Cary Grant facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Cary Grant
Grant in a publicity still for Suspicion (1941)
Born	Archibald Alec Leach (1904-01-18)January 18, 1904 Bristol, England
Died	November 29, 1986(1986-11-29) (aged 82) Davenport, Iowa, U.S.
Citizenship	United Kingdom United States (from 1942)
Occupation	Actor businessman
Years active	1922–1966
Works	Performances on stage and screen
Spouse(s)	Virginia Cherrill (m. 1934; div. 1935) Barbara Hutton (m. 1942; div. 1945) Betsy Drake (m. 1949; div. 1962) Dyan Cannon (m. 1965; div. 1968) Barbara Harris (m. 1981)
Children	Jennifer Grant
Awards	Academy Honorary Award (1970) Kennedy Center Honors (1981)

Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904 – November 29, 1986) was a famous English-American actor. He was known for his charming style, funny timing, and smooth way of speaking. He was one of the most important leading men in classic Hollywood movies from the 1930s to the mid-1960s.

He was nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Actor, and in 1970, he received a special Academy Honorary Award for his lifetime of work. In 1999, the American Film Institute named him the second greatest male star of Hollywood's Golden Age.

Grant was born and grew up in Bristol, England. He loved theater from a young age. At 16, he traveled to the United States as a stage performer. After doing well in New York City, he decided to stay. He became well-known in vaudeville (a type of stage entertainment) in the 1920s before moving to Hollywood in the early 1930s.

He first appeared in crime films and dramas. Later, he became famous for his roles in romantic comedies. These include The Awful Truth (1937), Bringing Up Baby (1938), His Girl Friday (1940), and The Philadelphia Story (1940). Many of these are considered some of the best comedy films ever made. He also starred in adventure films like Gunga Din (1939) and dramas like Penny Serenade (1941).

During the 1940s and 1950s, Grant worked closely with director Alfred Hitchcock. He starred in four of Hitchcock's suspense films: Suspicion (1941), Notorious (1946), To Catch a Thief (1955), and North by Northwest (1959). Critics often praised his ability to be both charming and a little mysterious in these roles.

Grant retired from acting in 1966 to spend more time with his daughter, Jennifer Grant. He also became involved in business. He passed away from a stroke on November 29, 1986, at the age of 82.

Early Life and His Start in Entertainment

Cary Grant was born Archibald Alec Leach on January 18, 1904, in Horfield, a part of Bristol, England. His father worked in a clothes factory, and his mother was a seamstress. He had an older brother who sadly died before his first birthday.

When Grant was four, his mother taught him how to sing and dance. She also took him to the cinema, where he loved watching silent film stars like Charlie Chaplin. He started school at Bishop Road Primary School when he was four and a half.

When Grant was nine, his father sent his mother to a hospital for mental health and told young Cary that she had gone on a long holiday. He later said she had died. Grant didn't find out his mother was still alive until he was 31. After learning the truth, he helped her leave the hospital.

Grant loved going to the theater, especially Christmas shows, with his father. He became friends with a group of acrobatic dancers called "The Penders." He learned to walk on stilts and began touring with them.

School Days and Leaving Home

In 1915, Grant received a scholarship to attend Fairfield Grammar School in Bristol. He was good at sports and popular because of his good looks and acrobatic skills. However, he was also known for being mischievous and often didn't do his homework.

He spent his evenings working backstage at theaters in Bristol. He also volunteered as a messenger boy at military docks in Southampton during the summer. This helped him escape an unhappy home life and made him want to travel even more. He tried to become a ship's cabin boy but was too young.

On March 13, 1918, when he was 14, Grant was expelled from Fairfield Grammar School. Some say he intentionally got himself expelled so he could join the Pender Troupe full-time. Three days later, he rejoined the troupe. His father signed a three-year contract for Grant with the troupe, which included his salary, room and board, and dance lessons.

