He was the second child of Elias James Leach (1872–1935) and Elsie Maria Leach (née Kingdon; 1877–1973).
Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor.
In 1999, the American Film Institute named him the second greatest male star of Golden Age Hollywood cinema, trailing only Humphrey Bogart. == Early life and education == Grant was born Archibald Alec Leach on January 18, 1904, at 15 Hughenden Road in the northern Bristol suburb of Horfield.
Jesse Lasky was a Broadway producer at the time and saw Grant performing at the Wintergarten theater in Berlin around 1914. In 1915, Grant won a scholarship to attend Fairfield Grammar School in Bristol, although his father could barely afford to pay for the uniform.
Jesse Lasky was a Broadway producer at the time and saw Grant performing at the Wintergarten theater in Berlin around 1914. In 1915, Grant won a scholarship to attend Fairfield Grammar School in Bristol, although his father could barely afford to pay for the uniform.
He spent his evenings working backstage in Bristol theaters, and was responsible for the lighting for magician David Devant at the Bristol Empire in 1917 at the age of 13.
The time spent at Southampton strengthened his desire to travel; he was eager to leave Bristol and tried to sign on as a ship's cabin boy, but he was too young. On March 13, 1918, the 14-year-old Grant was expelled from Fairfield.
They traveled on the to conduct a tour of the United States on July 21, 1920 when he was 16, arriving a week later.
In July 1922, he performed in a group called the "Knockabout Comedians" at the Palace Theater on Broadway.
He visited Los Angeles for the first time in 1924, which made a lasting impression on him.
In 1927, he was cast as an Australian in Reggie Hammerstein's musical Golden Dawn, for which he earned $75 a week.
The play ran for 72 shows, and Grant earned $350 a week before moving to Detroit, then to Chicago. To console himself, Grant bought a 1927 Packard sport phaeton.
Shubert cast him in a small role as a Spaniard opposite Jeanette MacDonald in the French risqué comedy Boom-Boom at the Casino Theater on Broadway, which premiered on January 28, 1929, ten days after his 25th birthday.
It premiered at the Majestic Theater on October 31, 1929, two days after the Wall Street Crash, and lasted until February 1930 with 125 shows.
It premiered at the Majestic Theater on October 31, 1929, two days after the Wall Street Crash, and lasted until February 1930 with 125 shows.
Grant still found it difficult forming relationships with women, remarking that he "never seemed able to fully communicate with them" even after many years "surrounded by all sorts of attractive girls" in the theater, on the road, and in New York. In 1930, Grant toured for nine months in a production of the musical The Street Singer.
The film proved to be successful, becoming the highest-grossing film for 20th Century Fox that year with over $4.5 million in takings and being likened to Hawks's screwball comedies of the late 1930s.
His long-term friendship with Howard Hughes from the 1930s onward saw him invited into the most glamorous circles in Hollywood and their lavish parties.
Scott also played a role, encouraging Grant to invest his money in shares, making him a wealthy man by the end of the 1930s.
It ended in early 1931, and the Shuberts invited him to spend the summer performing on the stage at The Muny in St.
The production opened on September 29, 1931 in New York, but was stopped after just 39 performances due to the effects of the Depression. == Film career == === Early roles (1932–1936) === Grant's role in Nikki was praised by Ed Sullivan of The New York Daily News, who noted that the "young lad from England" had "a big future in the movies".
After a successful screen-test directed by Marion Gering, Schulberg signed a contract with the 27-year-old Grant on December 7, 1931 for five years, at a starting salary of $450 a week.
Grant disliked his role and threatened to leave Hollywood, but to his surprise a critic from Variety praised his performance, and thought that he looked like a "potential femme rave". In 1932, Grant played a wealthy playboy opposite Marlene Dietrich in Blonde Venus, directed by Josef von Sternberg.
The two met early on in Grant's career in 1932 at the Paramount studio when Scott was filming Sky Bride while Grant was shooting Sinners in the Sun, and moved in together soon afterwards.
McCann declared that Grant was "quite simply, the funniest actor cinema has ever produced". == Filmography and stage work == From 1932 to 1966, Grant starred in over seventy films.
