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Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904 – November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor, known as one of classic Hollywood's definitive leading men. He began a career in Hollywood in the early 1930s, and became known for his transatlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He became an American citizen in 1942.
Born in Horfield, Bristol, Grant became attracted to theatre at a young age, and began performing with a troupe known as "The Penders" from the age of six. After attending Bishop Road Primary School and Fairfield Grammar School in Bristol, he toured the country as a stage performer, and decided to stay in New York City after a performance 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. He initially appeared in crime films or dramas such as Blonde Venus (1932) and She Done Him Wrong (1933), but later gained renown for his appearances in romantic comedy and screwball comedy films such as The Awful Truth (1937), Bringing Up Baby (1938), His Girl Friday (1940) and The Philadelphia Story (1940). Along with the later Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) and I Was a Male War Bride (1949), these films are frequently cited as among the all-time great comedy films.[1] Having established himself as a major Hollywood star, he was nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Actor, for Penny Serenade (1941) and None but the Lonely Heart (1944).
In the 1940s and 1950s, Grant forged a working relationship with the director Alfred Hitchcock, appearing in films such as Suspicion (1941), Notorious (1946), To Catch a Thief (1955) and North by Northwest (1959). Hitchcock admired Grant and considered him to have been the only actor that he had ever loved working with. Towards the end of his film career, Grant was praised by critics as a romantic leading man, and received five Golden Globe Award for Best Actor nominations, including Indiscreet (1958) with Ingrid Bergman, That Touch of Mink (1962) with Doris Day, and Charade (1963) with Audrey Hepburn. He is remembered by critics for his unusually broad appeal, as a handsome, suave actor who did not take himself too seriously, possessing the ability to play with his own dignity in comedies without sacrificing it entirely. His comic timing and delivery made Grant what Premiere magazine considers to have been "quite simply, the funniest actor cinema has ever produced".
Grant was married five times; three of his marriages were elopements with actresses—Virginia Cherrill (1934–1935), Betsy Drake (1949–1962) and Dyan Cannon (1965–1968). He has one daughter with Cannon, Jennifer Grant (born 1966). After his retirement from film acting in 1966, Grant pursued numerous business interests, representing cosmetics firm Fabergé, and sitting on the board of MGM and others. He was presented with an Honorary Oscar by his friend Frank Sinatra at the 42nd Academy Awards in 1970, and in 1981, he was accorded the Kennedy Center Honors. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Grant the second greatest male star of Golden Age Hollywood cinema.
Born in Horfield, Bristol, Grant became attracted to theatre at a young age, and began performing with a troupe known as "The Penders" from the age of six. After attending Bishop Road Primary School and Fairfield Grammar School in Bristol, he toured the country as a stage performer, and decided to stay in New York City after a performance 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. He initially appeared in crime films or dramas such as Blonde Venus (1932) and She Done Him Wrong (1933), but later gained renown for his appearances in romantic comedy and screwball comedy films such as The Awful Truth (1937), Bringing Up Baby (1938), His Girl Friday (1940) and The Philadelphia Story (1940). Along with the later Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) and I Was a Male War Bride (1949), these films are frequently cited as among the all-time great comedy films.[1] Having established himself as a major Hollywood star, he was nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Actor, for Penny Serenade (1941) and None but the Lonely Heart (1944).
In the 1940s and 1950s, Grant forged a working relationship with the director Alfred Hitchcock, appearing in films such as Suspicion (1941), Notorious (1946), To Catch a Thief (1955) and North by Northwest (1959). Hitchcock admired Grant and considered him to have been the only actor that he had ever loved working with. Towards the end of his film career, Grant was praised by critics as a romantic leading man, and received five Golden Globe Award for Best Actor nominations, including Indiscreet (1958) with Ingrid Bergman, That Touch of Mink (1962) with Doris Day, and Charade (1963) with Audrey Hepburn. He is remembered by critics for his unusually broad appeal, as a handsome, suave actor who did not take himself too seriously, possessing the ability to play with his own dignity in comedies without sacrificing it entirely. His comic timing and delivery made Grant what Premiere magazine considers to have been "quite simply, the funniest actor cinema has ever produced".
