Once told by an interviewer, "Everybody would like to be Cary Grant", Grant is said to have replied, "So would I." Cary Grant was born Archibald Alexander Leach in Horfield, Bristol, England, to Elsie Maria (Kingdon) and Elias James Leach, who worked in a factory. His early years in Bristol would have been an ordinary lower-middle-class childhood, except for one extraordinary event. At age nine, he came home from school one day and was told his mother had gone off to a seaside resort. The real truth, however, was that she had been placed in a mental institution, where she would remain for years, and he was never told about it (he wouldn't see his mother again until he was in his late 20s). He left school at fourteen, lying about his age and forging his father's signature on a letter to join Bob Pender's troupe of knockabout comedians. He learned pantomime as well as acrobatics as he toured with the Pender troupe in the English provinces, picked up a Cockney accent in the music halls in London, and then in July 1920, was one of the eight Pender boys selected to go to the US. Their show on Broadway, "Good Times," ran for 456 performances, giving Grant time to acclimatize. He would stay in America. Mae West wanted Grant for She Done Him Wrong (1933) because she saw his combination of virility, sexuality and the aura and bearing of a gentleman. Grant was young enough to begin the new career of fatherhood when he stopped making movies at age 62. One biographer said Grant was alienated by the new realism in the film industry. In the 1950s and early 1960s, he had invented a man-of-the-world persona and a style--"high comedy with polished words." In To Catch a Thief (1955), he and Grace Kelly were allowed to improvise some of the dialogue. They knew what the director, Alfred Hitchcock, wanted to do with a scene, they rehearsed it, put in some clever double entendres that got past the censors, and then the scene was filmed. His biggest box-office success was another Hitchcock 1950s film, North by Northwest (1959) made with Eva Marie Saint since Kelly was by that time Princess of Monaco.
Movie | Rat Pack | Self (archive footage) | 2022-01-11 |
Movie | The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes | Self (archive footage) | 2022-04-27 |
Movie | Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood | Self (archive footage) | 2018-07-27 |
Movie | Becoming Cary Grant | Self (archive footage) | 2017-05-23 |
Movie | Leslie Howard: The Man Who Gave a Damn | Self (archive footage) | 2015-08-18 |
Movie | Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words | Self (archive footage) | 2015-08-27 |
Movie | And the Oscar Goes To... | Self (archive footage) | 2014-02-01 |
Movie | Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen | (archive footage) | 2012-02-04 |
Movie | Metropolis Refound | Himself (archive footage) | 2010-02-13 |
Movie | Smash His Camera | Self (archive footage) | 2010-07-30 |
Movie | 1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year | Self (archive footage) | 2009-07-02 |
Movie | North by Northwest: One for the Ages | Self (archive footage) | 2009-11-03 |
Movie | Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema | Self (archive footage) | 2007-05-23 |
Movie | Hippies | Himself (archive footage) | 2007-06-12 |
Movie | Cary Grant: A Class Apart | Self (archive footage) | 2004-06-01 |
Movie | Before the Fact: Suspicious Hitchcock | Self (archive footage) | 2004-09-07 |
Movie | Complicated Women | Self (archive footage) | 2003-05-06 |
