CARY GRANT
Information from IMDb
Date of Birth
18 January 1904,
Horfield, Bristol, England, UK
Date of Death
29 November 1986,
Davenport, Iowa, USA (cerebral hemorrhage)
Birth Name
Archibald Alexander Leach
Height
6' 1½" (1.87 m)
Spouse
Barbara Harris (11 April 1981 - 29 November 1986) (his death)
Dyan Cannon (22 July 1965 - 21 March 1968) (divorced) 1 daughter
Betsy Drake (25 December 1949 - 13 August 1962) (divorced)
Barbara Hutton (8 July 1942 - 30 August 1945) (divorced)
Virginia Cherrill (9 February 1934 - 26 March 1935) (divorced)
Trade Mark
Mid-Atlantic accent
Often played a handsome bachelor
Roles in romantic comedies
Chin dimple
Trivia
Ranked #7 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]
His only child is Jennifer Grant whose mother is Dyan Cannon.
Ian Fleming modeled the James Bond character partially with Grant in mind.
Suffered a major stroke prior to performing in his one man show "An Evening With Cary Grant" at the Adler Theater in Davenport, Iowa, on November 29, 1986. Died later that night at St. Luke's Hospital at 11:22 p.m.
From 1932-1942, he shared a house with Randolph Scott, whom he met on _Hot Saturday_(1932)_. Scott often jokingly referred to Grant as his spouse. The 1940 census report shows Scott as head of household and Grant as his partner. Many studio heads threatened not to employ them together, unless they lived separately. Grant's marriage to Barbara Hutton permanently dissolved his living arrangement with Scott.
Ashes scattered in California, USA.
He gave his entire fee for The Philadelphia Story (1940) to the British war effort.
He once phoned hotel mogul Conrad Hilton in Istanbul, Turkey, to find out why his breakfast order at the Plaza Hotel, which called for muffins, came with only one and a half English muffins instead of two. When Grant insisted that the explanation (a hotel efficiency report had found that most people ate only three of the four halves brought to them) still resulted in being cheated out of a half, the Plaza Hotel changed its policy and began serving two complete muffins with breakfast. From then on, Grant often spoke of forming an English Muffin-Lovers Society, members of which would be required to report any hotel or restaurant that listed muffins on the menu and then served fewer than two.
Turned down the role of James Bond in Dr. No (1962), believing himself to be too old at 58 to play the character.
Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#22). [1995]
Donated his entire salary for Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) ($100,000) to the U.S. War Relief Fund.
Refused the part of Humbert in Lolita (1962).
He never said "Judy, Judy, Judy" in the movies, which he credits to Larry Storch, but he did say "Susan, Susan, Susan" in Bringing Up Baby (1938).
Was a great fan of Elvis Presley, and attended his Las Vegas shows. He is seen discussing Elvis' performance with him backstage during the closing credits of "That's The Way It Is" (1970).
On American Film Institute's list of top 100 U.S. love stories, compiled in June 2002, Grant led all actors with six of his films on the list. His An Affair to Remember (1957) was ranked #5; followed by: #44 The Philadelphia Story (1940) #46 To Catch a Thief (1955) #51 Bringing Up Baby (1938) #77 The Awful Truth (1937) #86 Notorious (1946)
Pictured on a 37¢ USA commemorative postage stamp in the Legends of Hollywood series, issued 15 October 2002.
Grant, who was 59 at the time he filmed the romantic thriller Charade (1963), felt he was too old to play the love interest for Audrey Hepburn, who at 34 was 25 years younger than him. He demanded that the script make clear that it was Audrey pursuing him, not vice versa. He also added a number of wry jokes denoting the difference in age.
Turned down roles opposite Audrey Hepburn in both Roman Holiday (1953) and Sabrina (1954); later he starred with her in Charade (1963). In Roman Holiday (1953), the offered role ended up going to Gregory Peck, and the role in Sabrina (1954) went to Humphrey Bogart.
Although he became a Paramount contract player early in his film career, when the contract was up, he made an unusual decision for the time: he decided to freelance. Because his films were so successful at the box office, he was able to work at any studio he chose for the majority of his career.
Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith, pg. 191-193. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387
Thanks mainly to the strength and physical dexterity he gained as an acrobat when he was young, he did a majority of his own stunts during his film career (far more than people would think).