Grant was married five times; three of his marriages were elopements with actresses—Virginia Cherrill (1934–1935), Betsy Drake (1949–1962) and Dyan Cannon (1965–1968). He has one daughter with Cannon, Jennifer Grant (born 1966). After his retirement from film acting in 1966, Grant pursued numerous business interests, representing cosmetics firm Fabergé, and sitting on the board of MGM and others. He was presented with an Honorary Oscar by his friend Frank Sinatra at the 42nd Academy Awards in 1970, and in 1981, he was accorded the Kennedy Center Honors. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Grant the second greatest male star of Golden Age Hollywood cinema.
Cary Grant - Wikipedia
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Cary Grant: A Gentlemen's Gentleman (FULL DOCUMENTARY)
Cary Grant was the epitome of Hollywood elegance, the master of comedic timing, and one of the best-loved romantic leading men of all time! With his matinee ...
Thank you, my friend Maj Marty Hogan for letting us know that January 18 is the anniversary of the birth of English-American actor Cary Grant who was born under the name Archibald Alec Leach and became known as one of classic Hollywood's definitive leading men.
It certainly is noteworthy that in 1999, the American Film Institute named Cary Grant the second greatest male star of Golden Age Hollywood cinema, after Humphrey Bogart.
Rest in peace Cary Grant!
Cary Grant: A Gentlemen's Gentleman (FULL DOCUMENTARY)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUAfd3z_Nvs
Background from tcm.com/tcmdb/person/75180%7C28068/Cary-Grant/
"Biography
"By Bryce Coleman" opposite Constance Bennett gave Cary Grant his first financial hit, thanks to a share of the hefty profits, while "The Awful Truth" (1937) co-starring Irene Dunne made him a bona fide movie star. Basing much of his performance and mannerisms on the latter film's director, Leo McCarey, Grant gave full reign to the effortlessly charming persona he would be forever tied to with his role in "The Awful Truth." This began a remarkably successful run for the actor, confirmed years later by director and cinema historian Peter Bogdanovich, who noted that, "After The Awful Truth, when it came to light comedy, there was Cary Grant and then everyone else was an also-ran." Over the next four years, Grant starred in an unmatched number of hit films, honing his burgeoning image to a fine gloss with each successive outing. Grant and Hepburn re-teamed twice more to perfect the screwball comedy, first with director Howard Hawks in the classic "Bringing up Baby" (1938), quickly followed by "Holiday" (1938), once again under the guidance of Cukor.
More versatile than he was often given credit for, Grant also convincingly played a man of action in films like the rousing adventure "Gunga Din" (1939) for director George Stevens and Hawk's revered aerial drama "Only Angels Have Wings" (1939). He further perfected the screwball comedy, opposite Rosalind Russell, in "His Girl Friday" (1940) and "My Favorite Wife" (1940), which re-teamed him with McCarey and frequent leading lady Irene Dunne. That same year, the smash hit "The Philadelphia Story" (1940) not only broke box office records, single-handedly revived Katharine Hepburn's flagging career, and won two Oscars, but additionally solidified Grant's imperturbable screen persona into a verifiable archetype. So effortlessly effective was the actor that Grant even managed to elevate subpar material such as the melodrama "Penny Serenade" (1941), which earned him his first Oscar nomination. In one of his most fortuitous and beneficial professional collaborations, Grant worked with the great Alfred Hitchcock for the first time on the romantic psychological-thriller "Suspicion" (1941), opposite Joan Fontaine. In a surprisingly effective break from his usual role type, Grant portrayed a handsome scoundrel suspected of murder. Famously unimpressed with thespians, director Hitchcock would later refer to Grant as "the only actor I ever loved in my whole life."
Although still a major box office draw, the harsh new realities brought on by World War II tempered audience's taste for frivolous romantic-comedies, and for the first time Grant's career faltered. One commercial bright spot of the period was his work in director Frank Capra's adaptation of the stage play "Arsenic and Old Lace" (1944). Although a hit with critics and audiences, Grant later stated that his admittedly over-the-top performance in the macabre comedy was one of his least favorites. Cast as a poor Cockney drifter in London's East End, Grant essayed a character closer to his personal origins than ever before in the drama "None But the Lonely Heart" (1944). And while it garnered the actor praise from critics and his second Academy Award nomination, the deeply flawed character was so far removed from the silky-smooth charmer he had become known for, that audiences simply could not accept him in the role. After the failure of the film, Grant would never again stray so far from his established persona. Hitchcock once again provided Grant with some of his best work - not to mention a much needed hit film - in "Notorious" (1946), a masterful espionage thriller co-starring Ingrid Bergman and Claude Rains. Other efforts of the period, such as the mildly diverting fantasy "The Bishop's Wife" (1947), kept Grant on screens, but the successes were fewer and farther between than they once had been.
