Cary Grant
The debonair leading man of classic Hollywood.
Cary Grant, born Archibald Alec Leach on 18 January 1904 in Bristol, England, became one of Hollywood’s most iconic leading men. He was known for his distinctive accent that blended British and American tones, his polished and easygoing manner, and his sharp comic timing. Though he only received two Academy Award nominations for Best Actor, he was given an honorary Oscar in 1970 and a Kennedy Center Honor in 1981. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him the second-greatest male star of Hollywood’s Golden Age.
His early life was difficult. He grew up poor in Bristol, with an alcoholic father and a mother who suffered from depression. She was committed to a mental hospital when he was nine, and his father told him she had died—a lie Grant didn’t discover until he was 31. He later arranged for her release in 1935. Despite this, Grant developed a love for theater after visiting the Bristol Hippodrome as a child. At 16, he joined the Pender Troupe, a group of acrobatic dancers, and toured the United States. He stayed in New York City after successful vaudeville performances and spent the 1920s touring the country before moving to Hollywood in the early 1930s.
Grant started his film career in crime films and dramas like *Blonde Venus* (1932) and *She Done Him Wrong* (1933). He became famous for his roles in romantic screwball comedies, including *The Awful Truth* (1937), *Bringing Up Baby* (1938), *His Girl Friday* (1940), and *The Philadelphia Story* (1940)—all often listed among the greatest comedies ever made. He also starred in the adventure *Gunga Din* (1939), the dark comedy *Arsenic and Old Lace* (1944), and dramas such as *Only Angels Have Wings* (1939), *Penny Serenade* (1941), and *None but the Lonely Heart* (1944). The last two earned him his Oscar nominations.
In the 1940s and 1950s, Grant worked closely with director Alfred Hitchcock on four films: *Suspicion* (1941), *Notorious* (1946), *To Catch a Thief* (1955), and *North by Northwest* (1959). In *Suspicion* and *Notorious*, he played darker, morally complex characters that tested his usual screen persona. Later in his career, he appeared in romantic films such as *An Affair to Remember* (1957), *Indiscreet* (1958), *Operation Petticoat* (1959), *That Touch of Mink* (1962), and *Charade* (1963).
Grant was married five times, three of which were elopements, to actresses Virginia Cherrill (1934–1935), Betsy Drake (1949–1962), and Dyan Cannon (1965–1968). He had one daughter, Jennifer, with Cannon. He retired from acting in 1966 and focused on business, representing the cosmetics company Fabergé and serving on the board of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He died of a stroke on 29 November 1986 at age 82. Critics remember him for his broad appeal as a handsome, suave actor who never took himself too seriously, and who could undercut his own dignity in comedies without losing it entirely.
- born
- 18 January 1904
- died
- 29 November 1986
- field
- Actor
- nationality
- English-American
- known_for
- Romantic screwball comedies and collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock
Lore & Background
Cary Grant possessed a strikingly handsome, debonair appearance, characterized by a polished, athletic build, dark hair, and a distinctive, carefully modulated voice that blended British and American inflections. His defining characteristics included a lighthearted, self-aware approach to acting, impeccable comic timing, and a suave demeanor that allowed him to toy with his own dignity in comedies without sacrificing it entirely. His range as a leading man extended from romantic screwball comedies—such as *The Awful Truth*, *Bringing Up Baby*, *His Girl Friday*, and *The Philadelphia Story*—to darker, morally ambiguous roles in Alfred Hitchcock suspense-dramas like *Suspicion* and *Notorious*. He also excelled in adventure films, dark comedies, and dramas, earning two Academy Award nominations for Best Actor. Grant’s career spanned from the early 1930s through the mid-1960s, during which he became one of classic Hollywood’s definitive leading men. He was born into poverty in Bristol, England, and endured an unhappy childhood marked by his mother’s institutionalization and his father’s alcoholism. After discovering theatre at the Bristol Hippodrome, he joined a stilt-walking troupe at age 16, toured the United States, and built a name in vaudeville before moving to Hollywood. He retired from acting in 1966 to pursue business interests, including representing a cosmetics firm and serving on a major studio’s board.
Reader's Guide
Grant initially appeared in crime films and dramas, such as Blonde Venus (1932) and She Done Him Wrong (1933), but later gained renown for his performances in romantic screwball comedies such as The Awful Truth (1937), Bringing Up Baby (1938), His Girl Friday (1940), and The Philadelphia Story (1940). These pictures are frequently cited among the greatest comedy films of all time. Other well-known films in which he starred in this period were the adventure Gunga Din (1939), the dark comedy Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), and the dramas Only Angels Have Wings (1939), Penny Serenade (1941), and None but the Lonely Heart (1944), the latter two for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. During the 1940s and 1950s, Grant had a close working relationship with director Alfred Hitchcock, who cast him in four films: Suspicion (1941), Notorious (1946), To Catch a Thief (1955), and North by Northwest (1959). For the suspense-dramas Suspicion and Notorious, Grant took on darker, morally ambiguous characters, both challenging Grant's screen persona and his acting abilities. Toward the end of his career he starred in the romantic films An Affair to Remember (1957), Indiscreet (1958), Operation Petticoat (1959), That Touch of Mink (1962), and Charade (1963).
Did You Know?
- Grant was married five times, three of them elopements, with actresses Virginia Cherrill (1934–1935), Betsy Drake (1949–1962), and Dyan Cannon (1965–1968).
- He had a daughter, Jennifer Grant, with Cannon.
- 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.
- He died of a stroke in 1986 at the age of 82.
Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)
"I suppose you might call me the sophisticated type. I like to act with dialogue. Not with grunts." — Cary Grant "I really am a happy, amusing fellow at heart. Trouble is I seem the only one left." — Cary Grant "My formula for living is quite simple. I get up in the morning and I go to bed at night. In between times, I occupy myself as best I can." — Cary Grant "The film I most cared about was a flop. None But the Lonely Heart was the only time I played a character very near myself, a man unsure of himself, a drifter, a rake." — Cary Grant
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