Becoming a Performer: Vaudeville and Stage

The Pender Troupe began touring around England, and Grant improved his physical acting skills in pantomime. On July 21, 1920, when he was 16, they traveled on the RMS Olympic to tour the United States. They arrived a week later. Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, famous actors, were on the same ship, returning from their honeymoon. Grant was very impressed by Fairbanks, who became a role model for him.

After arriving in New York, the group performed at the New York Hippodrome, which was the biggest theater in the world at the time. They performed 12 shows a week for nine months.

Grant then became part of the vaudeville circuit, performing in different cities across the U.S. He decided to stay in the U.S. when the rest of his troupe returned to Britain. He admired the Marx Brothers during this time. In July 1922, he performed on Broadway in a group called the "Knockabout Comedians." He also worked as a stilt-walker at Coney Island Boardwalk, wearing a bright coat to attract crowds to the amusement park.

Developing His Skills

Grant spent the next few years touring the United States with "The Walking Stanleys." He visited Los Angeles for the first time in 1924, which left a strong impression on him. After his group split up, he returned to New York. He performed at the National Vaudeville Artists Club, juggling, doing acrobatics, and performing comedy sketches. This demanding experience helped him improve his comedy skills, which were very useful later in Hollywood.

His accent changed over time, becoming what is called a "mid-Atlantic accent," a mix of British and American sounds. In 1927, he was cast as an Australian in a musical called Golden Dawn. The show wasn't a big hit, but critics started to notice Grant as a "pleasant new juvenile" (a young actor).

In 1929, he got a small role in a French comedy called Boom-Boom on Broadway. Even though he later said he was "absolutely terrible" in the role, his charm helped save the show from failure. He earned $350 a week from this play.

In 1930, Grant toured for nine months in a musical called The Street Singer. He then spent the summer performing in 12 different shows in St. Louis, Missouri. He became known as a romantic leading man. He was eventually let go because he refused a pay cut during the Great Depression. However, he soon got another lead role in a musical called Nikki, which opened in New York in 1931.

Starting His Film Career

Grant's role in Nikki was praised by a newspaper critic, who said the "young lad from England" had "a big future in the movies." This led to a screen test for Paramount Pictures. On December 7, 1931, the 27-year-old Grant signed a five-year contract with Paramount, starting at $450 a week. The studio asked him to change his name to "something that sounded more all-American." They agreed on Cary Grant.

Grant wanted to become a symbol of "masculine glamour." His career in Hollywood quickly took off because of his "genuine charm," which made him stand out. He made his first feature film, This is the Night (1932), a comedy where he played an Olympic javelin thrower. Even though Grant didn't like his role, a critic from Variety praised his performance.

In 1932, Grant appeared with Marlene Dietrich in Blonde Venus. He also acted in several other films that year. These early films helped establish him as a rising actor in Hollywood.

Gaining Fame with Mae West

In 1933, Grant became more widely known for appearing in two films with Mae West: She Done Him Wrong and I'm No Angel. Mae West later claimed she discovered him, though he had already been a leading man in Blonde Venus. She Done Him Wrong was a big box office hit, earning over $2 million in the U.S. I'm No Angel was even more successful and helped save Paramount from financial trouble.

After a few less successful films, Paramount thought Grant might not be needed. However, his luck changed in late 1935 when he was loaned to RKO Pictures. His first film with RKO was Sylvia Scarlett (1935), where he played a charming swindler. This was his first of four movies with Katharine Hepburn. Even though the film didn't make much money, critics praised Grant's strong performance, and he considered it a breakthrough for his career.

When his contract with Paramount ended in 1936, Grant decided to work as a freelance actor, meaning he wasn't tied to one studio. He claimed to be the first freelance actor in Hollywood. His first freelance film, The Amazing Quest of Ernest Bliss (1936), was not successful. However, he found success later that year with Suzy. This led him to sign contracts with RKO and Columbia Pictures, allowing him to choose the stories he wanted to act in.