A serial marrier, Grant would wed a total of five times during his life, to such women as troubled heiress Barbara Hutton and actress Betsy Drake, who he met on the set of the romantic-comedy "Every Girl Should be Married" (1948). After exchanging vows the following year, the couple would appear together on screen once more in "Room for One More" (1952). With his background in vaudeville and broad comedy, Grant was disdainful of Method acting and wary of the new generation of young stars, who practiced it like Marlon Brando and James Dean. As he closed in on 50, the former king of the box office sensed his relevance beginning to wane, and as early as 1953, began making public rumblings about his imminent retirement. Thankfully, he was tempted back by Hitchcock to co-star with Grace Kelly in "To Catch a Thief" (1955), and later opposite Eva Marie Saint in "North by Northwest" (1959), considered by many to be the two most successful collaborations from the actor-director pair. After co-starring with Sophia Loren in "The Pride and the Passion" (1956), Grant fell madly in love with his Italian leading lady and pursued her ardently - even asking her to marry him - despite being married to Drake and Loren being involved with her soon-to-be-husband, Carlo Ponti.
Always a keen businessman, Grant also began his own production company in the late-1950s, mounting such features as the wartime comedy "Operation Petticoat" (1959), co-starring Tony Curtis. Struggling to reconcile the disparities of his suave onscreen persona with the humble origins of Archie Leach, Grant became increasingly bitter and unhappy. His increased dissatisfaction with the film business did little to help matters. With Grant's marriage to Drake foundering, it was she who encouraged him to join her in a new psychiatric experiment employing the little-understood hallucinogenic drug LSD. Grant agreed, and for a time, he claimed that it helped his outlook a great deal, loosening inhibitions and lowering defenses. In the long run, however, it would not provide him with the tranquility he so desperately sought.
Despite his discomfort with the marked differences in their ages, he played leading man to the much younger Audrey Hepburn in Stanley Donen's Hitchcock-esque "Charade" (1963). A year later, he took on a role as a confirmed beach bum reluctantly forced into the role of protector in the WWII comedy-adventure "Father Goose" (1964). Though considered one of his more lightweight efforts, Grant described the role to be the one closest to his real life personality. Having divorced Drake three years prior, Grant married the much younger actress Dyan Cannon in Las Vegas in 1965 and the union produced his only child, Jennifer Grant, the following year. His fourth marriage, it was also one of his rockiest, and by the time Grant's final film "Walk, Don't Run" (1966) was released, Cannon - who later accused her husband of verbal and physical abuse - was already preparing for divorce. Bored with the business of filmmaking and wanting to spend more time with his daughter, Grant announced his retirement from the screen in 1966 and despite several high-profile attempts to lure him back, he would never act in a film again.
In the years that followed, Grant remained active, joining the board of directors for several companies and organizations, including the perfumer Faberge. By all accounts he enjoyed the fruits of semi-retirement and was genuinely touched when he was honored with an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1970. Grant had also managed to reconnect and reconcile with his mother, Elsie, who had been de-institutionalized in the 1930s. The two would remain close until her death at the age of 95 in 1974. Grant married for the fifth and final time when he wed British publicist Barbara Harris in 1981. Later, he toured the country with a one-man audience participation show, "A Conversation with Cary Grant." It was while preparing for one such performance at the Adler Theater in Davenport, IA on Nov. 29, 1986 that he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, brought on by a stroke. Cary Grant died later that night at the age of 82.
Milestones CLOSE MILESTONES
1917:Joined a travelling acrobatic troupe
1920:Arrived in New York with acrobatic troupe
1923:First role on the British stage
1931:Appeared in the film short, "Singapore Sue"
1932:Made feature film debut in a supporting role in "This Is the Night"
:Attracted notice as Mae West's leading man in "She Done Him Wrong" (1932) and "I'm No Angel" (1933)
1937:Confirmed his star status with the landmark screwball comedy, "The Awful Truth"
1941:First film with Alfred Hitchcock, "Suspicion"
1966:Last film, "Walk, Don't Run"
Companions
COMPANION:Randolph Scott. Actor. Shared living quarters for many years when both were struggling performers as well as between marriages.
