Cary Grant

Cary Grant (1904-1986), British-born American motion-picture actor, known for his urbane and debonair manner. He was born Alexander Archibald Leach in Bristol, England. After touring the United States in 1920 with an English theatrical company, he worked in vaudeville and subsequently became a leading musical-comedy actor in New York City. In 1932 he went to Hollywood, California, where he appeared that year in seven films, including This Is the Night. He then appeared in a long series of romantic and sophisticated comedies that established his reputation as one of Hollywood's leading men. He became an American citizen in 1942. Films in which Grant starred include She Done Him Wrong (1933), with Mae West; Topper (1937), The Awful Truth (1937); Holiday (1938) and The Philadelphia Story (1940), both with Katharine Hepburn; None but the Lonely Heart (1944), a brooding drama that he coproduced with David Hempstead; The Bishop's Wife (1947); Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948); An Affair to Remember (1957); Houseboat (1958); Charade (1963); and Walk, Don't Run (1966).

Grant was a favorite of director Alfred Hitchcock, who first starred him in Suspicion (1941) and later in Notorious (1946), To Catch a Thief (1955), and North by Northwest (1959); the latter film was perhaps their greatest collaboration. Grant also worked repeatedly with director Howard Hawks, for whom he made such films as Bringing Up Baby, (1938) Only Angels Have Wings (1939), His Girl Friday (1940), I Was a Male War Bride (1951), and Monkey Business (1952). In 1970 he received a special Academy Award for his contribution to films.