According to biographer Marc Eliot, while these films did not make Grant a star, they did well enough to establish him as one of Hollywood's "new crop of fast-rising actors". In 1933, Grant gained attention for appearing in the pre-Code films She Done Him Wrong and I'm No Angel opposite Mae West.
He wed Virginia Cherrill on February 9, 1934, at the Caxton Hall registry office in London.
Grant made arrangements for his mother to leave the institution in June 1935, shortly after he learned of her whereabouts.
She divorced him on March 26, 1935, following charges that he had hit her.
When his contract with Paramount ended in 1936 with the release of Wedding Present, Grant decided not to renew it and wished to work freelance.
His Columbia contract was a four-film deal over two years, guaranteeing him $50,000 each for the first two and $75,000 each for the others. === Hollywood stardom and Oscar recognition (1937–1944) === In 1937, Grant began the first film under his contract with Columbia Pictures, When You're in Love, portraying a wealthy American artist who eventually woos a famous opera singer (Grace Moore).
After the demise of the marriage, he dated actress Phyllis Brooks from 1937.
He visited her in October 1938 after filming was completed for Gunga Din. Grant enjoyed the theater, particularly pantomimes at Christmas, which he attended with his father.
In 1938, he starred opposite Katharine Hepburn in the screwball comedy Bringing Up Baby, featuring a leopard and frequent bickering and verbal jousting between Grant and Hepburn.
According to Vermilye, in 1939, Grant played roles that were more dramatic, albeit with comical undertones.
Biographers Morecambe and Stirling state that Hughes played a major role in the development of Grant's business interests so that by 1939, he was "already an astute operator with various commercial interests".
Known for his transatlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing, he was one of classic Hollywood's definitive leading men during the 1940s and 1950s. Grant was born in Horfield, Bristol, England.
Roles as a pilot opposite Jean Arthur and Rita Hayworth in Hawks' Only Angels Have Wings, and a wealthy landowner alongside Carole Lombard in In Name Only followed. In 1940, Grant played a callous newspaper editor who learns that his ex-wife and former journalist, played by Rosalind Russell, is to marry insurance officer Ralph Bellamy in Hawks' comedy His Girl Friday, which was praised for its strong chemistry and "great verbal athleticism" between Grant and Russell.
In the 1940s, Grant and Barbara Hutton invested heavily in real estate development in Acapulco at a time when it was little more than a fishing village, and teamed up with Richard Widmark, Roy Rogers, and Red Skelton to buy a hotel there.
Geoff Andrew of Time Out believes Suspicion served as "a supreme example of Grant's ability to be simultaneously charming and sinister". In 1942, Grant participated in a three-week tour of the United States as part of a group to help the war effort and was photographed visiting wounded marines in hospital.
In May 1942, when he was 38, the ten-minute propaganda short Road to Victory was released, in which he appeared alongside Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Charles Ruggles.
Grant later joined the boards of Hollywood Park, the Academy of Magical Arts (The Magic Castle, Hollywood, California), and Western Airlines (acquired by Delta Air Lines in 1987). == Personal life == Grant became a naturalized United States citizen on June 26, 1942, aged 38, at which time he also legally changed his name to "Cary Grant".
They considered marriage and vacationed together in Europe in mid-1939, visiting the Roman villa of Dorothy Taylor Dentice di Frasso in Italy, but the relationship ended later that year. He married Barbara Hutton in 1942, one of the wealthiest women in the world, following a $50 million inheritance from her grandfather Frank Winfield Woolworth.
They divorced in 1945, although they remained the "fondest of friends".
Wansell notes how Grant's performance "underlined how far his unique qualities as a screen actor had matured in the years since The Awful Truth". In 1947, Grant played an artist who becomes involved in a court case when charged with assault in the comedy The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (released in the U.K.
He finished the year as the fourth most popular film star at the box office. In 1949, Grant starred alongside Ann Sheridan in the comedy I Was a Male War Bride in which he appeared in scenes dressed as a woman, wearing a skirt and a wig.
He dated Betty Hensel for a period, then married Betsy Drake on December 25, 1949, the co-star of two of his films.
Known for his transatlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing, he was one of classic Hollywood's definitive leading men during the 1940s and 1950s. Grant was born in Horfield, Bristol, England.
