James Cagney facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
James Cagney
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Cagney in a publicity photo
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| Born | July 17, 1899 Lower East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S.
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| Died | March 30, 1986 (aged 86) Stanford, New York, U.S.
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| Resting place | Gate of Heaven Cemetery |
| Occupation | Actor, dancer |
| Years active | 1919–1984 |
| Spouse(s) | Frances Vernon (1922–1986, his death) |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | William Cagney (brother) Jeanne Cagney (sister) |
James Francis Cagney Jr. (born July 17, 1899 – died March 30, 1986) was a famous American actor and dancer. He performed on both stage and in movies, but he is most remembered for his film roles. People knew him for his energetic acting, unique voice, and great comedic timing. He won many awards for his different performances.
Cagney is best known for playing tough but complex characters. In 1999, the American Film Institute named him one of the greatest male stars in classic Hollywood movies. Famous director Orson Welles even called him "maybe the greatest actor who ever appeared in front of a camera."
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Early Life of James Cagney
James Francis "Jimmy" Cagney was born in Manhattan, New York City. His father, James Francis Cagney Sr., was of Irish background. He worked as a bartender and was an amateur boxer. His mother, Carolyn, had a Norwegian father and an Irish mother.
Jimmy was the second of seven children. When he was very young, he was often sick. He later said this was because his family was very poor. He went to Stuyvesant High School in New York City and then to Columbia College of Columbia University. He planned to study art. He left college after his father passed away during the 1918 flu pandemic.
Cagney had many different jobs when he was young. He gave all his earnings to his family. He worked as a junior architect, a copy boy for a newspaper, a library assistant, and a doorman. He believed in working hard. He once said, "It was good for me. I feel sorry for the kid who has too cushy a time of it."
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He started tap dancing when he was a boy. He was so good that people called him "Cellar-Door Cagney" because he danced on slanted cellar doors. He also boxed as an amateur and almost won a state title. His coaches wanted him to become a professional boxer, but his mother said no. He also played semi-professional baseball and dreamed of playing in the Major Leagues.
Cagney got into acting in a unique way. He used to watch movies being filmed at a studio near his aunt's house. He started helping with local plays, first working behind the scenes. One night, his brother, who was supposed to perform, got sick. Even though Jimmy wasn't the understudy, he had a great memory. He stepped in for his brother and didn't make any mistakes! After that, he started performing in many different shows.
James Cagney's Acting Career
Cagney's first professional acting job was in 1919. He danced in a show called Every Sailor while dressed as a woman! For several years, he performed in vaudeville shows as a dancer and comedian. In 1925, he got his first big acting role. He received good reviews for his performances.
In 1929, he got the lead role in a play called Penny Arcade. It was a huge success. After seeing him, Warner Bros. studio offered him a contract. He would earn $500 a week to act in movies. This short contract quickly turned into a seven-year deal.
James Cagney became one of Hollywood's biggest stars. In 1938, he was nominated for his first Academy Award for Best Actor. In 1942, he won the Oscar for his amazing performance as George M. Cohan in the movie Yankee Doodle Dandy. He was nominated for an Oscar two more times.
Cagney sometimes had disagreements with Warner Bros. about his contracts. He even left the studio several times. Each time, he returned with better terms for himself. In 1935, he sued Warner Bros. and won. This was one of the first times an actor won a contract case against a big studio. He even started his own film company, Cagney Productions, in 1942. Cagney also traveled to entertain troops during World War II. He was also president of the Screen Actors Guild for two years.
Later Years and Retirement
James Cagney retired from acting and dancing in 1961. He wanted to spend more time on his farm with his family. He turned down many movie roles, including a part in The Godfather Part II. He didn't make many public appearances. He preferred to spend winters in Los Angeles and summers on his farms in Martha's Vineyard or New York.
Cagney had some health issues later in life. He was first told he had glaucoma, an eye condition. But a different doctor found out he actually had diabetes. In 1977, he had a minor stroke. After this, he couldn't do some of his favorite hobbies like horseback riding and dancing. He even stopped painting for a while.
