1949) .... Captain Henri Rochard
... aka You Can't Sleep Here (1949) (UK)
Every Girl Should Be Married (1948) .... Dr. Madison Brown
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) .... Jim Blandings
Bishop's Wife, The (1947) .... Dudley
Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, The (1947) .... Richard (Dick) Nugent
... aka Bachelor Knight (1947) (UK)
Notorious (1946) .... T.R. Devlin
... aka Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious (1946)
Night and Day (1946) .... Cole Porter
Without Reservations (1946) (uncredited) .... Cameo appearance
... aka Thanks God, I'll Take It From Here (1946)
None But the Lonely Heart (1944) .... Ernie Mott
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) .... Mortimer Brewster
Once Upon a Time (1944) .... Jerry Flynn
Road to Victory (1944) .... Himself
Destination Tokyo (1943) .... Captain Cassidy
Mr. Lucky (1943) .... Joe Adams
Once Upon a Honeymoon (1942) .... Pat O'Toole
Talk of the Town, The (1942) .... Leopold Dilg
Suspicion (1941) .... Johnnie Aysgarth
Penny Serenade (1941) .... Roger Adams
Howards of Virginia, The (1940) .... Matt Howard
... aka Tree of Liberty, The (1940) (UK)
Philadelphia Story, The (1940) .... C. K. Dexter Haven
My Favorite Wife (1940) .... Nick Arden
His Girl Friday (1940) .... Walter Burns
In Name Only (1939) .... Alec Walker
Only Angels Have Wings (1939) .... Geoff Carter
Gunga Din (1939) .... Archibald Cutter
Topper Takes a Trip (1939) (uncredited) .... George Kerby
Holiday (1938) .... Johnny Case
... aka Free to Live (1938) (UK)
... aka Unconventional Linda (1938) (UK: reissue title)
Bringing Up Baby (1938) .... Dr. David Huxley
Topper (1937) .... George Kerby
Awful Truth, The (1937) .... Jerry Warriner
Toast of New York, The (1937) .... Nick Boyd
When You're in Love (1937) .... Jimmy Hudson
... aka For You Alone (1937) (UK)
Amazing Quest of Ernest Bliss, The (1936) .... Ernest Bliss
... aka Amazing Adventure (1937) (USA: reissue title)
... aka Amazing Quest, The (1936)
... aka Riches and Romance (1936)
... aka Romance and Riches (1937) (USA)
Wedding Present (1936) .... Charlie
Suzy (1936) .... Capt. Andre Charville
Big Brown Eyes (1936) .... Danny Barr
Sylvia Scarlett (1936) .... Jimmy 'Monk' Monkley
Pirate Party on Catalina Isle (1935) (uncredited) .... Cameo appearance
Last Outpost, The (1935) .... Michael Andrews
Wings in the Dark (1935) .... Ken Gordon
Enter Madame (1935) .... Gerald Fitzgerald
Thirty Day Princess (1934) .... Porter Madison III
Ladies Should Listen (1934) .... Julian De Lussac
Kiss and Make Up (1934) .... Dr. Maurice Loman
Born To Be Bad (1934) .... Malcolm Trevor
Woman Accused (1933) .... Jeffrey Baxter
Alice in Wonderland (1933) .... The Mock Turtle
I'm No Angel (1933) .... Jack Clayton
Gambling Ship (1933) .... Ace Corbin
Eagle and the Hawk, The (1933) .... Henry Crocker
She Done Him Wrong (1933) .... Captain Cummings
Devil and the Deep (1932) .... Lieutenant Jaeckel
Hot Saturday (1932) .... Romer Sheffield
Madame Butterfly (1932) .... Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton
Merrily We Go to Hell (1932) .... Charlie Baxter 'DeBrion'
... aka Merrily We Go to ____ (1932) (UK)
Sinners in the Sun (1932) .... Ridgeway
Blonde Venus (1932) .... Nick Townsend
This Is the Night (1932) .... Stephen
Singapore Sue (1931) (uncredited) .... First sailor
Tribute To the Will Rogers Memorial Hospital, A (????) .... Himself |