Douglas Fairbanks was his boyhood idol, with Fairbanks' "healthy" tan being the inspiration for Grant's constantly dark skin.
He remained close to Barbara Hutton's son Lance Reventlow after their divorce. The boy regularly stayed with Grant on some weekends. Grant referred to him as his son, was devastated when he died in a plane crash and helped Barbara with the funeral arrangements.
People were surprised by his retirement in 1966 and, despite the attempts of directors as important as Howard Hawks, Billy Wilder, and even Stanley Kubrick to get him out of retirement and into their films, he never worked again.
Paramount Studios named him Cary Grant while he began his film career, because the similarity of the name to Gary Cooper, their biggest male star, (C.G. being an inversion of G.C.) and possibly because Clark Gable had the same initials. Gable and Cooper were born with their last names, however, with Grant having been born Archibald Leach.
Was named #2 on The Greatest Screen Legends actor list by the American Film Institute.
According to his will (dated 26th November 1984), his body was to be cremated and no funeral service held. His ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean.
He was voted the 6th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
The late Christopher Reeve said that he based his portrayal of Clark Kent in the Superman films on Grant in the early part of his career.
In His Girl Friday (1940), his character remarks, "Archie Leach said that", a reference to his real name.
Was hyperopic or "far-sighted." That is why in many publicity stills, he is seen holding a pair of glasses.
John Cleese's character in A Fish Called Wanda (1988) was named "Archie Leach" after Grant's real name.
Was largely self-educated as he had dropped out of school at age 14. He was, however, a voracious reader throughout life.
Comedy director Leo McCarey accused him of ripping off his persona during the time that they shot The Awful Truth (1937) and using it as his own to become world-famous. What McCarey failed to notice was that many aspects of Cary's image were already developed in Sylvia Scarlett (1935) an otherwise poor Katharine Hepburn-George Cukor picture made 2 years before The Awful Truth (1937), and that his comic timing and versatility as an actor were all his own. Although ill at ease about it, they collaborated again several times.
Often spoke of his relationship with Sophia Loren as one of the most passionate romances in his life.
Was still in love with Sophia Loren when it came time for them to film Houseboat (1958). She went to director Melville Shavelson, in tears, complaining that Grant was chasing her again - she had told Grant she was in love with Carlo Ponti, but he didn't believe her.
Fell madly in love with Sophia Loren while filming The Pride and the Passion (1957) when he was 53 and she was 22, despite the fact that he was married to actress Betsy Drake. However, Loren was seriously involved with producer Carlo Ponti, and her passion fizzled when the film wrapped.
When Sophia Loren visited Los Angeles during the filming of An Affair to Remember (1957), Grant inundated her with dozens of phone calls and hundreds of flowers - even though she had called the affair off.
Participated in an experimental psychotherapy program in which he was prescribed LSD. Betsy Drake encouraged him to take the drug (as part of a medical experiment), as he wanted to examine his failed marriages. He underwent about 100 sessions, and said that he benefited greatly from them.
Premiere Magazine ranked him as the #1 Movie Star of All Time in their "Stars in Our Constellation" feature (2005).
Maintained a year-round suntan to avoid wearing make up.
Became the director of Fabergé cosmetics firm in 1966.
Alfred Hitchcock once toyed with the idea of casting him as Hamlet (in what would have been a modern-dress film version of Shakespeare's play), but he never got around to it.
In 1957, he accepted the Oscar for "Best Actress in a Leading Role" on behalf of Ingrid Bergman, who wasn't present at the awards ceremony
Is portrayed by John Gavin in Sophia Loren: Her Own Story (1980) (TV) and by Michael-John Wolfe in The Aviator (2004)
Replaced James Stewart as the hapless ad man "Roger Thornhill" in North by Northwest (1959). Stewart very much wanted the part, but director Alfred Hitchcock decided not to cast him because of the box office failure of Vertigo (1958), which Hitchcock unfairly blamed on Stewart for looking "too old" and chose Grant, instead. In reality, Grant was four years older than Stewart.
Was the original choice to play "Rupert Cadell" in Rope (1948), but he was unavailable, so the part went to James Stewart, instead (whom Grant would later replace as the lead in North by Northwest (1959)). Rope (1948) features references to Grant and the earlier Hitchcock film he appeared in, Notorious (1946) with Ingrid Bergman.
