Cary Grant
(1904-1986)

Died aged 82

Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904 – November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one of classic Hollywood's definitive leading men from the 1930s until the mid-1960s. Grant was born and brought up in Bristol, England. He became attracted to theater 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 US. 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) with Marlene Dietrich and She Done Him Wrong (1933) with Mae West, but later gained renown for his performances in romantic screwball comedies such as The Awful Truth (1937) with Irene Dunne, Bringing Up Baby (1938) with Katharine Hepburn, His Girl Friday (1940) with Rosalind Russell, and The Philadelphia Story (1940) with Hepburn and James Stewart. 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) and the dark comedy Arsenic and Old Lace (1944). He also began to move into dramas such as Only Angels Have Wings (1939) with Jean Arthur, Penny Serenade (1941) again with Dunne, and None but the Lonely Heart (1944) with Ethel Barrymore; he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for the latter two. During the 1940s and 50s, Grant had a close working relationship with director Alfred Hitchcock, who cast him in four films: Suspicion (1941) opposite Joan Fontaine, Notorious (1946) opposite Ingrid Bergman, To Catch a Thief (1955) with Grace Kelly, and North by Northwest (1959) with James Mason and Eva Marie Saint, with Notorious and North by Northwest becoming particularly critically acclaimed. The suspense-dramas Suspicion and Notorious both involved Grant playing darker, morally ambiguous characters. Toward the end of his career, Grant was praised by critics as a romantic leading man, and he received five nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor, including for Indiscreet (1958) with 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, and able to play with his own dignity in comedies without sacrificing it entirely. 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 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. In 1970, he was presented with an Honorary Oscar by his friend Frank Sinatra at the 42nd Academy Awards, and he was accorded the Kennedy Center Honors in 1981. He died of a stroke on November 29, 1986 in Davenport, Iowa, aged 82. In 1999, the American Film Institute named him the second greatest male star of Golden Age Hollywood cinema, trailing only Humphrey Bogart.

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Commemorated on 6 plaques

Norwich Hippodrome Also known as the Grand Opera House, the Hippodrome opened in 1903 and hosted a multitude of famous acts including Laurel & Hardy and the young Archie Leach before he went on to become the more famous Cary Grant

St Giles Street, Norwich, United Kingdom where they performed

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy performed their legendary comedy double act here in February 1954. Norwich Hippodrome, which stood on this site until its demolition in 1966, also hosted the debut in 1916 of a 12 year old acrobat Archie Leach, later known as Cary Grant.

Entrance to St Giles Street car park, Norwich, United Kingdom where they debuted

Archibald Alec Leach better known as Cary Grant was born in this house 18th January 1904

15 Hughenden Road, Horfield, Bristol, United Kingdom where they was born (1904)

Centenary Of Cinema 1996 #045

Archibald Leach a pupil at this school 1909-1915 He gained great fame as Cary Grant

Bishop Road School, Bishopston, BS7 8LS, Bristol, United Kingdom where they attended school

Centenary Of Cinema 1996 #046

Cary Grant Archibald Leach the great Hollywood star was a pupil here 1915 - 1918

Fairlawn Road, Montpelier, Bristol, United Kingdom where they attended school

An eminent Bristolian Archibald Leach also known as Cary Grant 1904 - 1986. Movie Star by Graham Ibbeson Bronze Unveiled by Cary's widow Barbara Jayes 7 December 2001. Supported by Cary's family, friends and fans.

Millennium Promenade, Bristol, United Kingdom where they was born near (1904)