WIFE:Virginia Cherrill. Actor. Married in 1933; divorced in 1935; died in November 1996 at age 88.
WIFE:Barbara Hutton. Heiress to the Woolworth fortune; socialite; married in 1942; divorced in 1945.
WIFE:Betsy Drake. Actor. Married in 1949; divorced in 1959; acted opposite Grant in her film debut, "Every Girl Should Be Married" (1948) and "Room for One More" (1952).
WIFE:Dyan Cannon. Actor. Married from 1965 to 1968.
WIFE:Barbara Harris. Married from 1981 until his death.
Family
MOTHER:Elsie Leach. Institutionalized in mental hospital when Grant was aged 12.
FATHER:Elias Leach. Pants presser.
DAUGHTER:Jennifer Grant. Born on February 26, 1966; mother, Dyan Cannon.
COMPLETE FILMOGRAPHY
CAST (feature film)
1. It's Showtime (1976) as Himself.
2. Walk, Don't Run (1966) as William Rutland .
3. Father Goose (1964) as Walter Eckland .
4. Charade (1963) as Peter Joshua/Alexander Dyle/Adam Canfield/Brian Cruikshank .
5. That Touch of Mink (1962) as Philip Shayne .
6. The Grass Is Greener (1961) as Victor, Earl of Rhyall .
7. North by Northwest (1959) as Roger Thornhill .
8. Operation Petticoat (1959) as Matt T. Sherman .
9. Indiscreet (1958) as Philip Adams .
10. Houseboat (1958) as Tom Winston .
11. The Pride and the Passion (1957) as [Capt.] Anthony [Trumbell] .
12. An Affair to Remember (1957) as Nickie Ferrante .
13. The Big Show (1957) as .
14. Kiss Them for Me (1957) as Andy Crewson .
15. To Catch a Thief (1955) as John Robie, also known as Conrad Burns .
16. Dream Wife (1953) as Clemson Reade .
17. Room for One More (1952) as George "Poppy" Rose .
18. Monkey Business (1952) as Dr. Barnaby Fulton .
19. People Will Talk (1951) as Dr. Noah Praetorius .
20. Crisis (1950) as Dr. Eugene Ferguson .
21. I Was a Male War Bride (1949) as Capt. Henri Rochard .
22. The Bishop's Wife (1948) as Dudley .
23. Every Girl Should Be Married (1948) as Dr. Madison [W.] Brown .
24. Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) as Jim Blandings .
25. The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer (1947) as Dick [Nugent] .
26. Notorious (1946) as [T. R.] Devlin .
27. Without Reservations (1946) as Himself .
28. Night and Day (1946) as Cole Porter .
29. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) as Mortimer Brewster .