Introduced First Lady Betty Ford at the Republican National Convention in 1976.
On April 18, 1947, King George VI awarded Grant the King's Medal for Service in the Cause of Freedom, citing his "outstanding service to the British War Relief Society."
His performance as T.R. Devlin in "Notorious" (1946) is ranked #16 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).
His performance as Dr. David Huxley in Bringing Up Baby (1938) is ranked #68 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).
His favorite after-shave was Acqua Di Parma.
When his daughter Jennifer was born, he gave wife Dyan Cannon a diamond and sapphire bracelet as a keepsake.
He had one of his daughter Jennifer's first baby teeth encased in Lucite.
Writer Sidney Sheldon used Grant as the prototype for Rhys Williams, a character in the novel "Bloodline."
One of his favorite poems was a bit of doggerel: "They bought me a box of tin soldiers,/I threw all the Generals away,/I smashed up the Sergents and Majors,/Now I play with my Privates all day."
He was a big baseball fan, originally supporting the New York Giants and then the L.A. Dodgers.
At one time, he owned a Sealyham terrier called Archie Leach.
He became an American Citizen on June 26, 1942, under naturalization certificate #5502057.
As a child, he had a fear of knives and a fear of heights.
He always wore a gold chain around his neck with three charms attached. The three charms represented the religions of each of his former wives: a St. Christopher for Virginia Cherrill (Roman Catholic), a small cross for Barbara Hutton and Betsy Drake (Protestants), and a Star of David for Dyan Cannon (Jewish. (Donaldson)
Was considered one of the best-dressed men in the United States of America. George Francis Frazier, Jr., in "The Art of Wearing Clothes" (published in 'Esquire' magazine, September 1960), wrote "Although Grant, who is fifty-six, favors such abominations as large tie knots and claims to have originated the square-style breast-pocket handkerchief, he is so extraordinarily attractive that he looks good in practically anything. He insists upon tight armholes in his suit jackets, finds the most comfortable (and functional) of all underwear to be women's nylon panties." Other best-dressed American men cited in the article were Miles Davis, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Clark Gable and Walter Pidgeon.
If you look closely at his teeth, you'll find that he only has one incisor (front tooth). Apparently when he was a boy he knocked out a tooth while ice skating. Rather than get into trouble with his father, he opted to go to a nearby dental college and have them gradually push his other teeth together to fill in the gap. Only one person (an eagle-eyed cinematographer) ever noticed and mentioned it to him. It's described in depth in the book "Evenings with Cary Grant".
Hated his performance in Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), saying it was way too over the top and that it was his least favorite film.
Was the only actor Alfred Hitchcock was said to "love." Hitch said that James Stewart was the "everyman", but never cast Stewart after Vertigo (1958) flopped, which he blamed on Stewart now looking too old to draw in the crowds. Ironically, Grant was actually four years older than Stewart.
Initally accepted his role in Houseboat (1958) because he was dating Sophia Loren, whom he was madly in love with. After she went and married someone else, Cary, heartbroken, wanted to back out. He couldn't, but the director made sure the production was a smooth one.
Initially refused Stanley Donen's offer to appear in Charade (1963), but-realizing that it was a great part-accepted it after a while. He made one stipulation: Audrey Hepburn had to chase him, not visa-versa.
Was very hurt when he lost his two Academy Award nominations, particularly None But the Lonely Heart (1944), which he thought was his best performance. This is why he was so excited when he accepted his Honarary Academy Award in 1970.
Said Indiscreet (1958), to be his personal favorite film.
He gave serious consideration to retiring in 1953, because he believed the success of Marlon Brando and Method acting meant his own kind of acting was a thing of the past. Eighteen months later he was lured back to make To Catch a Thief (1955), and therefore delayed his retirement until 1966.
Maintained good physical health until becoming ill with high blood pressure in the late 1970s. In October 1984 he suffered a minor stroke, which limited his appearances thereafter.
Received Kennedy Center honors in November 1981. President Ronald Reagan wrote how pleased he was to be able to honor his friend, while Grant stated that he was glad James Stewart was at the ceremony.
Held a press conference announcing his retirement from acting early in 1953, saying he was very angry over Hollywood's treatment of director Charles Chaplin, who had recently been blacklisted for his liberal political beliefs.
