Cary Grant

Academy Honorary Award (1970) For his unique mastery of the art of screen acting with the respect and affection of his colleagues.

Early life and career [edit ]

Archibald Alexander Leach was born at 15 Hughenden Road, Horfield. Bristol. England. to Elsie Maria (nГ©e Kingdon) Leach (1877вЂ“1973) and Elias James Leach (1873вЂ“1935). [ 7 ] [ 8 ] An only child, Leach had an unhappy upbringing, attending Bishop Road Primary School. His mother had suffered from clinical depression since the death of a previous child. Her husband placed her in a mental institution and told his 9-year-old son only that she had gone away on a "long holiday". Believing she was dead, Grant did not learn otherwise until he was 31 and discovered her alive in a care facility. [ 9 ] When Grant was 10, his father abandoned him after remarrying and having a baby with his new young wife. [ 10 ]

Grant was expelled from the Fairfield Grammar School in Bristol in 1918. After joining the "Bob Pender Stage Troupe", Leach performed as a stilt walker and traveled with the group to the United States in 1920 at the age of 16 on the RMS Olympic . on a two-year tour of the country. He was processed at Ellis Island on July 28, 1920. [ 11 ]

When the troupe returned to the UK, he decided to stay in the U.S. and continue his stage career. During this time, he became a part of the vaudeville world and toured with Parker, Rand, and Leach. Still using his birth name, he performed on the stage at The Muny in St. Louis. Missouri. in such shows as Irene (1931), Music in May (1931), Nina Rosa (1931), Rio Rita (1931), Street Singer (1931), The Three Musketeers (1931), and Wonderful Night (1931). Leach's experience on stage as a stilt walker, acrobat, juggler, and mime taught him "phenomenal physical grace and exquisite comic timing" and the value of teamwork, skills which would benefit him in Hollywood. [ 9 ]

Grant became a naturalized United States citizen on June 26, 1942, at which time he also legally changed his name from "Archibald Alexander Leach" to "Cary Grant". [ 12 ]

Hollywood stardom [edit ]

After appearing in several musicals on Broadway under the name Archie Leach, [ 13 ] Grant went to Hollywood in 1931. [ 9 ] When told to change his name, he proposed "Cary Lockwood", the name of the character he had played in the Broadway show Nikki. based upon the recent film The Last Flight. He signed with Paramount Pictures. where studio bosses decided that the name "Cary" was acceptable but that "Lockwood" was too similar to another actor's surname. Paramount gave their new actor a list of surnames to choose from, and he selected "Grant" because the initials C and G had already proved lucky for Clark Gable and Gary Cooper. two of Hollywood's biggest film stars.

The Awful Truth (1937) was a pivotal film in Grant's career, establishing for him a screen persona as a sophisticated light comedy leading man. As Grant later wrote, "I pretended to be somebody I wanted to be and I finally became that person. Or he became me. Or we met at some point." [ 9 ] Grant is said to have based his characterization in The Awful Truth on the mannerisms and intonations of the film's director, Leo McCarey. whom he resembled physically. As writer/director Peter Bogdanovich noted, "After The Awful Truth. when it came to light comedy, there was Cary Grant and then everyone else was an also-ran."