30. Destination Tokyo (1944) as Captain Cassidy .
31. Once Upon a Time (1944) as Jerry Flynn .
32. None But the Lonely Heart (1944) as Ernest Verdun "Ernie" Mott .
33. Mr. Lucky (1943) as Joe "the Greek" Adams/Joe Bascopolous .
34. Once Upon a Honeymoon (1942) as Pat O'Toole .
35. The Talk of the Town (1942) as Leopold Dilg .
36. Suspicion (1941) as Johnnie [Aysgarth] .
37. Penny Serenade (1941) as Roger Adams .
38. His Girl Friday (1940) as Walter Burns .
39. The Philadelphia Story (1940) as C. K. Dexter Haven .
40. My Favorite Wife (1940) as Nick [Arden] .
41. Gunga Din (1939) as [ Sergeant Archibald] Cutter .
42. In Name Only (1939) as Alec Walker .
43. Topper Takes a Trip (1939) as George Kerby .
44. Only Angels Have Wings (1939) as Geoff Carter .
45. Holiday (1938) as Johnny Case .
46. Bringing Up Baby (1938) as [Dr.] David [Huxley] .
47. The Awful Truth (1937) as Jerry Warriner .
48. When You're in Love (1937) as Jimmy Hudson .
49. The Toast of New York (1937) as Nick Boyd .
50. Romance and Riches (1937)
51. Topper (1937) as George Kerby .
52. Wedding Present (1936) as Charlie Mason .
53. Sylvia Scarlett (1936) as Jimmy Monkley .
54. Suzy (1936) as Andre [Charville] .
55. Big Brown Eyes (1936) as Danny Barr .
56. The Last Outpost (1935) as Michael Andrews .
57. Wings in the Dark (1935) as Ken Gordon .
58. Ladies Should Listen (1934) as Julian de Lussac .
59. Kiss and Make-Up (1934) as Dr. Maurice Lamar .
60. Enter Madame! (1934) as Gerald Fitzgerald .
61. Born to Be Bad (1934) as Malcolm Trevor .
62. Thirty Day Princess (1934) as Porter Madison, III .
63. I'm No Angel (1933) as Jack Clayton .
64. Alice in Wonderland (1933) as Mock Turtle .
65. She Done Him Wrong (1933) as Captain Cummings .
66. Gambling Ship (1933) as Ace Corbin .
67. The Eagle and the Hawk (1933) as Henry Crocker .
68. The Woman Accused (1933) as The Man/Jeffrey Baxter .
69. Devil and the Deep (1932) as Lieutenant Jaeckel .
70. Blonde Venus (1932) as Nick Townsend .
71. Madame Butterfly (1932) as Lieutenant B. F. Pinkerton .
72. Sinners in the Sun (1932) as Ridgeway .
73. This Is the Night (1932) as Stephen [Mathewson] .
74. Merrily We Go to Hell (1932) as Charlie Baxter .
75. Hot Saturday (1932) as Romer Sheffield .
PRODUCER (feature film)
76. The Grass Is Greener (1961) as Executive Producer.
77. Indiscreet (1958) as Producer.
CAST (special)
78. Cary Grant: A Class Apart (2004)
79. All Star Party For Clint Eastwood (1986)
80. George Burns' 90th Birthday Special (1986)
81. All-Star Party For Lucille Ball (1984)
82. George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey (1984) as Himself.
83. Nativity (1983) as Narration.
84. Sinatra: The First 40 Years (1980)
85. The Men Who Made the Movies: Howard Hawks (1973)
86. American Film Institute Salute to John Ford, The (1973)
CAST (short)
87. The Road to Victory (1944)
88. Cary Grant: In a Tribute to the Will Rogers Memorial Hospital (1940)
89. Pirate Party on Catalina Isle (1935)
90. Singapore Sue (1932)"
FYI Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen PO1 H Gene Lawrence PO2 Kevin Parker CPT Scott Sharon SSG William Jones SGT John " Mac " McConnell SP5 Mark Kuzinski Lt Col Charlie Brown Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. "Bill" Price Maj Marty Hogan SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL LTC Greg Henning LTC Jeff Shearer CWO3 Dennis M. PO3 Bob McCord SGT (Join to see)
It certainly is noteworthy that in 1999, the American Film Institute named Cary Grant the second greatest male star of Golden Age Hollywood cinema, after Humphrey Bogart.
Rest in peace Cary Grant!
Cary Grant: A Gentlemen's Gentleman (FULL DOCUMENTARY)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUAfd3z_Nvs
Background from tcm.com/tcmdb/person/75180%7C28068/Cary-Grant/
"Biography
"By Bryce Coleman" opposite Constance Bennett gave Cary Grant his first financial hit, thanks to a share of the hefty profits, while "The Awful Truth" (1937) co-starring Irene Dunne made him a bona fide movie star. Basing much of his performance and mannerisms on the latter film's director, Leo McCarey, Grant gave full reign to the effortlessly charming persona he would be forever tied to with his role in "The Awful Truth." This began a remarkably successful run for the actor, confirmed years later by director and cinema historian Peter Bogdanovich, who noted that, "After The Awful Truth, when it came to light comedy, there was Cary Grant and then everyone else was an also-ran." Over the next four years, Grant starred in an unmatched number of hit films, honing his burgeoning image to a fine gloss with each successive outing. Grant and Hepburn re-teamed twice more to perfect the screwball comedy, first with director Howard Hawks in the classic "Bringing up Baby" (1938), quickly followed by "Holiday" (1938), once again under the guidance of Cukor.
