Born:
January 18, 1904
in
Bristol
Best Known For:
Being a Hollywood legend.
Early-life:
Born Archibald Alexander Leach in Bristol on January 18, 1904, the only surviving child of Elsie and Elias. At the age of nine, Cary was told that his mother had gone on a long holiday and later informed she was dead. In reality, she had been placed in a mental institution because she suffered from clinical depression. Cary was 31 when his father confessed that his mother was still alive. After joining the Bob Pender Stage Troupe, Cary performed as a stilt walker and travelled with the group to the United States. This was in 1920 when Cary was 16. Two years later, when the troupe returned to Britain, Cary decided to stay in America. He became an American citizen in 1942, at which time he changed his name to Cary Grant.
Career:
After appearing in several musicals on Broadway under the name Archie Leach, Grant moved to Hollywood in 1931. He signed up with Paramount Pictures and was given the stage name Cary Grant. He starred opposite Marlene Dietrich in Blonde Venus (1932) and appeared in two of Mae West's most successful films, She Done Him Wrong and I'm No Angel (both 1933). Grant moved to Columbia Pictures in 1936. The Awful Truth (1937) established Grant's screen persona as a light comedy leading man. He went on to star in a number of romantic comedies, including Holiday (1938), Bringing Up Baby (1938), The Philadelphia Story (1940), His Girl Friday (1940 and My Favourite Wife (1940). In 1941 he starred in Suspicion, the first of four collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock - the others being Notorious (1946), To Catch a Thief (1955) and North by Northwest (1959). In the mid-1950s, he formed his own production company, Granart Productions. In 1963, he appeared alongside Audrey Hepburn in Charade. He retired from acting after making the film Walk, Don't Run (1966). In the late 1960s, he joined the board of directors at Faberge and later joined the boards of other companies, including MGM. In the last few years of his life, he toured in a one-man show, A Conversation with Cary Grant. On the afternoon of November 29, 1986, he sustained a cerebral haemorrhage. He died later that same day, at the age of 82.
Quote:
"Everyone wants to be Cary Grant - even I want to be Cary Grant."
Trivia:
Grant was nominated for two Academy Awards, for Penny Serenade (1941) and None But the Lonely Heart (1944). He received a special Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1970.