Becoming a Hollywood Star

In 1937, Grant started filming When You're in Love for Columbia Pictures. Critics liked his performance. After another less successful film, Grant starred in Topper, a screwball comedy that became his first big comedy hit. He played a ghost who causes mischief. The film was very popular.

This success led him to star in The Awful Truth (1937), his first film with Irene Dunne. The director, Leo McCarey, encouraged Grant to improvise his lines and use his comedy skills from vaudeville. The film was a huge success and made Grant a top Hollywood star. It also established his image as a sophisticated and funny leading man in screwball comedies.

Famous Comedies and Dramas

The Awful Truth started a very successful period for Grant. In 1938, he starred with Katharine Hepburn in the screwball comedy Bringing Up Baby. He was unsure how to play his character at first, but the director, Howard Hawks, told him to think of Harold Lloyd, a famous silent film comedian. The film received great reviews. He also appeared with Hepburn again in Holiday.

In 1939, Grant took on more dramatic roles, though still with some humor. He played a British army sergeant in the adventure film Gunga Din, set in India. He also starred as a pilot in Only Angels Have Wings and a wealthy landowner in In Name Only.

In 1940, Grant played a newspaper editor in Hawks' comedy His Girl Friday, opposite Rosalind Russell. The film was praised for the strong chemistry and fast-paced dialogue between Grant and Russell. He reunited with Irene Dunne in My Favorite Wife, which was also a big success. His last film of the year was the highly praised romantic comedy The Philadelphia Story, where he played the ex-husband of Hepburn's character. Grant was disappointed not to receive an Oscar nomination for this film, especially since his co-stars, Hepburn and James Stewart, both received nominations, with Stewart winning.

The next year, Grant received his first Academy Award for Best Actor nomination for Penny Serenade. He also appeared in the psychological thriller Suspicion, the first of his four collaborations with director Alfred Hitchcock. Critics noted Grant's ability to be both charming and a little sinister in this film.

War Efforts and More Hits

In 1942, Grant went on a tour across the United States to support the war effort. He visited wounded marines in hospitals. He also appeared in a short propaganda film called Road to Victory. In feature films, he played a wrongly convicted man on the run in The Talk of the Town. He also starred in the successful submarine war film Destination Tokyo (1943).

In 1944, Grant starred in Frank Capra's dark comedy Arsenic and Old Lace. He played Mortimer Brewster, a man with a very strange family, including two aunts who are murderers. Grant felt this was his worst performance because the dark subject matter was difficult for him. That same year, he received his second Oscar nomination for his role in None but the Lonely Heart, a drama set in London during the Depression.

Post-War Success and Later Films

After a brief appearance in Without Reservations (1946), Grant played composer Cole Porter in the musical Night and Day (1946). He then starred with Ingrid Bergman and Claude Rains in Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious (1946). In this film, he played a government agent who recruits Bergman's character to spy on Nazis after World War II. Grant and Bergman's characters fall in love and share one of the longest kisses in movie history.

In 1947, Grant played an artist in the comedy The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, which was a big hit. Later that year, he starred in The Bishop's Wife, playing an angel sent from heaven to help a bishop and his wife. This film was a major success and was nominated for five Academy Awards.

The next year, Grant played a nervous man building his dream house in Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948). He also appeared in Every Girl Should Be Married (1948) with Betsy Drake, who would become his wife. By the end of 1948, he was the fourth most popular film star at the box office. In 1949, he starred in I Was a Male War Bride, where he dressed as a woman in some scenes. This film was very successful and was the highest-grossing film for 20th Century Fox that year. At this point, he was one of the highest-paid Hollywood stars, earning $300,000 per movie.

A Brief Downturn and Comeback

The early 1950s saw a slight dip in Grant's career. Some of his films, like Crisis and People Will Talk, were not well received. Grant felt tired of playing the "Cary Grant" persona. In 1952, he starred in the comedy Room for One More and reunited with Howard Hawks for Monkey Business, co-starring Marilyn Monroe. While some critics praised his performance, the film received mixed reviews. His film Dream Wife (1953) was also not successful. Grant thought his film career might be over and briefly left the industry.

