Cary Grant

Lore & Background

Grant was born into an impoverished family in Bristol, where he had an unhappy childhood marked by the absence of his mother and his father's alcoholism. He became attracted to theatre at a young age when he visited the Bristol Hippodrome. At 16, he went as a stage performer with the Pender Troupe for a tour of the United States. After a series of successful performances in New York City, he decided to stay there. He established a name for himself in vaudeville in the 1920s and toured the United States before moving to Hollywood in the early 1930s.

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. 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).

Reader's Guide

Cary Grant's significance lies in his enduring status as a defining figure of Hollywood's Golden Age, celebrated for his comic timing, suave persona, and ability to blend dignity with self-deprecation. His performances in screwball comedies and Hitchcock thrillers set a standard for leading men. Grant's legacy includes influencing generations of actors and being remembered for his unusually broad appeal as a handsome, suave actor who did not take himself too seriously. He retired from film acting in 1966 and pursued business interests, representing cosmetics firm Fabergé and sitting on the board of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. His death from a stroke in 1986 marked the end of an era, but his films remain widely studied and admired.

Did You Know?

• Grant was born Archibald Alec Leach in Bristol, England.
• He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for Penny Serenade (1941) and None but the Lonely Heart (1944).
• He did not learn that his mother was still alive until he was 31.
• Grant was married five times, three of them elopements.

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