Movie | Edith Head: The Paramount Years | (archive footage) | 2002-11-26 |
Movie | Destination Hitchcock: The Making of 'North by Northwest' | Self (archive footage) | 2000-09-10 |
Movie | Hitchcock, Selznick and the End of Hollywood | Self (archive footage) | 1999-01-23 |
Movie | Frank Capra's American Dream | Self (archive footage) | 1997-01-01 |
Movie | The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender | Self (archive footage) | 1997-11-01 |
Movie | Ingrid Bergman Remembered | Self (archive footage) | 1996-04-06 |
Movie | Mae West and the Men Who Knew Her | Self (archive footage) | 1994-08-09 |
Movie | Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To | (archive footage) | 1990-06-04 |
Movie | Grace Kelly: The American Princess | Self (archive footage) | 1987-06-08 |
Movie | George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey | Self | 1985-03-03 |
Movie | Terror in the Aisles | John Robie (Archive Footage) | 1984-10-26 |
Movie | Notre Dame de la Croisette | 1983-02-23 | |
Movie | All-Star Party for Frank Sinatra | Self | 1983-12-11 |
Movie | Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid | (in "Suspicion") (archive footage) | 1982-05-21 |
Movie | Frank Sinatra: The First 40 Years | Self | 1979-12-13 |
Series | The Kennedy Center Honors | Unknown | 1978-12-28 |
Movie | It's Showtime | Self (archive footage) | 1976-03-31 |
Movie | That's Entertainment, Part II | (archive footage) | 1976-05-16 |
Movie | Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? | Self (archive footage) | 1975-08-06 |
Movie | That's Entertainment! | (archive footage) | 1974-06-21 |
Movie | The Men Who Made the Movies: Howard Hawks | Self (archive footage) | 1973-01-01 |
Series | The American Film Institute Salute to ... | Unknown | 1973-04-02 |
Movie | Hollywood: The Dream Factory | Self (archive footage) | 1972-01-10 |
Movie | Elvis: That's the Way It Is | Himself | 1970-11-11 |
Movie | Walk Don't Run | Sir William Rutland | 1966-06-29 |
Movie | Hollywood My Home Town | Self (archive footage) | 1965-12-31 |
Movie | The Love Goddesses | (archive footage) | 1965-03-03 |
Movie | The Big Parade of Comedy | Cary Grant | 1964-09-02 |
Movie | Father Goose | Walter Christopher Eckland | 1964-12-10 |
Movie | Hollywood Without Make-Up | Self (archive footage) | 1963-07-01 |
Movie | Charade | Peter Joshua | 1963-12-05 |
Movie | That Touch of Mink | Philip Shayne | 1962-06-14 |
Movie | The Grass Is Greener | Victor Rhyall | 1960-12-23 |
Movie | North by Northwest | Roger Thornhill | 1959-07-08 |
Movie | Operation Petticoat | Lieutenant Commander Matt Sherman | 1959-12-05 |
Movie | Houseboat | Tom Winters | 1958-11-19 |
Movie | Indiscreet | Philip Adams | 1958-07-16 |
Movie | The Pride and the Passion | Anthony | 1957-07-10 |
Movie | An Affair to Remember | Nickie Ferrante | 1957-07-11 |
Movie | Kiss Them for Me | Cmdr. Andrew " Andy" Crewson | 1957-12-10 |
Movie | To Catch a Thief | John Robie | 1955-08-03 |
Series | The Oscars | Unknown | 1953-03-19 |
Movie | Dream Wife | Clemson Reade | 1953-06-19 |
Movie | Room for One More | George "Poppy" Rose | 1952-01-10 |
Movie | Monkey Business | Barnaby Fulton | 1952-09-03 |
Movie | People Will Talk | Dr. Noah Praetorius | 1951-08-29 |
Movie | Crisis | Dr. Eugene Norland Ferguson | 1950-07-07 |
Movie | I Was a Male War Bride | Capt. Henri Rochard | 1949-08-26 |
Movie | Every Girl Should Be Married | Dr. Madison W. Brown | 1948-12-25 |
Movie | Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House | Jim Blandings | 1948-03-25 |
Movie | The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer | Richard Nugent | 1947-09-01 |
