Product Description

More than a biography, this is a savvy portrait of how Archie Leach, born to a poor working-class family in Bristol, England became Cary Grant, one of Hollywood's most irresistible and admired celebrities of all time.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #232277 in Books
• Published on: 1998-03-15
• Released on: 1998-03-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Amazon.com Review
Writing with the low-key stylishness his subject deserves, British academic Graham McCann pays tribute to the working-class Englishman who became "a democratic symbol of gentlemanly grace" to moviegoers worldwide. Aptly subtitled "A Class Apart," the book sympathetically depicts Archie Leach--born into poverty, his mother committed to an asylum when he was nine--reinventing himself as Cary Grant, whose debonair screen persona showed no signs of these difficult origins. A decorous account of Grant's private life (McCann dismisses talk of bisexuality as mere rumor) accompanies cogent descriptions of his performances.

From Library Journal
"Everybody wants to be Cary Grant. Even I want to be Cary Grant," said Archie Leach, better known as Hollywood star Cary Grant. A professor at Kings College, Cambridge, and author of biographies on Marilyn Monroe, Woody Allen, and James Dean and Marlon Brando, McCann discovers how that wish came to be at least partially fulfilled. He traces the life of Leach from his 1904 birth in working-class Bristol, England, to his death as Cary Grant on the international lecture circuit in 1986. McCann charts Archie Leach's humble vaudeville beginnings, the invention of Cary Grant in Hollywood, and Leach/ Grant's rise to international fame. He explores personal issues such as Grant's relationship with his mother, his sexuality, his use of LSD, and his World War II spy activities. Though there have been more than ten biographies of Cary Grant, McCann's adds sensitivity, scholarship, and insight to that list. This excellent work will appeal to general readers browsing biography and film collections of both academic and public libraries.?Lisa N. Johnston, Sweet Briar Coll. Lib., Va.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
"Everybody wants to be Cary Grant," Cary Grant once said. "Even I want to be Cary Grant." "Cary Grant" was a brilliantly realized invention, embodying grace, charm, and elegance for moviegoers over the course of four decades. McCann's biography shows how working-class Archie Leach transformed himself into Cary Grant. Unlike many self-made successes, Grant never renounced his humble origins but incorporated them into his persona. As a result, he became, McCann says, a "democratic gentleman," at ease in any element, who shone in both serious dramas and screwball comedies and, unlike most male stars, appealed equally to men and women. In laying out the facts and events of Grant's life and career, from the British music hall through Hollywood eminence to 20 years of retirement, McCann relies almost entirely on previously published works (there are nearly 70 pages of notes) and skeptically reports more sensational biographers' allegations of Grant's homosexuality. McCann's outstanding achievement is his analysis of Grant's singular and lasting appeal as a classy but classless star. Gordon Flagg

Customer Reviews

A good book for a great man
Though I've seen quite a few of Cary Grant's movies, this is the first biography on him that I've read. I was quite impressed with the book. Since I had seen tv documentaries and read a little about Cary on the internet, I was familiar with his life but this helped flesh out the details. Cary Grant's rise to stardom is probably one of the most unlikely and fascinating stories of Hollywood. As a young boy (age 9) his mother was suddenly taken from him and Cary was left to assume that she'd died or abandoned him. As any psychologist can tell you, this would be a huge impact on anybody's life. The rest of the story, Archie Leach (CG's real name) turning into Cary Grant is interesting and the anecdotes related throughout the book give a good sense of Cary's character. He is shown to be a caring, private, and humorous man in real life as he was on the screen. He had his troubles as well and this book deals with those excellently. It doesn't gloss over bad parts in Grant's life. I would have appreciated more stories illustrating Grant's character and more background on his marriages (the author states the facts about how he met his wives, when they were married, and when they were divorced, but not much more). All in all, it is an excellent biography, not the sleazy type at all, and a fitting tribute to one of the greatest actor's the world has known. I plan on reading more about the fascinating life of Cary Grant.

Graceful and with substance - like it's subject.
Indeed a very worthwhile read for Grant fans, film scholars, and biography readers in general. It is neither a white-wash nor hatchet job of the actor. It is honest, straightforward, and engagingly written. A model biography.

High quality writing, which makes for a terrific reading
I like this book, because it is written by a man, who knows his craft. Nowadays, everyone seems to write biographies, but not everyone succeeds. Presence of humor throughout this book goes to show that CG had a very special sence of humor, that we can all enjoy from reading about him. Then, of course, there are the pictures... Who can resist a book full of CG's pictures?... After all he has been unanimously voted "the most dashing man of Hollywood". Overall, this book talks in depth about CG's life, from his Bristol childhhod to the last years in America. Many quotes from the man himself (as well as from people, who knew him in Hollywood) are also inlcuded.