In 1955, Grant agreed to star with Grace Kelly in To Catch a Thief, playing a retired jewel thief. Grant and Kelly worked very well together, and he found it one of the most enjoyable experiences of his career. Grant was one of the first actors to become "independent," meaning he didn't renew his studio contract. This allowed him to choose his films, directors, and co-stars, and even negotiate a share of the film's earnings, which was unusual at the time. He earned over $700,000 from To Catch a Thief because of this arrangement.

More Hits and Iconic Roles

In 1957, Grant starred with Deborah Kerr in the romance An Affair to Remember, which is considered a classic romantic film. He also appeared with Sophia Loren in The Pride and the Passion. Later in 1958, Grant starred with Ingrid Bergman in the romantic comedy Indiscreet. He considered this one of his personal favorite films. Grant received his first of five Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy nominations for his performance and was the most popular film star at the box office that year.

In 1959, Grant starred in another Alfred Hitchcock film, North by Northwest. He played an advertising executive caught in a case of mistaken identity. This film was highly praised by critics and was a major commercial success. It is often listed as one of the greatest films of all time. Grant wore one of his most iconic suits in the film, which became very popular. Grant also played a U.S. Navy submarine captain with Tony Curtis in the comedy Operation Petticoat. This film was a huge box office success and was one of the highest-earning films of Grant's career.

Final Films and Retirement

In 1960, Grant appeared in The Grass Is Greener, which was filmed in England. In 1962, he starred in the romantic comedy That Touch of Mink with Doris Day. He played a wealthy businessman who falls for an office worker. The film was praised by critics, received three Academy Award nominations, and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Comedy Picture. It was the second highest-grossing film of Grant's career.

Producers of the James Bond films wanted Grant for the role of James Bond in Dr. No (1962), but he only wanted to commit to one film, so they chose someone else. In 1963, Grant appeared in his last typical romantic role with Audrey Hepburn in Charade. Grant enjoyed working with Hepburn, though he worried he might be seen as too old for her. Critics loved the film, often calling it "the best Hitchcock film Hitchcock never made."

In 1964, Grant changed his usual smooth image to play a rough beachcomber in the World War II romantic comedy Father Goose. The film was a big commercial success. Grant's final film was Walk, Don't Run (1966), a comedy set in Tokyo during the 1964 Olympics. After this film, Grant decided to retire from acting. Hitchcock had asked him to star in another film that year, but Grant had already decided to stop.

Life After Acting

Grant retired from acting in 1966 at age 62, when his daughter Jennifer Grant was born. He wanted to focus on raising her and provide a stable home life. He had also become less interested in making movies in the 1960s, finding few scripts he liked. He said, "I could have gone on acting and playing a grandfather or a bum, but I discovered more important things in life." He knew that the "Golden Age" of Hollywood was over after making Charade. He rarely expressed interest in returning to acting.

In the 1970s, he received the rights to many of his films and sold them to television for over two million dollars in 1975.

Grant was saddened by the deaths of many close friends in his later years, including Grace Kelly in 1982, with whom he had remained very close after filming To Catch a Thief. He visited Monaco often and supported the Princess Grace Foundation.

In 1980, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art held a special showing of over 40 of Grant's films. In 1982, he received the "Man of the Year" award in New York. In his last few years, he toured the United States with a one-man show called A Conversation with Cary Grant. He would show clips from his films and answer questions from the audience. He made about 36 public appearances in his last four years, enjoying the chance to connect with his fans.

Business Ventures

Cary Grant was known as one of the smartest businessmen in Hollywood. His friendship with Howard Hughes helped him get involved in business. By 1939, he was already making smart investments. He also invested in real estate development in Acapulco in the 1940s, when it was a small fishing village.

After he retired from acting, he became even more active in business. He joined the board of directors at Fabergé, a cosmetics company. This was not just an honorary position; Grant regularly attended meetings and traveled internationally for the company. His influence helped the company grow significantly. This position also allowed him to use a private plane, which he used to visit his daughter.