By this point he was one of the highest paid Hollywood stars, commanding $300,000 per picture. The early 1950s marked the beginning of a slump in Grant's career.
Grant quit smoking in the early 1950s through [He remained health conscious, staying very trim and athletic even into his late career, though Grant admitted he "never crook[ed a finger to keep fit".
Grant became a fan of the comedians Morecambe and Wise in the 1960s, and remained friends with Eric Morecambe until his death in 1984. Grant began experimenting with the drug LSD in the late 1950s, before it became popular.
Radiologist Mortimer Hartman began treating him with LSD in the late 1950s, with Grant optimistic that the treatment could make him feel better about himself and rid of all of his inner turmoil stemming from his childhood and his failed relationships.
In 1952, Grant starred in the comedy Room for One More, playing an engineer husband who with his wife (Betsy Drake) adopt two children from an orphanage.
Grant had hoped that starring opposite Deborah Kerr in the romantic comedy Dream Wife would salvage his career, but it was a critical and financial failure upon release in July 1953, when Grant was 49.
Though he was considered for the leading part in A Star is Born, Grant believed that his film career was over, and briefly left the industry. === Romantic leading man and final roles (1955–1966) === In 1955, Grant agreed to star opposite Grace Kelly in To Catch a Thief, playing a retired jewel thief named John Robie, nicknamed "The Cat", living in the French Riviera.
Though critical reception to the overall film was mixed, Grant received high praise for his performance, with critics commenting on his suave, handsome appearance in the film. In 1957, Grant starred opposite Kerr in the romance An Affair to Remember, playing an international playboy who becomes the object of her affections.
Later in 1958, Grant starred opposite Bergman in the romantic comedy Indiscreet, playing a successful financier who has an affair with a famous actress (Bergman) while pretending to be a married man.
He had been at odds with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since 1958, but he was named as the recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 1970.
Grant received his first of five Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy nominations for his performance and finished the year as the most popular film star at the box office. In 1959, Grant starred in the Hitchcock-directed film North by Northwest, playing an advertising executive who becomes embroiled in a case of mistaken identity.
The film was major box office success, and in 1973, Deschner ranked the film as the highest earning film of Grant's career at the US box office, with takings of $9.5 million. In 1960, Grant appeared opposite Robert Mitchum, Jean Simmons and Deborah Kerr in The Grass Is Greener, which was shot in England at Osterley Park and Shepperton Studios.
He had become increasingly disillusioned with cinema in the 1960s, rarely finding a script which he approved of.
Grant became a fan of the comedians Morecambe and Wise in the 1960s, and remained friends with Eric Morecambe until his death in 1984. Grant began experimenting with the drug LSD in the late 1950s, before it became popular.
Nine days later, Grant and Cannon divorced. Grant had a brief affair with actress Cynthia Bouron in the late 1960s.
In 1962, Grant starred in the romantic comedy That Touch of Mink, playing suave, wealthy businessman Philip Shayne romantically involved with an office worker, played by Doris Day.
This proved to be his longest marriage, ending on August 14, 1962. Grant married Dyan Cannon on July 22, 1965, at Howard Hughes' Desert Inn in Las Vegas, and their daughter Jennifer was born on February 26, 1966, his only child; he frequently called her his "best production".
In 1963, Grant appeared in his last typically suave, romantic role opposite Audrey Hepburn in Charade.
The film, well received by the critics, is often called "the best Hitchcock film Hitchcock never made". In 1964, Grant changed from his typically suave, distinguished screen persona to play a grizzled beachcomber who is coerced into serving as a coastwatcher on an uninhabited island in the World War II romantic comedy Father Goose.
The film was a major commercial success, and upon its release at Radio City at Christmas 1964 it took over $210,000 at the box-office in the first week, breaking the record set by Charade the previous year.
Grant's final film, Walk, Don't Run (1966), a comedy co-starring Jim Hutton and Samantha Eggar, was shot on location in Tokyo, and is set amid the backdrop of the housing shortage of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
Such was Grant's influence on the company that George Barrie once claimed that Grant had played a role in the growth of the firm to annual revenues of about $50 million in 1968, a growth of nearly 80% since the inaugural year in 1964.