More versatile than he was often given credit for, Grant also convincingly played a man of action in films like the rousing adventure "Gunga Din" (1939) for director George Stevens and Hawk's revered aerial drama "Only Angels Have Wings" (1939). He further perfected the screwball comedy, opposite Rosalind Russell, in "His Girl Friday" (1940) and "My Favorite Wife" (1940), which re-teamed him with McCarey and frequent leading lady Irene Dunne. That same year, the smash hit "The Philadelphia Story" (1940) not only broke box office records, single-handedly revived Katharine Hepburn's flagging career, and won two Oscars, but additionally solidified Grant's imperturbable screen persona into a verifiable archetype. So effortlessly effective was the actor that Grant even managed to elevate subpar material such as the melodrama "Penny Serenade" (1941), which earned him his first Oscar nomination. In one of his most fortuitous and beneficial professional collaborations, Grant worked with the great Alfred Hitchcock for the first time on the romantic psychological-thriller "Suspicion" (1941), opposite Joan Fontaine. In a surprisingly effective break from his usual role type, Grant portrayed a handsome scoundrel suspected of murder. Famously unimpressed with thespians, director Hitchcock would later refer to Grant as "the only actor I ever loved in my whole life."
Although still a major box office draw, the harsh new realities brought on by World War II tempered audience's taste for frivolous romantic-comedies, and for the first time Grant's career faltered. One commercial bright spot of the period was his work in director Frank Capra's adaptation of the stage play "Arsenic and Old Lace" (1944). Although a hit with critics and audiences, Grant later stated that his admittedly over-the-top performance in the macabre comedy was one of his least favorites. Cast as a poor Cockney drifter in London's East End, Grant essayed a character closer to his personal origins than ever before in the drama "None But the Lonely Heart" (1944). And while it garnered the actor praise from critics and his second Academy Award nomination, the deeply flawed character was so far removed from the silky-smooth charmer he had become known for, that audiences simply could not accept him in the role. After the failure of the film, Grant would never again stray so far from his established persona. Hitchcock once again provided Grant with some of his best work - not to mention a much needed hit film - in "Notorious" (1946), a masterful espionage thriller co-starring Ingrid Bergman and Claude Rains. Other efforts of the period, such as the mildly diverting fantasy "The Bishop's Wife" (1947), kept Grant on screens, but the successes were fewer and farther between than they once had been.
A serial marrier, Grant would wed a total of five times during his life, to such women as troubled heiress Barbara Hutton and actress Betsy Drake, who he met on the set of the romantic-comedy "Every Girl Should be Married" (1948). After exchanging vows the following year, the couple would appear together on screen once more in "Room for One More" (1952). With his background in vaudeville and broad comedy, Grant was disdainful of Method acting and wary of the new generation of young stars, who practiced it like Marlon Brando and James Dean. As he closed in on 50, the former king of the box office sensed his relevance beginning to wane, and as early as 1953, began making public rumblings about his imminent retirement. Thankfully, he was tempted back by Hitchcock to co-star with Grace Kelly in "To Catch a Thief" (1955), and later opposite Eva Marie Saint in "North by Northwest" (1959), considered by many to be the two most successful collaborations from the actor-director pair. After co-starring with Sophia Loren in "The Pride and the Passion" (1956), Grant fell madly in love with his Italian leading lady and pursued her ardently - even asking her to marry him - despite being married to Drake and Loren being involved with her soon-to-be-husband, Carlo Ponti.
Always a keen businessman, Grant also began his own production company in the late-1950s, mounting such features as the wartime comedy "Operation Petticoat" (1959), co-starring Tony Curtis. Struggling to reconcile the disparities of his suave onscreen persona with the humble origins of Archie Leach, Grant became increasingly bitter and unhappy. His increased dissatisfaction with the film business did little to help matters. With Grant's marriage to Drake foundering, it was she who encouraged him to join her in a new psychiatric experiment employing the little-understood hallucinogenic drug LSD. Grant agreed, and for a time, he claimed that it helped his outlook a great deal, loosening inhibitions and lowering defenses. In the long run, however, it would not provide him with the tranquility he so desperately sought.
Despite his discomfort with the marked differences in their ages, he played leading man to the much younger Audrey Hepburn in Stanley Donen's Hitchcock-esque "Charade" (1963). A year later, he took on a role as a confirmed beach bum reluctantly forced into the role of protector in the WWII comedy-adventure "Father Goose" (1964). Though considered one of his more lightweight efforts, Grant described the role to be the one closest to his real life personality. Having divorced Drake three years prior, Grant married the much younger actress Dyan Cannon in Las Vegas in 1965 and the union produced his only child, Jennifer Grant, the following year. His fourth marriage, it was also one of his rockiest, and by the time Grant's final film "Walk, Don't Run" (1966) was released, Cannon - who later accused her husband of verbal and physical abuse - was already preparing for divorce. Bored with the business of filmmaking and wanting to spend more time with his daughter, Grant announced his retirement from the screen in 1966 and despite several high-profile attempts to lure him back, he would never act in a film again.