In 1975, Grant became a director at MGM, a major film studio. He also promoted the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. He later joined the boards of other companies, including Hollywood Park and Western Airlines.

His Personal Life

Cary Grant became a naturalized United States citizen on June 26, 1942, when he was 38. At that time, he legally changed his name to Cary Grant.

Grant was one of the wealthiest stars in Hollywood and owned several homes. He was very neat and cared a lot about his appearance. He was known for his excellent fashion sense. He made an effort to learn from people in high society to make up for his working-class background and limited education. He stopped smoking in the early 1950s using hypnotherapy and remained very fit throughout his life.

His daughter, Jennifer, said that her father had many friends from all walks of life, including Frank Sinatra, Quincy Jones, and Gregory Peck. She said Grant and Sinatra were very close friends. While raising Jennifer, Grant kept a detailed collection of her childhood memories in a special vault in their house. He did this because many things from his own childhood were destroyed during the bombing of Bristol in World War II.

Grant was married five times. He married Virginia Cherrill in 1934, but they divorced in 1935. He then married Barbara Hutton in 1942, who was one of the wealthiest women in the world. They were sometimes called "Cash and Cary," but Grant refused any money from her to avoid accusations that he married for wealth. They divorced in 1945 but remained good friends. He married Betsy Drake in 1949, and this was his longest marriage, lasting until 1962.

Grant married Dyan Cannon in 1965, and their daughter, Jennifer, was born in 1966. Jennifer was his only child, and he often called her his "best production." Grant and Cannon divorced in 1968.

On April 11, 1981, Grant married Barbara Harris, who was 47 years younger than him. They had met in London in 1976. Grant's friends felt that she had a very positive impact on him, and Prince Rainier of Monaco said Grant had "never been happier" than he was in his last years with her.

His Views on Politics

Grant did not often speak openly about politics, but he sometimes shared his thoughts on current events. He spoke out against the blacklisting of his friend Charlie Chaplin during the period of McCarthyism, arguing that Chaplin was not a communist and that his role as an entertainer was more important than his political beliefs. In 1950, he said he would like to see a female president of the United States.

In 1976, Grant appeared at the Republican Party National Convention to support Gerald Ford's reelection and female equality. He introduced Betty Ford onto the stage. While he was considered to have conservative beliefs, he did not actively campaign for political candidates.

His Passing

On November 29, 1986, Cary Grant was at the Adler Theater in Davenport, Iowa, preparing for his show A Conversation with Cary Grant. He felt unwell as he arrived. He rehearsed for about half an hour, but then "something seemed wrong," and he went backstage.

Grant was taken back to his hotel, where a doctor found he was having a massive stroke. Grant refused to go to the hospital at first. The doctor said he got worse quickly. By 8:45 p.m., Grant was in a coma and was taken to St. Luke's Hospital in Davenport. He passed away at 11:22 p.m., at the age of 82.

An editorial in The New York Times wrote, "Cary Grant was not supposed to die. ... Cary Grant was supposed to stick around, our perpetual touchstone of charm and elegance and romance and youth." His body was cremated in California, and his ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean. He had requested no funeral. His estate, worth between 60 and 80 million dollars, mostly went to his wife Barbara Harris and his daughter Jennifer.

What Made Him Special as an Actor

One reason Cary Grant's film career was so successful was that he didn't seem overly focused on how handsome he was on screen. He acted in a way that was unexpected for a Hollywood star of that time. Director George Cukor said that Grant "didn't depend on his looks" and acted as if he were an ordinary young man, which made him even more appealing. Jennifer Grant said her father played the "basic man" and didn't rely on his looks or act like a specific character.

Grant was popular with both men and women. Film critic Pauline Kael said that men wanted to be like him, and women dreamed of dating him. She also noted that Grant treated his female co-stars differently and with more respect than many other leading men of the time. Actress Leslie Caron said he was the most talented leading man she worked with. Many critics believe Grant had a rare ability to turn an average movie into a good one just by being in it.