This proved to be his longest marriage, ending on August 14, 1962. Grant married Dyan Cannon on July 22, 1965, at Howard Hughes' Desert Inn in Las Vegas, and their daughter Jennifer was born on February 26, 1966, his only child; he frequently called her his "best production".
He retired from film acting in 1966 and pursued numerous business interests, representing cosmetics firm Fabergé and sitting on the board of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Hitchcock had asked Grant to star in Torn Curtain that year, only to learn that he had decided to retire. == Later years == Grant retired from the screen in 1966 at age 62 when his daughter Jennifer Grant was born in order to focus on bringing her up and to provide a sense of permanence and stability in her life.
He was given the negatives from a number of his films in the 1970s, and he sold them to television for a sum of over two million dollars in 1975. Morecambe and Stirling argue that Grant's abstinence from film after 1966 was not because he had "irrevocably turned his back on the film industry", but because he was "caught between a decision made and the temptation to eat a bit of humble pie and re-announce himself to the cinema-going public".
This proved to be his longest marriage, ending on August 14, 1962. Grant married Dyan Cannon on July 22, 1965, at Howard Hughes' Desert Inn in Las Vegas, and their daughter Jennifer was born on February 26, 1966, his only child; he frequently called her his "best production".
McCann declared that Grant was "quite simply, the funniest actor cinema has ever produced". == Filmography and stage work == From 1932 to 1966, Grant starred in over seventy films.
Dyan Cannon claimed during a court hearing that he was an "apostle of LSD", and that he was still taking the drug in 1967 as part of a remedy to save their relationship.
That's what's important. Grant and Cannon separated in August 1967. On March 12, 1968, Grant was involved in a car accident in Queens, New York, en route to JFK Airport, when a truck hit the side of his limousine.
Such was Grant's influence on the company that George Barrie once claimed that Grant had played a role in the growth of the firm to annual revenues of about $50 million in 1968, a growth of nearly 80% since the inaugural year in 1964.
That's what's important. Grant and Cannon separated in August 1967. On March 12, 1968, Grant was involved in a car accident in Queens, New York, en route to JFK Airport, when a truck hit the side of his limousine.
In 1970, he was presented with an Honorary Oscar by his friend Frank Sinatra at the 42nd Academy Awards, and he was accorded the Kennedy Center Honors in 1981.
He did, however, briefly appear in the audience of the video documentary for Elvis's 1970 Las Vegas concert That's the Way It Is.
He was given the negatives from a number of his films in the 1970s, and he sold them to television for a sum of over two million dollars in 1975. Morecambe and Stirling argue that Grant's abstinence from film after 1966 was not because he had "irrevocably turned his back on the film industry", but because he was "caught between a decision made and the temptation to eat a bit of humble pie and re-announce himself to the cinema-going public".
In the 1970s, MGM was keen on remaking Grand Hotel (1932) and hoped to lure Grant out of retirement.
He played an active role in the promotion of MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas when opened in 1973, and he continued to promote the city throughout the 1970s.
He had been at odds with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since 1958, but he was named as the recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 1970.
Pauline Kael stated that the world still thinks of him affectionately because he "embodies what seems a happier time−a time when we had a simpler relationship to a performer." Grant was nominated for Academy Awards for Penny Serenade (1941) and None But the Lonely Heart (1944), but he never won a competitive Oscar; he received a special Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1970.
The film was major box office success, and in 1973, Deschner ranked the film as the highest earning film of Grant's career at the US box office, with takings of $9.5 million. In 1960, Grant appeared opposite Robert Mitchum, Jean Simmons and Deborah Kerr in The Grass Is Greener, which was shot in England at Osterley Park and Shepperton Studios.
He played an active role in the promotion of MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas when opened in 1973, and he continued to promote the city throughout the 1970s.
Between 1973 and 1977, he dated British photojournalist Maureen Donaldson, followed by the much younger Victoria Morgan. On April 11, 1981, Grant married Barbara Harris, a British hotel public relations agent who was 47 years his junior.
He was given the negatives from a number of his films in the 1970s, and he sold them to television for a sum of over two million dollars in 1975. Morecambe and Stirling argue that Grant's abstinence from film after 1966 was not because he had "irrevocably turned his back on the film industry", but because he was "caught between a decision made and the temptation to eat a bit of humble pie and re-announce himself to the cinema-going public".