In the years that followed, Grant remained active, joining the board of directors for several companies and organizations, including the perfumer Faberge. By all accounts he enjoyed the fruits of semi-retirement and was genuinely touched when he was honored with an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1970. Grant had also managed to reconnect and reconcile with his mother, Elsie, who had been de-institutionalized in the 1930s. The two would remain close until her death at the age of 95 in 1974. Grant married for the fifth and final time when he wed British publicist Barbara Harris in 1981. Later, he toured the country with a one-man audience participation show, "A Conversation with Cary Grant." It was while preparing for one such performance at the Adler Theater in Davenport, IA on Nov. 29, 1986 that he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, brought on by a stroke. Cary Grant died later that night at the age of 82.
Milestones CLOSE MILESTONES
1917:Joined a travelling acrobatic troupe
1920:Arrived in New York with acrobatic troupe
1923:First role on the British stage
1931:Appeared in the film short, "Singapore Sue"
1932:Made feature film debut in a supporting role in "This Is the Night"
:Attracted notice as Mae West's leading man in "She Done Him Wrong" (1932) and "I'm No Angel" (1933)
1937:Confirmed his star status with the landmark screwball comedy, "The Awful Truth"
1941:First film with Alfred Hitchcock, "Suspicion"
1966:Last film, "Walk, Don't Run"
Companions
COMPANION:Randolph Scott. Actor. Shared living quarters for many years when both were struggling performers as well as between marriages.
WIFE:Virginia Cherrill. Actor. Married in 1933; divorced in 1935; died in November 1996 at age 88.
WIFE:Barbara Hutton. Heiress to the Woolworth fortune; socialite; married in 1942; divorced in 1945.
WIFE:Betsy Drake. Actor. Married in 1949; divorced in 1959; acted opposite Grant in her film debut, "Every Girl Should Be Married" (1948) and "Room for One More" (1952).
WIFE:Dyan Cannon. Actor. Married from 1965 to 1968.
WIFE:Barbara Harris. Married from 1981 until his death.
Family
MOTHER:Elsie Leach. Institutionalized in mental hospital when Grant was aged 12.
FATHER:Elias Leach. Pants presser.
DAUGHTER:Jennifer Grant. Born on February 26, 1966; mother, Dyan Cannon.
COMPLETE FILMOGRAPHY
CAST (feature film)
1. It's Showtime (1976) as Himself.
2. Walk, Don't Run (1966) as William Rutland .
3. Father Goose (1964) as Walter Eckland .
4. Charade (1963) as Peter Joshua/Alexander Dyle/Adam Canfield/Brian Cruikshank .
5. That Touch of Mink (1962) as Philip Shayne .
6. The Grass Is Greener (1961) as Victor, Earl of Rhyall .
7. North by Northwest (1959) as Roger Thornhill .
8. Operation Petticoat (1959) as Matt T. Sherman .
9. Indiscreet (1958) as Philip Adams .
10. Houseboat (1958) as Tom Winston .
11. The Pride and the Passion (1957) as [Capt.] Anthony [Trumbell] .
12. An Affair to Remember (1957) as Nickie Ferrante .
13. The Big Show (1957) as .
14. Kiss Them for Me (1957) as Andy Crewson .
15. To Catch a Thief (1955) as John Robie, also known as Conrad Burns .
16. Dream Wife (1953) as Clemson Reade .
17. Room for One More (1952) as George "Poppy" Rose .
18. Monkey Business (1952) as Dr. Barnaby Fulton .
19. People Will Talk (1951) as Dr. Noah Praetorius .
20. Crisis (1950) as Dr. Eugene Ferguson .
21. I Was a Male War Bride (1949) as Capt. Henri Rochard .
22. The Bishop's Wife (1948) as Dudley .
23. Every Girl Should Be Married (1948) as Dr. Madison [W.] Brown .
24. Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) as Jim Blandings .