Grant often played "wealthy, privileged characters who never seemed to need to work." Some critics felt his acting range was "greater than any of his contemporaries." He was known for being able to mix elegance with funny physical comedy in the same scenes. He could also, with just a raised eyebrow or a small smile, make fun of his own smooth image. Director Stanley Donen said Grant's "magic" came from his attention to small details and always seeming real, which took "enormous amounts of work." Grant once said, "I guess to a certain extent I did eventually become the characters I was playing. I played at being someone I wanted to be until I became that person, or he became me."

Alfred Hitchcock thought Grant was very good in darker roles, with a mysterious and dangerous quality. He said, "there is a frightening side to Cary that no one can quite put their finger on."

His Lasting Impact

Many people believe Cary Grant was "the greatest leading man Hollywood had ever known." Film critic Richard Schickel said that "very few stars achieve the magnitude of Cary Grant" and that he was "the best star actor there ever was in the movies." Directors Stanley Donen and Howard Hawks also agreed that Grant was one of the most important actors in cinema history. He was a favorite of Hitchcock, who called him "the only actor I ever loved in my whole life." Grant remained one of Hollywood's top box-office attractions for almost 30 years.

Grant was nominated for Academy Awards for Penny Serenade (1941) and None But the Lonely Heart (1944), but he never won a competitive Oscar. However, he did receive a special Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1970. When presenting the award, Frank Sinatra said, "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."

Cary Grant statue by Graham Ibbeson (2001) in Millennium Square, Bristol

In 1981, Grant received the Kennedy Center Honors, a prestigious award for artists. Three years later, a theater on the MGM studio lot was renamed the "Cary Grant Theatre." In 1995, a Time Out poll of over 100 leading film directors ranked Grant second only to Marlon Brando as their favorite actor of all time. On December 7, 2001, a statue of Grant was unveiled in Millennium Square, Bristol, the city where he was born. In November 2005, Premiere magazine named Grant first on its list of "The 50 Greatest Movie Stars of All Time." The Cary Comes Home Festival, celebrating his legacy, was started in his hometown of Bristol in 2014.

Filmography and Stage Work

From 1932 to 1966, Grant starred in over seventy films. In 1999, the American Film Institute named him the second-greatest male star of Golden Age Hollywood cinema (after Humphrey Bogart). He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for Penny Serenade (1941) and None but the Lonely Heart (1944).

He is widely recognized for both his comedic and dramatic roles. Some of his best-known films include Blonde Venus (1932), She Done Him Wrong (1933), Sylvia Scarlett (1935), The Awful Truth (1937), Bringing Up Baby (1938), Gunga Din (1939), Only Angels Have Wings (1939), His Girl Friday (1940), The Philadelphia Story (1940), Suspicion (1941), Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), Notorious (1946), An Affair to Remember (1957), North by Northwest (1959), and Charade (1963).

Images for kids

Fairfield Grammar School, which Grant attended between 1915 and 1918
The New York Hippodrome where Grant performed
The Casino Theater on Broadway and 39th Street, where Grant appeared in Shubert's Boom-Boom
Grant in 1930
With Roland Young (right), Lili Damita (center), and Charlie Ruggles (far left) in his debut film This is the Night (1932)
Grant and Mae West in I'm No Angel (1933)
Lobby card for Ladies Should Listen (1934) with Frances Drake and Grant
Katharine Hepburn and Grant in Bringing Up Baby (1938)
Grant, Rosalind Russell and Ralph Bellamy in His Girl Friday (1940)
Grant in 1956
Grant at 69 in 1973
Grant in 1973
With friend Margaux Hemingway in 1976
Randolph Scott (left) and Grant in 1933 (from Modern Screen promotional feature "The Modern Hostess")
Grant with Betsy Drake and saxophonist Dick Stabile (right) in 1955
Still for North by Northwest
Grant in 1958
Grant and Audrey Hepburn in Charade (1963)