The position also permitted the use of a private plane, which Grant could use to fly to see his daughter wherever her mother, Dyan Cannon, was working. In 1975, Grant was an appointed director of MGM.
On being presented with the award, his friend Frank Sinatra announced: "No one has brought more pleasure to more people for so many years than Cary has, and nobody has done so many things so well". Grant was awarded a special plaque at the Straw Hat Awards in New York in May 1975 which recognized him as a "star and superstar in entertainment".
The two had met in 1976 at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London where Harris was working at the time and Grant was attending a Fabergé conference.
Between 1973 and 1977, he dated British photojournalist Maureen Donaldson, followed by the much younger Victoria Morgan. On April 11, 1981, Grant married Barbara Harris, a British hotel public relations agent who was 47 years his junior.
He was invited to a royal charity gala in 1978 at the London Palladium.
They became friends, but it was not until 1979 that she moved to live with him in California.
In 1979, he hosted the American Film Institute's tribute to Alfred Hitchcock, and presented Laurence Olivier with his honorary Oscar. In 1981, Grant was accorded the Kennedy Center Honors.
Grant visited Monaco three or four times each year during his retirement, and showed his support for Kelly by joining the board of the Princess Grace Foundation. In 1980, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art put on a two-month retrospective of more than 40 of Grant's films.
In 1980, he sat on the board of MGM Films and MGM Grand Hotels following the division of the parent company.
When Chevy Chase joked on television in 1980 that Grant was a "homo.
In 1970, he was presented with an Honorary Oscar by his friend Frank Sinatra at the 42nd Academy Awards, and he was accorded the Kennedy Center Honors in 1981.
Between 1973 and 1977, he dated British photojournalist Maureen Donaldson, followed by the much younger Victoria Morgan. On April 11, 1981, Grant married Barbara Harris, a British hotel public relations agent who was 47 years his junior.
In 1979, he hosted the American Film Institute's tribute to Alfred Hitchcock, and presented Laurence Olivier with his honorary Oscar. In 1981, Grant was accorded the Kennedy Center Honors.
In 1982, he was honored with the "Man of the Year" award by the New York Friars Club at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.
He turned 80 on January 18, 1984, and Peter Bogdanovich noticed that a "serenity" had come over him.
Grant became a fan of the comedians Morecambe and Wise in the 1960s, and remained friends with Eric Morecambe until his death in 1984. Grant began experimenting with the drug LSD in the late 1950s, before it became popular.
Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor.
He died of a stroke on November 29, 1986 in Davenport, Iowa, aged 82.
Grant's friends felt that she had a positive impact on him, and Prince Rainier of Monaco remarked that Grant had "never been happier" than he was in his last years with her. === Death === Grant was at the Adler Theater in Davenport, Iowa, on the afternoon of Saturday, November 29, 1986, preparing for his performance in A Conversation with Cary Grant when he was taken ill; he had been feeling unwell as he arrived at the theater.
Grant later joined the boards of Hollywood Park, the Academy of Magical Arts (The Magic Castle, Hollywood, California), and Western Airlines (acquired by Delta Air Lines in 1987). == Personal life == Grant became a naturalized United States citizen on June 26, 1942, aged 38, at which time he also legally changed his name to "Cary Grant".
In 1995, more than 100 leading film directors were asked to reveal their favorite actor of all time in a Time Out poll, and Grant came second only to Marlon Brando.
In 1999, the American Film Institute named him the second greatest male star of Golden Age Hollywood cinema, trailing only Humphrey Bogart. == Early life and education == Grant was born Archibald Alec Leach on January 18, 1904, at 15 Hughenden Road in the northern Bristol suburb of Horfield.
In 1999, the American Film Institute named him the second greatest male star of Golden Age Hollywood cinema (after Humphrey Bogart).
On December 7, 2001, a statue of Grant by Graham Ibbeson was unveiled in Millennium Square, a regenerated area next to Bristol Harbour, Bristol, the city where he was born.
In November 2005, Grant again came first in Premiere magazine's list of "The 50 Greatest Movie Stars of All Time".
The biennial Cary Comes Home Festival was established in 2014 in his hometown Bristol.
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