Attended the state funeral of his friend Earl Louis Mountbatten of Burma at Westminster Abbey in August 1979, and openly wept during the service.
Alfred Hitchcock originally planned to cast Grant in the role of the publisher and Montgomery Clift as Brandon Rope (1948). However the established homosexual relationship between Leopold and Loeb, and the tacit recognition of a similar tie between Hamilton's killers, persuaded Grant and Clift to steer clear of the project to avoid long term commercial repercussions.
His final appearance at the Academy Awards was in 1985 to present James Stewart with an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement.
Although fifty when To Catch a Thief (1955) was filmed, Grant was still playing a character of thirty-five.
He never played a villain.
Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume Two, 1986-1990, pages 346-348. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999.
After being widely criticized for playing the romantic lead in To Catch a Thief (1955) opposite the 26-years-younger younger Grace Kelly, Grant resolved never to play such a part again. He turned down Gregory Peck's role in Arabesque (1966) opposite Sophia Loren.
Although he had been considered a liberal during his career, after his retirement from acting he emerged as a major supporter of Richard Nixon in the late 1960s.
Smoked up to 60 cigarettes a day until 1952, when his third wife Betsy made him give up in order to protect his voice. However, she recalled occasionally catching him smoking outside the house, so he probably never stopped completely.
Considered for the leading role of "Ladri di biciclette" (1948).
Grant eagerly sought William Holden's role in The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), but the producers decided he wasn't right for the part, and in any case they felt he was too old at 53.
He was director Howard Hawks's first choice to play the lead in Man's Favorite Sport? (1964), but he turned it down because he was 59 and leading lady Paula Prentiss was 25 years old.
Turned down the role of gunfighter Cherry Valance, which was to have been much larger, in Howard Hawks' epic western Red River (1948) opposite John Wayne and Montgomery Clift. The part went to John Ireland instead.
Was very close friends with Ingrid Bergman, his co-star in both Indiscreet (1958) and Notorious (1946). Grant was one of the few who supported her throughout her notorious affair with Rossellini, and while Bergman was in exile in Italy he accepted her Best Actress Oscar in 1958.
Always cited his To Catch a Thief (1955) co-star Grace Kelly as his favorite leading lady. He attended her state funeral in 1982 and wept throughout the televised service.
At the time of his death, his estate was valued at $60 million.
His mother died in January 1973 at the age of 94.
Underwent a hernia operation in the spring of 1977.
Had a benign tumor removed from his forehead in 1957.
Became seriously ill with infectious hepatitis and jaundice in 1948, and doctors gave him a less than ten per cent chance of survival. The problem was the damage that years of heavy drinking had done to his liver. Grant took more than six months to recover.
Eagerly sought the role of Midshipman Roger Byam in Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), but the part went to Franchot Tone instead.
Turned down James Mason's role in A Star Is Born (1954).
Turned down James Mason's role in Lolita (1962) because he considered the film "depraved".
He turned down the role of Professor Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady (1964) because he felt he would either not be as good as Rex Harrison, who had originated the part on the London stage and on Broadway, or he would be accused of imitating Harrison. He told producer Jack L. Warner that unless Harrison was cast, he would not even go to see the film.
In later years he always said the character he played in Father Goose (1964) came closest to his real self.
He and his fifth wife Barbara Harris renewed their wedding vows on 11 April 1986, the fifth anniversary of their marriage.
In 1999 he was named the second Greatest Male Star of All Time of American cinema, after Humphrey Bogart, by the American Film Institute.
For a scene in The Grass Is Greener (1960), he refused to wear a smoking jacket, fearing he would immediately lose the support of the audience if he were seen dressed like that. The director later recalled that an old-fashioned kind of comedy had died that day, and it never came back.
After The Tree of Liberty (1940) flopped at the box office, Grant turned down all offers for historical epics until The Pride and the Passion (1957), which was also a failure.
He initially decided to end his 1953 retirement just to make To Catch a Thief (1955). When the film proved to be a huge success he agreed to make further films.
In March 1968 he was involved in a serious car crash in New York, but fortunately escaped with only minor injuries.
Elton John recalled that one of the highlights of his 1976 tour of the United States was meeting Grant backstage after a concert.
For several years he had toyed with the idea of playing Hamlet in an attempt to prove to his critics that he could act. This idea was finally scuppered by Laurence Olivier's film Hamlet (1948).