Movie | Blow-Ups of 1947 | Self | 1947-12-31 |
Movie | The Bishop's Wife | Dudley | 1947-12-25 |
Movie | Without Reservations | Cary Grant (uncredited) | 1946-05-13 |
Movie | Night and Day | Cole Porter | 1946-07-02 |
Movie | Notorious | T.R. Devlin | 1946-08-21 |
Movie | George White's Scandals | 1945-10-09 | |
Movie | The Road to Victory | 1944-05-18 | |
Movie | The Shining Future | Self | 1944-04-11 |
Movie | Arsenic and Old Lace | Mortimer Brewster | 1944-09-01 |
Movie | None But the Lonely Heart | Ernie Mott | 1944-10-17 |
Movie | Once Upon a Time | Jerry Flynn | 1944-06-29 |
Movie | Mr. Lucky | Joe Adams | 1943-07-01 |
Movie | Destination Tokyo | Captain Cassidy | 1943-12-31 |
Movie | Once Upon a Honeymoon | Patrick O'Toole | 1942-11-27 |
Movie | The Talk of the Town | Leopold Dilg - Joseph | 1942-08-20 |
Movie | Breakdowns of 1942 | Self | 1942-12-31 |
Movie | Penny Serenade | Roger Adams | 1941-04-24 |
Movie | Suspicion | John D. 'Johnnie' Aysgarth | 1941-11-14 |
Movie | His Girl Friday | Walter Burns | 1940-01-18 |
Movie | My Favorite Wife | Nick Arden | 1940-05-17 |
Movie | A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound | Self | 1940-10-24 |
Movie | The Howards of Virginia | Matt Howard | 1940-09-19 |
Movie | The Philadelphia Story | C.K. Dexter Haven | 1940-12-05 |
Movie | Only Angels Have Wings | Geoff Carter | 1939-05-15 |
Movie | Gunga Din | Archibald Cutter | 1939-01-26 |
Movie | In Name Only | Alec Walker | 1939-08-18 |
Movie | Screen Snapshots Series 19, No. 1 | 1939-09-22 | |
Movie | Bringing Up Baby | David Huxley | 1938-02-18 |
Movie | Holiday | Johnny Case | 1938-05-26 |
Movie | Topper Takes a Trip | George Kerby (archive footage) | 1938-12-29 |
Movie | When You're in Love | Jimmy Hudson | 1937-02-12 |
Movie | Topper | George Kerby | 1937-07-16 |
Movie | The Toast of New York | Nick Boyd | 1937-07-22 |
Movie | The Awful Truth | Jerry Warriner | 1937-10-20 |
Movie | Big Brown Eyes | Detective Sergeant Danny Barr | 1936-04-03 |
Movie | Suzy | Andre | 1936-07-20 |
Movie | Wedding Present | Charlie Mason | 1936-10-09 |
Movie | The Amazing Quest of Ernest Bliss | Ernest Bliss | 1936-07-28 |
Movie | Enter Madame | Gerald Fitzgerald | 1935-01-04 |
Movie | Wings in the Dark | Ken Gordon | 1935-02-01 |
Movie | The Last Outpost | Michael Andrews | 1935-10-11 |
Movie | Sylvia Scarlett | Jimmy Monkley | 1935-12-25 |
Movie | Pirate Party on Catalina Isle | Guest on Isle | 1935-11-20 |
Movie | Born to Be Bad | Malcolm Trevor | 1934-05-18 |
Movie | Thirty Day Princess | Porter Madison III | 1934-05-18 |
Movie | Kiss and Make-Up | Dr. Maurice Lamar | 1934-07-13 |
Movie | Ladies Should Listen | Julian De Lussac | 1934-08-10 |
Movie | She Done Him Wrong | Captain Cummings | 1933-02-09 |
Movie | The Eagle and the Hawk | Henry Crocker | 1933-05-06 |
Movie | The Woman Accused | Jeffrey Baxter | 1933-02-17 |
Movie | Gambling Ship | Ace Corbin | 1933-06-23 |
Movie | I'm No Angel | Jack Clayton | 1933-10-06 |
Movie | Alice in Wonderland | Mock Turtle | 1933-12-18 |
Movie | Singapore Sue | First Sailor | 1932-06-10 |
Movie | Sinners in the Sun | Ridgeway | 1932-05-13 |
Movie | This Is the Night | Stephen Mathewson | 1932-04-08 |
Movie | Merrily We Go to Hell | Charlie Baxter | 1932-06-10 |
Movie | Madame Butterfly | Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton | 1932-12-30 |
Movie | Hot Saturday | Romer Sheffield | 1932-10-28 |
Movie | Blonde Venus | Nick Townsend | 1932-09-23 |
Movie | The Devil and the Deep | Lt. Jaeckel | 1932-08-12 |