Cagney came out of retirement 20 years later for a role in the movie Ragtime (1981). He took the part mainly to help his recovery from the stroke. His last role was in the TV movie Terrible Joe Moran in 1984. By then, his health was fragile, and more strokes meant he used a wheelchair. The movie makers included his real-life mobility issues in the story.
Personal Life
In 1920, James Cagney met Frances Willard "Billie" Vernon while they were both in a show called Pitter Patter. They got married on September 28, 1922, and stayed married until his death in 1986. Billie passed away in 1994. In 1941, they adopted a son named James Francis Cagney III. Later, they adopted a daughter named Cathleen. Cagney was a very private person. He didn't like being in the public eye much.
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As a young man, Cagney became very interested in farming. He bought a 100-acre (0.40 km2) farm in Martha's Vineyard. He loved that there were no paved roads around it, only dirt paths. In 1955, he bought another 120-acre (0.49 km2) farm in Stanford, New York. He named it Verney Farm. He turned it into a working farm, raising cattle. Over the years, he expanded it to 750 acres (3.0 km2). He loved farming so much that he received an honorary degree from Florida's Rollins College.
Cagney loved horses since he was a child. He often rode on the horses of local deliverymen. As an adult, he raised horses on his farms, especially Morgans.
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He also enjoyed sailing and owned boats on both US coasts. Even though he loved sailing, he sometimes got seasickness. Cagney also loved to paint. He said in his autobiography that he might have been happier as a painter than a movie star. He often gave his paintings away but refused to sell them. He only signed and sold one painting, which was bought by Johnny Carson for charity.
Death
James Cagney passed away at his farm in Stanford, New York, on Easter Sunday in 1986. He was 86 years old. He died from a heart attack. His funeral was held at St. Francis de Sales Roman Catholic Church in Manhattan. His close friend, who was also the President of the United States at the time, Ronald Reagan, gave the eulogy. Many famous people were his pallbearers, including boxer Floyd Patterson and dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov. Cagney was buried in a crypt at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York.
Honors and Legacy
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James Cagney received many honors for his work:
- In 1943, he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Yankee Doodle Dandy.
- In 1960, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- In 1974, he received the AFI Life Achievement Award. Actor Charlton Heston said Cagney was "one of the most significant figures of a generation when American film was dominant."
- In 1980, he received the Kennedy Center Honors.
- In 1984, President Ronald Reagan gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
- In 1999, the United States Postal Service issued a stamp honoring Cagney.
Many famous people admired James Cagney. Director Stanley Kubrick and actor Marlon Brando loved his films. Orson Welles called him "maybe the greatest actor to ever appear in front of a camera." Even Winston Churchill enjoyed private screenings of Cagney's movies. In 2015, a new musical celebrating Cagney's life opened in New York City.
Images for kids
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Cagney and Gloria Stuart (later of 1997's Titanic) in 1934's Here Comes the Navy. Cagney played sailors or naval officers several times.
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Cagney and Edward Woods in The Public Enemy (1931)
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Cagney mashes a grapefruit into Mae Clarke's face in a famous scene from Cagney's breakthrough movie, The Public Enemy (1931)
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Loretta Young and Cagney in Taxi! (1932)
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David Landau, Loretta Young and Cagney in Taxi (1932)
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Cagney, Ann Dvorak and Joan Blondell in The Crowd Roars (1932)
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Cagney and Olivia de Havilland in The Irish in Us (1935)
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With close friend Pat O'Brien in Here Comes the Navy (1934), their first of nine films together
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Here Comes the Navy (1934)
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Cagney in Something to Sing About (1937)
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Cagney and Pat O'Brien in Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), the sixth of nine feature films they would make together
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Cagney and Pat O'Brien in the endlessly debated final walk
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Cagney and Bogart in The Roaring Twenties (1939)
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Cagney as George M. Cohan, performing "The Yankee Doodle Boy" from Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
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With Virginia Mayo in White Heat (1949)
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Poster (in public domain) for Mister Roberts (1955) with Henry Fonda, Cagney, William Powell and Jack Lemmon
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Robert Montgomery, "Bull" Halsey, and Cagney on set.
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Footlight Parade (1933)
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See also
In Spanish: James Cagney para niños