He actively sought James Stewart's role in Bell Book and Candle (1958), and Clark Gable's role in Teacher's Pet (1958).
In keeping with his wishes, there was no funeral service.
Cary Grant and Charlton Heston attended a dinner at 10 Downing Street honoring the then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, whom they both greatly admired. Afterward Heston said to his wife Lydia, "You know I sat next to Mrs Thatcher." She replied, "That's nothing - I got to sit next to Cary Grant!".
He voted for Richard Nixon in 1968 and 1972, Gerald Ford in 1976 and Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984.
Once shared a house with his close friend Noel Coward early in his Hollywood career.
He considered himself to be miscast in The Tree of Liberty (1940), None But the Lonely Heart (1944) and The Pride and the Passion (1957).
Once lived with the silent movie star William Haines.
Alfred Hitchcock told 'Francois Truffaut' that Grant, unlike James Stewart, would have been willing to play a villain. Before he was a star, Stewart (unlike Grant) once actually played an out-and-out villain, in After the Thin Man (1936). The closest Grant came was the original version of Suspicion (1941), directed by Hitchcock, in which Grant's character poisoned his wife, but the film was recut so that Grant wouldn't be a bad guy.
His daughter, Jennifer Grant, gave birth to a son, Cary Benjamin Grant on August 12th, 2008.
Loved performing on network radio, where he often got to perform in roles different from his screen persona. He once told the producers of the radio series "Suspense," "Invite me back, invite me back.".
Grant was nearly 34 when he made Bringing Up Baby (1938) and had been worried that he might not ever become a major star, since younger actors like Errol Flynn and James Stewart were already established stars.
In 1968, he and fellow actor and friend Michael Caine were walking together and a fan approached them, only recognizing Caine. At the end of the conversation, the fan turned to Grant and commented how accommodating today's film stars are with the public, to which Grant nodded in agreement.
He can be seen in the audience and backstage in the Elvis Presley concert documentary Elvis: That's the Way It Is (1970).
Made a public appeal for gun control following the assassination of his friend Robert F. Kennedy in June 1968.
He strongly disliked Method acting.
Was a very good friend of Frederique "Quique" Jourdan, the wife of Louis Jourdan.
Grant introduced Frederick Brisson to future wife Rosalind Russell and acted as his best man at their marriage.
Has eight films on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 Funniest Movies: Bringing Up Baby (1938) at #14, The Philadelphia Story (1940) at #15, His Girl Friday (1940) at #19, Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) at #30, Topper (1937) at #60, The Awful Truth (1937) at #68, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) at #72 and She Done Him Wrong (1933) at #75.
Ran away from home at 13 to join a mime troupe. His father tracked him down and brought him home, but he ran away again and rejoined the troupe.
He kept himself slender and fit until he retired acting, never weighing above 180 pounds.
Was once engaged to Queenie Smith.
Unlike several other major movie stars in his day, including James Stewart, John Wayne, Gary Cooper, etc., Grant never went bald and never needed to wear a toupee. Although he did dye his hair back to its natural black color when it started to gray in the 1950s. When he retired from acting in the 1960s, he stopped dying his hair and his hair was all-white by the time of his passing.
Mini Biography
Once told by an interviewer, "Everybody would like to be Cary Grant," Grant is said to have replied, "So would I." His early years in Bristol, England, would have been an ordinary lower-middle-class childhood except for one extraordinary event. At age nine, he came home from school one day and was told his mother had gone off to a seaside resort. The real truth, however, was that she had been placed in a mental institution, where she would remain for years, and he was never told about it (he wouldn't see his mother again until he was in his late 20s). He left school at 14, lying about his age and forging his father's signature on a letter to join Bob Pender's troupe of knockabout comedians. He learned pantomime as well as acrobatics as he toured with the Pender troupe in the English provinces, picked up a Cockney accent in the music halls in London, and then in July 1920, was one of the eight Pender boys selected to go to the US. Their show on Broadway, "Good Times," ran for 456 performances, giving Grant time to acclimatize. He would stay in America. Mae West wanted Grant for She Done Him Wrong (1933) because she saw his combination of virility, sexuality and the aura and bearing of a gentleman. Grant was young enough to begin the new career of fatherhood when he stopped making movies at age 62. One biographer said Grant was alienated by the new realism in the film industry. In the 1950s and early 1960s, he had invented a man-of-the-world persona and a style--"high comedy with polished words." In To Catch a Thief (1955), he and Grace Kelly were allowed to improvise some of the dialogue. They knew what the director, Alfred Hitchcock, wanted to do with a scene, they rehearsed it, put in some clever double entendres that got past the censors, and then the scene was filmed. His biggest box-office success was another Hitchcock 1950s film, North by Northwest (1959) made with Eva Marie Saint since Kelly was by that time Princess of Monaco.
