User:Dr. Blofeld/Cary Grant
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Cary Grant (born Archibald Alexander Leach; January 18, 1904 – November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor, who became one of classic Hollywood's definitive leading men. He began a career in Hollywood in the early 1930s, where he became known for his transatlantic accent and debonair demeanor. He became an American citizen in 1942.
Cary Grant | |
---|---|
Born | Archibald Alexander Leach (1904-01-18)January 18, 1904 |
Died | November 29, 1986(1986-11-29) (aged 82) Davenport, Iowa, United States |
Cause of death | Cerebral haemorrhage |
Other names | Archie Leach |
Education | Bishop Road Primary School Fairfield Grammar School |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1922–1966 |
Spouse(s) |
Barbara Harris
(m. 1981) |
Partner | Maureen Donaldson (1973–1977) |
Children | Jennifer Grant |
Awards | Academy Honorary Award (1970) For his unique mastery of the art of screen acting with the respect and affection of his colleagues. Kennedy Center Honors (1981) |
Born in Horfield, Bristol, Grant became attracted to the theatre at a very young age, and began performing with a troupe known as "The Penders" from the age of six. After attending 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 Sylvia Scarlett (1935), The Awful Truth (1937), Howard Hawk's Bringing Up Baby (1938), and His Girl Friday (1940). Along with the later Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) and I Was a Male War Bride (1949), these films are all frequently cited as among the all-time great comedy films. Having established himself as a major Hollywood star, he was nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Actor (Penny Serenade (1941) and None but the Lonely Heart (1944)).
In the 1940s and 1950s, Grant forged a working relationship with renowned director Alfred Hitchcock, appearing in films such as Notorious (1946), To Catch a Thief (1955) and North by Northwest (1959). Hitchcock considered Grant to have been the only actor that he had ever loved. In the twilight of his film career, Grant received much acclaim as a romantic leading man, earning five Golden Globe Award for Best Actor nominations, for films such as That Touch of Mink (1962) with Doris Day and Charade (1963) with Audrey Hepburn. After his retirement from film in 1966, he was presented with an Honorary Oscar by Frank Sinatra at the 42nd Academy Awards in 1970. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Grant the second greatest male star of Golden Age Hollywood cinema (after Humphrey Bogart).