25. The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer (1947) as Dick [Nugent] .
26. Notorious (1946) as [T. R.] Devlin .
27. Without Reservations (1946) as Himself .
28. Night and Day (1946) as Cole Porter .
29. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) as Mortimer Brewster .
30. Destination Tokyo (1944) as Captain Cassidy .
31. Once Upon a Time (1944) as Jerry Flynn .
32. None But the Lonely Heart (1944) as Ernest Verdun "Ernie" Mott .
33. Mr. Lucky (1943) as Joe "the Greek" Adams/Joe Bascopolous .
34. Once Upon a Honeymoon (1942) as Pat O'Toole .
35. The Talk of the Town (1942) as Leopold Dilg .
36. Suspicion (1941) as Johnnie [Aysgarth] .
37. Penny Serenade (1941) as Roger Adams .
38. His Girl Friday (1940) as Walter Burns .
39. The Philadelphia Story (1940) as C. K. Dexter Haven .
40. My Favorite Wife (1940) as Nick [Arden] .
41. Gunga Din (1939) as [ Sergeant Archibald] Cutter .
42. In Name Only (1939) as Alec Walker .
43. Topper Takes a Trip (1939) as George Kerby .
44. Only Angels Have Wings (1939) as Geoff Carter .
45. Holiday (1938) as Johnny Case .
46. Bringing Up Baby (1938) as [Dr.] David [Huxley] .
47. The Awful Truth (1937) as Jerry Warriner .
48. When You're in Love (1937) as Jimmy Hudson .
49. The Toast of New York (1937) as Nick Boyd .
50. Romance and Riches (1937)
51. Topper (1937) as George Kerby .
52. Wedding Present (1936) as Charlie Mason .
53. Sylvia Scarlett (1936) as Jimmy Monkley .
54. Suzy (1936) as Andre [Charville] .
55. Big Brown Eyes (1936) as Danny Barr .
56. The Last Outpost (1935) as Michael Andrews .
57. Wings in the Dark (1935) as Ken Gordon .
58. Ladies Should Listen (1934) as Julian de Lussac .
59. Kiss and Make-Up (1934) as Dr. Maurice Lamar .
60. Enter Madame! (1934) as Gerald Fitzgerald .
61. Born to Be Bad (1934) as Malcolm Trevor .
62. Thirty Day Princess (1934) as Porter Madison, III .
63. I'm No Angel (1933) as Jack Clayton .
64. Alice in Wonderland (1933) as Mock Turtle .
65. She Done Him Wrong (1933) as Captain Cummings .
66. Gambling Ship (1933) as Ace Corbin .
67. The Eagle and the Hawk (1933) as Henry Crocker .
68. The Woman Accused (1933) as The Man/Jeffrey Baxter .
69. Devil and the Deep (1932) as Lieutenant Jaeckel .
70. Blonde Venus (1932) as Nick Townsend .
71. Madame Butterfly (1932) as Lieutenant B. F. Pinkerton .
72. Sinners in the Sun (1932) as Ridgeway .
73. This Is the Night (1932) as Stephen [Mathewson] .
74. Merrily We Go to Hell (1932) as Charlie Baxter .
75. Hot Saturday (1932) as Romer Sheffield .
PRODUCER (feature film)
76. The Grass Is Greener (1961) as Executive Producer.
77. Indiscreet (1958) as Producer.
CAST (special)
78. Cary Grant: A Class Apart (2004)
79. All Star Party For Clint Eastwood (1986)
80. George Burns' 90th Birthday Special (1986)
81. All-Star Party For Lucille Ball (1984)
82. George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey (1984) as Himself.
83. Nativity (1983) as Narration.
84. Sinatra: The First 40 Years (1980)
85. The Men Who Made the Movies: Howard Hawks (1973)
86. American Film Institute Salute to John Ford, The (1973)
CAST (short)
87. The Road to Victory (1944)
88. Cary Grant: In a Tribute to the Will Rogers Memorial Hospital (1940)
89. Pirate Party on Catalina Isle (1935)
90. Singapore Sue (1932)"
FYI Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen PO1 H Gene Lawrence PO2 Kevin Parker CPT Scott Sharon SSG William Jones SGT John " Mac " McConnell SP5 Mark Kuzinski Lt Col Charlie Brown Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. "Bill" Price Maj Marty Hogan SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL LTC Greg Henning LTC Jeff Shearer CWO3 Dennis M. PO3 Bob McCord SGT (Join to see)
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