IMDb Mini Biography By: Dale O'Connor
Personal Quotes
[responding to a wire from a reporter inquiring, 'How old Cary Grant?'] Old Cary Grant fine. How you?
I have spent the greater part of my life fluctuating between Archie Leach and Cary Grant, unsure of each, suspecting each.
Everybody wants to be Cary Grant. Even I want to be Cary Grant.
[About Burt Reynolds] As well as being my, and the world's favorite light comedian, Burt is a very considerate and thoughtful man.
My screen persona is a combination of Jack Buchanan, Noel Coward and Rex Harrison. I pretended to be somebody I wanted to be, and, finally, I became that person. Or he became me.
I improve on misquotation.
Divorce is a game played by lawyers.
To succeed with the opposite sex, tell her you are impotent; she can't wait to disprove it.
The only really good thing about acting is that there's no heavy lifting.
[1970 Honorary Oscar acceptance speech] You know that I may never look at this without remembering the quiet patience of directors who were so kind to me, who were kind enough to put up with me more than once, some of them even three or four times. I trust they and all the other directors, writers and producers and my leading women have forgiven me for what I didn't know. You know that I've never been a joiner or a member of any particular social set, but I've been privileged to be a part of Hollywood's most glorious era.
My formula for living is quite simple. I get up in the morning and I go to bed at night. In between, I occupy myself as best I can.
My father used to say, "Let them see you and not the suit. That should be secondary."
Mostly, we have manufactured ladies--- with the exception of Ingrid [Ingrid Bergman], Grace [Grace Kelly], Deborah [Deborah Kerr] and Audrey [Audrey Hepburn].
It takes 500 small details to add up to one favorable impression.
Actors today try to avoid comedy because if you write a comedy that's not a success, the lack of success is immediately apparent because the audience is not laughing. A comedy is a big risk. This is a tremendously costly business and to put money into a picture that might not come off -- oh, that's pretty risky.
This, I love. I enjoy talking back and forth to people. You know, otherwise, I wouldn't get to meet the people.
I tell you, in films, one doesn't really meet the audience. You don't get the impact or spirit of your audience, whereas when you are out in the public, you do.'
I've often been accused by critics of being myself on-screen. But being oneself is more difficult than you'd suppose.
It's important to know where you've come from so that you can know where you're going. I probably chose my profession because I was seeking approval, adulation, admiration and affection.
[on Irene Dunne] Her timing was marvelous. She was so good that she made comedy look easy. If she'd made it look as difficult as it really is, she would have won her Oscar.
I know they nicknamed us "Cash and Cary", but I never asked Barbara Hutton for a penny. I never married a woman for money, that's the God's truth. I may not have married for very sound reasons, but money was the least of them.
[on his many marriages] It seems that each new marriage is more difficult to survive than the last one. I'm rather a fool for punishment--I keep going back for more, don't ask me why.
[Charles Chaplin] is waiting a long time at a trolley car stop. He's the first in line of what turns out to be a huge crowd. The trolley finally arrives, he's the first one on, but then the crowd behind him surges through the door and pushes him right through the door on the other side. And that's a lot like what Hollywood is like. When you're a young man, Douglas Fairbanks Sr. is driving. Wallace Beery is the conductor, and Charles Chaplin's got a front-row seat. You take your seat, and back behind you is Gary Cooper. He has got his long feet stuck out in front of one of the exit doors, and people keep tripping over him and onto the street. Suddenly a young man named Tyrone Power gets on. He asks you to move over. You make a picture with Joan Fontaine. You think you do a good job, but she wins the Oscar, and you get nothing. And pretty soon more and more people get on, it's getting very crowded, and then you decide to get off. When you get off the trolley, you notice that it's been doing nothing but going around in circles. It doesn't go anywhere. You see the same things over and over. So you might as well get off.
