Friday, August 14, 2015

James Cagney

James Cagney

James_Cagney 

James Cagney AFI’S 50 GREATEST AMERICAN SCREEN LEGEND


Born
James Francis Cagney, Jr. July 17, 1899 New York City, New York, United States
Died
March 30, 1986 (aged 86) Stanford, New York, United States
Cause of death
Resting place
Occupation
Actor, dancer
Years active
1919–1984
Spouse(s)
Frances Vernon (m. 1922; his death 1986)
Children
2


James Francis Cagney, Jr. (July 17, 1899 – March 30, 1986)[1] was an American actor and dancer, both on stage and in film,[2] though he had his greatest impact in film. Known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing, he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances.[3] He is best remembered for playing multi-faceted tough guys in movies like The Public Enemy (1931), Taxi! (1932), Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) andWhite Heat (1949) and was even typecast or limited by this view earlier in his career.[4] In 1999, the American Film Instituteranked him eighth among its 50 Greatest American Screen Legends.[5] Orson Welles said of Cagney that he was "maybe the greatest actor who ever appeared in front of a camera"[6] and Stanley Kubrick considered him to be one of the top 5 best actors of all time.[7] In his first professional acting performance, Cagney danced costumed as a woman in the chorus line of the 1919 revue Every Sailor. He spent several years in vaudeville as a dancer and comedian, until he got his first major acting part in 1925. He secured several other roles, receiving good notices, before landing the lead in the 1929 play Penny Arcade. After rave reviews, Warner Bros. signed him for an initial $500-a-week, three-week contract to reprise his role; this was quickly extended to a seven-year contract. Cagney's seventh film, The Public Enemy, became one of the most influential gangster movies of the period. Notable for a famous scene in which Cagney pushes a grapefruit against his co-star's face, the film thrust him into the spotlight. He became one of Hollywood's biggest stars and one of Warner Brothers' biggest contracts. In 1938, he received his first Academy Award for Best Actor nomination, for Angels with Dirty Faces for his subtle portrayal of the tough guy/man-child Rocky Sullivan. In 1942, Cagney won the Oscar for his energetic portrayal of George M. Cohan in Yankee Doodle Dandy.[8] He was nominated a third time in 1955 for Love Me or Leave Me. Cagney retired from acting and dancing in 1961 to spend time on his farm with his family. He exited retirement, twenty years later, for a part in the 1981 movie Ragtime, mainly to aid his recovery from a stroke.[citation needed] Cagney walked out on Warner Brothers several times over the course of his career, each time returning on much improved personal and artistic terms. In 1935, he sued Warners for breach of contract and won. This was one of the first times an actor prevailed over a studio on a contract issue. He worked for an independent film company for a year while the suit was being settled—and established his own production company, Cagney Productions, in 1942, before returning to Warners four years later. In reference to Cagney's refusal to be pushed around, Jack L. Warner called him "The Professional Againster".[9]Cagney also made numerous morale-boosting troop tours before and during World War II, and was president of the Screen Actors Guild for two years.