Job Actor, dancer
Years active 1919-84
Known for Quintessential "tough guy"; gangsters; rapid-fire speaking voice and a brutally hostile manner
Top Roles Bottom, the Weaver, George M. Cohan, John Jones, Eddie Bartlett, Jack
Top GenresDrama, Comedy, Romance, Crime, Action, Musical
Top TopicsGangsters, True Story (based on), Book-Based
Top Collaborators (Producer), (Producer), (Producer), (Producer)
Shares birthday with Phyllis Diller, Stanley Ridges, Barbara O'Neil  see more..

James Cagney Overview:

Legendary actor, James Cagney, was born James Francis Cagney on Jul 17, 1899 in New York City, NY. Cagney appeared in over 65 film and TV roles. His best known films include The Public Enemy, Blonde Crazy, Angels with Dirty Faces, The Roaring Twenties, The Strawberry Blonde, Yankee Doodle Dandy, White Heat, Love Me or Leave Me and Mister Roberts. Cagney died at the age of 86 on Mar 30, 1986 in Stanfordville, NY and was laid to rest in Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, Westchester County, NY.

MINI BIO:

The quintessential "tough guy", Cagney was short, jaunty and aggressive with a much-imitated clock-work tippy-toe strut (probably inherited from his Broadway dancing days), a rasping rapid-fire speaking voice, and a brutally hostile manner. He usually played cocksure, punch-happy characters who rarely bit off more than they could chew, although he could also easily play light comedy. He remains one of the most sharply-defined stars from American cinema's vintage years.

(Source: available at Amazon Quinlan's Film Stars).

AUTOBIOGRAPHY:

Cagney's autobiography Cagney by Cagney was published in 1976 and is still available in print and digitally.

HONORS and AWARDS:

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James Cagney was nominated for three Academy Awards, winning one for Best Actor for Yankee Doodle Dandy (as George M. Cohan) in 1942.

Academy Awards

YearAwardFilm nameRoleResult
1938Best ActorAngels with Dirty Faces (1938)Rocky SullivanNominated
1942Best ActorYankee Doodle Dandy (1942)George M. CohanWon
1955Best ActorLove Me or Leave Me (1955)Martin SnyderNominated
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He was honored with one star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the category of Motion Pictures. In addition, Cagney was immortalized on a US postal stamp in 1999.

BlogHub Articles:

tries to sell Coke-a-Cola to the Soviets in “One, Two, Three”

By Stephen Reginald on Mar 26, 2024 From Classic Movie Man

tries to sell Coke-a-Cola to the Soviets in “One, Two, Three” One, Two, Three (1961) is an American political comedy film directed by Billy Wilder and starring , Horst Buchholz, Lilo Pulver, Pamela Tiffin, and Arlene Francis. The screenplay was written by Wi... Read full article


Blonde Crazy (1931) with Joan Blondell and

By 4 Star Film Fan on Apr 18, 2022 From 4 Star Films

From the outset, Blonde Crazy promises to be a midwestern hotel chamber piece. It’s a story of the help: including opportunistic bellboys () and plucky chambermaids (Joan Blondell). He does her a service by nabbing her a job, and in such a world, he probably expects some recompense... Read full article


How Many Films did and Humphrey Bogart Star in Together?

By Annmarie Gatti on Apr 20, 2021 From Classic Movie Hub Blog

How Many Films did and Humphrey Bogart Star in Together? Cagney and Bogart, two very well-dressed but ruthless, gangsters... Read full article


How Many Films did and Pat O’Brien Star in Together?

By Annmarie Gatti on Mar 16, 2021 From Classic Movie Hub Blog

How Many Films did and Pat O’Brien Star in Together? It’s a friendship that’s endured for 55 years. – Pat O’Brien, about his friendship with and Pat O’Brien were friends for almost 60 years, working together in nume... Read full article


On Blu-ray: and Joan Blondell in Busby Berkeley's Footlight Parade (1933)

By KC on Sep 12, 2019 From Classic Movies

All film fans have their cinematic version of comfort food and mine is the musicals of choreographer Busby Berkeley. These busy, bubbly productions full of wit, beauty and excitement are pleasant to have on in the background, but deserving of the most devoted attention. I’m especially fond of ... Read full article


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James Cagney Quotes:

George Halley: [In the shell hole: Eddie offers a cigarette to George. He in turn takes it, and then picks out bugs that apparently infest everything] Ah, look at that. Them cooties are gettin' desperate: they're feedin' off tobacco.
Eddie Bartlett: How much can a cootie smoke?


Ralph Cotter: And now, would one fugitive from justice care to fix another fugitive from justice... a sandwich?


C.R. MacNamara: Ten minutes early! That's a hell of a way to run an airline! Planes are supposed to be late, not early!


read more quotes from James Cagney...



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James Cagney Facts
Often left the set early claiming he was too ill to continue filming in order to ensure an extra day of filming so that the extras and the film crew, whom he thought woefully underpaid, could get an additional day's salary.

James Cagney is caricaturized in a Merrie Melodies short cartoon called Hollywood Steps Out directed by Tex Avery (Warner Brothers 1941). The action takes place in the famed Ciro's nightclub where the Hollywood stars are having dinner. Cagney informs Humphrey Bogart and George Raft that they must prepare to do something risky. The trio of "tough guys" get ready, turn start pitching pennies.

In his autobiography, he mentions that while in the chorus of the musical "Pitter Patter", he earned $55 a week, of which he sent $40 a week home to his mother. As his salary increased, so did the amount he sent back home. In The Public Enemy (1931), he earned $400 a week, sending over $300 back home. Until his mother passed, he never kept more than 50% of his earnings.

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