[on Katharine Hepburn] She was this slip of a woman and I never liked skinny women. But she had this thing, this air you might call it, the most totally magnetic women I'd ever seen, and probably ever seen since. You had to look at her, you had to listen to her, there was no escaping her.
For more than thirty years of my life I had smoked with increasing habit. I was finally separated from the addiction by Betsy [wife Betsy Drake], who, after carefully studying hypnosis, practiced it, with my full permission and trust, as I was going off to sleep one night. She sat in a chair near the bed and, in a quiet, calm voice, rhythmically repeated what I inwardly knew to be true, the fact that smoking was not good for me; and, as my conscious mind relaxed and no longer cared to offer a negative thought, her words sank into my subconscious; and the following day, to my surprise I had no need or wish to smoke. Nor have I smoked since. Nor have I, as far as I know, replaced it with any other harmful habit.
Everyone tells me I've had such an interesting life, but sometimes I think it's been nothing but stomach disturbances and self-concern.
I think making love is the best form of exercise.
I'd like to have made one of those big splashy Technicolor musicals with Rita Hayworth.
There are only seven movie stars in the world whose name alone will induce American bankers to lend money for movie productions, and the only woman on the list is Ingrid Bergman.
[1980] I have nothing against gays, I'm just not one myself.
[1965] I don't like to see men of my age making love on the screen. Being a father will make me more free than I have ever been. It will be a great experience. I can't wait.
[1851] There is no doubt I am aging. My format of comedy is still the same as ever. I gravitate toward scripts that put me in an untenable position. Then the rest of the picture is spent in trying to squirm out of it. Naturally, I always get the girl in the end. It may appear old-fashioned. There seems to be a trend toward satirical comedy, like The Apartment (1960). Perhaps it is because young writers today feel satirical living in a world that seems headed for destruction.
I can't portray Bing Crosby, I'm Cary Grant. I'm myself in that role. The most difficult thing is to be yourself - especially when you know it's going to be seen immediately by 300 million people.
The secret of comedy is doing it naturally under the most difficult circumstances. And film comedy is the most difficult of all. At least on stage you know right away if you're getting laughs or not. But making a movie, you have no way of knowing. So you try to time the thing for space and length and can only hope when it plays in the movie theaters months later that you have timed the thing right. It's difficult and it takes experience. I'll always remember the great actor, A.E. Matthews, who said on his death bed, "Dying's tough--but not as tough as comedy".
[Charles Chaplin] has given great pleasure to millions of people, and I hope he returns to Hollywood. Personally, I don't think he is a Communist, but whatever his political affiliations, they are secondary to the fact that he is a great entertainer. We should not go off the deep end.
[on Betsy Drake] Betsy was a delightful comedienne, but I don't think Hollywood was ever really her milieu. She wanted to help humanity, to help others help themselves.
[1981] I have no plans to write an autobiography, I will leave that to others. I'm sure they will turn me into a homosexual or a Nazi spy or something else.
[1983] I asked James Stewart recently if he had thought about dying. He said he hadn't at all. But I have.
My intention in taking LSD was to make myself happy. A man would be a fool to take something that didn't make him happy. I took it with a group of men, one of whom was Aldous Huxley. We deceived ourselves by calling it therapy, but we were truly interested in how this chemical could help humanity. I found it a very enlightening experience, but it's like alcohol in one respect: a shot of brandy can save your life, but a bottle of brandy can kill you.
If I had known then what I know now, if I had not been so utterly stupid, I would have had a hundred children and I would have built a ranch to keep them on.
Look at it this way, I've always tried to dress well. I've had some success in life. I've enjoyed my success and I include in that success some relationships with very special women. If someone wants to say I'm gay, what can I do? I think it's probably said about every man who's been known to do well with women. I don't let that sort of thing bother me. What matters to me is that I know who I am.
I have no rapport with the new idols of the screen, and that includes Marlon Brando and his style of Method acting. It certainly includes Montgomery Clift and that God-awful James Dean. Some producer should cast all three of them in the same movie and let them duke it out. When they've finished each other off, James Stewart, Spencer Tracy and I will return and start making real movies again like we used to.
When a young fellow like Louis Jourdan moves in on your field, you take stock of your assets and liabilities. It make you nervous.
Hollywood is very much like a streetcar. Once a new star is made and comes aboard, an old is edged out of the rear exit. There's room for only so many and no more.
[on aging] When people tell you how young you look, they are also telling you how old you are.
Salary
This Is the Night (1932) $450/week
Sinners in the Sun (1932) $450/week
North by Northwest (1959) $450,000 (plus $315,000 overtime and percentage of gross profit)
Operation Petticoat (1959) $3,000,000 (including his percentage of the gross profits.)
That Touch of Mink (1962) $4,000,000 (including his percentage of the gross profits.)
Filmography
1966 Walk Don't Run...Sir William Rutland
1964 Father Goose...Walter
1963 Charade...Peter Joshua
1962 That Touch of Mink...Philip Shayne
1960 The Grass Is Greener...Victor Rhyall, Earl
1959 Operation Petticoat...Lt. Cmdr. Matt T. Sherman
1959 North by Northwest...Roger O. Thornhill
1958 Houseboat...Tom Winters
1958 Indiscreet...Philip Adams
1957 Kiss Them for Me...Cmdr. Andy Crewson
1957 The Pride and the Passion...Anthony
1957 An Affair to Remember...Nickie Ferrante
1955 To Catch a Thief...John Robie
1953 Dream Wife...Clemson Reade
1952 Monkey Business...Dr. Barnaby Fulton
1952 Room for One More...George 'Poppy' Rose
1951 People Will Talk...Dr. Noah Praetorius
1950 Crisis...Dr. Eugene Norland Ferguson
1949 You Can't Sleep Here...Capt. Henri Rochard
1948 Every Girl Should Be Married...Dr. Madison Brown
1948 Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House...Jim Blandings
1947 The Bishop's Wife...Dudley
1947 Bachelor Knight...Dick
1946 Notorious...Devlin
1946 Night and Day...Cole Porter
1944 None But the Lonely Heart...Ernie Mott
1944 Arsenic and Old Lace...Mortimer Brewster
1944 Once Upon a Time...Jerry Flynn
1943 Destination Tokyo...Capt. Cassidy
1943 Mr. Lucky...Joe Adams/Joe Bascopolous
1942 Once Upon a Honeymoon...Patrick 'Pat' O'Toole
1942 The Talk of the Town...Leopold Dilg - Joseph
1941 Suspicion...Johnnie
1941 Penny Serenade...Roger Adams
1940 The Philadelphia Story...C.K. Dexter Haven
1940 The Tree of Liberty...Matt Howard
1940 My Favorite Wife...Nick
1940 His Girl Friday...Walter Burns
1939 In Name Only...Alec Walker
1939 Only Angels Have Wings...Geoff Carter
1939 Gunga Din...Cutter
1938 Holiday...Johnny Case
1938 Bringing Up Baby...David
1937 The Awful Truth...Jerry Warriner
1937 The Toast of New York...Nick Boyd
1937 Topper...George Kerby
1937 For You Alone...Jimmy Hudson
1936 Wedding Present...Charlie Mason
1936 The Amazing Quest of Ernest Bliss...Ernest Bliss
1936 Fashions in Love (short)
1936 Suzy...Andre
1936 Big Brown Eyes...Det. Sgt. Danny Barr
1935 Sylvia Scarlett...Jimmy Monkley
1935 The Last Outpost...Michael Andrews
1935 Wings in the Dark...Ken Gordon
1935 Enter Madame...Gerald Fitzgerald
1934 Ladies Should Listen...Julian De Lussac
1934 Kiss and Make-Up...Dr. Maurice Lamar
1934 Born to Be Bad...Malcolm Trevor
1934 Thirty Day Princess...Porter Madison III
1933 Alice in Wonderland...Mock Turtle
1933 I'm No Angel...Jack Clayton
1933 Gambling Ship...Ace Corbin
1933 The Eagle and the Hawk...Henry Crocker
1933 The Woman Accused...Jeffrey Baxter
1933 She Done Him Wrong...Captain Cummings
1932 Madame Butterfly...Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton
1932 Hot Saturday...Romer Sheffield
1932 Blonde Venus...Nick Townsend
1932 Devil and the Deep...Lt. Jaeckel
1932 Merrily We Go to...Charlie Baxter/'DeBrion' in play
1932 Singapore Sue (short)...First Sailor (uncredited)
1932 Sinners in the Sun...Ridgeway
1932 This Is the Night...Stephen Mathewson
