Personal Info
Known For:
Acting
Birthday:
July 17, 1899
Place of Birth:
New York City, New York, USA
Social Media
James Cagney
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
James Francis Cagney, Jr. (July 17, 1899 – March 30, 1986) was an American film actor. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of roles, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys". In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth among the Greatest Male Stars of All Time.
In his first performing role, Cagney danced dressed as a woman in the chorus line of the 1919 revue Every Sailor. He spent several years in vaudeville as a hoofer and comedian until his first major acting role in 1925. He secured several other roles, receiving good reviews before landing the lead in the 1929 play Penny Arcade. After rave reviews for his acting, Warners 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 its famous grapefruit scene, the film thrust Cagney into the spotlight, making him one of Warners' and Hollywood's biggest stars.
In 1938, he received his first Academy Award Best Actor nomination for Angels with Dirty Faces, before winning in 1942 for his portrayal of George M. Cohan in Yankee Doodle Dandy. He was nominated a third time in 1955 for Love Me or Leave Me. Cagney retired for 20 years in 1961, spending time on his farm before returning for a part in Ragtime mainly to aid his recovery from a stroke.
Cagney walked out on Warners several times over his career, each time coming back on improved personal and artistic terms. In 1935, he sued Warners for breach of contract and won; this marked one of the first times an actor had beaten a studio over a contract issue. He worked for an independent film company for a year while the suit was settled, and also established his own production company, Cagney Productions, in 1942 before returning to Warners again four years later. Jack Warner called him "The Professional Againster", in reference to Cagney’s refusal to be pushed around. 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.
Description above from the Wikipedia article James Cagney, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Filmography
| Year | Movie | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Sly | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) |
| 2021 | Parkinson at 50 | Self (archive footage) |
| 2017 | This Is Bob Hope... | Self (archive footage) |
| 2014 | And the Oscar Goes To... | Self (archive footage) |
| 2009 | 1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year | Self (archive footage) |
| 2009 | Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression | Self (archive) |
| 2008 | Public Enemies: The Golden Age of the Gangster Film | Self (archive footage) |
| 2008 | You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story | Self (archive footage) |
| 2005 | White Heat: Top of the World | Self (archive footage) |
| 2005 | Beer and Blood: Enemies of the Public | Self (archive footage) |
| 2005 | Angels with Dirty Faces: Whaddya Hear? Whaddya Say? | Self (archive footage) |
| 2004 | Los Angeles Plays Itself | Tom Powers in The Public Enemy (archive footage) |
| 2004 | Remembering Ragtime | NY Police Commissioner Rheinlander Waldo (archive footage) |
| 2003 | Complicated Women | Self (archive footage) |
| 2003 | Tupac: Resurrection | Self (archival) |
| 2002 | The Kid Stays in the Picture | Self (archive footage) |
| 1998 | Doris Day: It's Magic | Self |
| 1997 | Bogart: The Untold Story | Self (archive footage) |
| 1993 | Harlow: The Blonde Bombshell | Self (archive footage) |
| 1992 | James Cagney: Top of the World | Self (Archive footage) |
| 1991 | Movie Tough Guys | Self (archive footage) |
| 1988 | Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC | Self (archive footage) |
| 1985 | Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers | Self (archive footage) |
| 1985 | That's Dancing! | From 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' (archive footage) |
| 1984 | Going Hollywood: The '30s | (archive footage) |
| 1984 | Terrible Joe Moran | Joe Moran |
| 1983 | Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) |
| 1982 | Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid | (in "White Heat") (archive footage) |
| 1982 | Showbiz Goes to War | (archive footage) |
| 1982 | Night of 100 Stars | Self |
| 1981 | Ragtime | New York Police Commissioner Rhinelander Waldo |
| 1981 | James Cagney: That Yankee Doodle Dandy | |
| 1979 | Frank Sinatra: The First 40 Years | Self |
| 1976 | That's Entertainment, Part II | (archive footage) |
| 1976 | It's Showtime | Self (archive footage) |
| 1976 | Hooray for Hollywood | Self (archive footage) |
| 1975 | Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? | Self (archive footage) |
| 1975 | Texaco Presents: A Quarter Century of Bob Hope on Television | (archive footage) |
| 1968 | Arizona Bushwhackers | Narrator |
| 1966 | Ballad of Smokey the Bear | Narrator (voice) |
| 1962 | The Road to the Wall | Narrator |
| 1961 | One, Two, Three | C.R. MacNamara |
| 1960 | The Gallant Hours | Admiral William 'Bull' Halsey |
| 1959 | Never Steal Anything Small | Jake MacIllaney |
| 1959 | Shake Hands with the Devil | Sean Lenihan |
| 1957 | Man of a Thousand Faces | Lon Chaney |
| 1957 | Short Cut to Hell | Himself (prologue) |
| 1956 | These Wilder Years | Steve Bradford |
| 1956 | Tribute to a Bad Man | Jeremy Rodack |
| 1956 | The Bob Hope Chevy Show | Himself |
| 1955 | The Seven Little Foys | George M. Cohan |
| 1955 | Love Me or Leave Me | Martin Snyder |
| 1955 | Mister Roberts | Captain Morton |
| 1955 | Run for Cover | Matt Dow |
| 1953 | A Lion Is in the Streets | Hank Martin |
| 1952 | What Price Glory | Captain Flagg |
| 1951 | Come Fill the Cup | Lew Marsh |
| 1951 | Starlift | James Cagney |
| 1950 | Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye | Ralph Cotter |
| 1950 | The West Point Story | Elwin Bixby |
| 1949 | White Heat | Arthur 'Cody' Jarrett |
| 1948 | The Time of Your Life | Joseph |
| 1947 | 13 Rue Madeleine | Robert Emmett 'Bob' Sharkey |
| 1947 | Blow-Ups of 1947 | Self |
| 1946 | Okay for Sound | Tommy Powers (archive footage) |
| 1945 | Blood on the Sun | Nick Condon |
| 1943 | Johnny Come Lately | Tom Richards |
| 1943 | You, John Jones! | John Jones |
| 1943 | Show-Business at War | Self |
| 1943 | The Voice That Thrilled the World | Self (segment 'Yankee Doodle Dandy') (archive footage) |
| 1942 | Yankee Doodle Dandy | George M. Cohan |
| 1942 | Captains of the Clouds | Brian MacLean (bush pilot) |
| 1942 | Calling All Girls | Himself (archive footage) |
| 1941 | The Bride Came C.O.D. | Steve Collins |
| 1941 | Breakdowns of 1941 | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) |
| 1941 | The Strawberry Blonde | Biff Grimes |
| 1940 | City for Conquest | Danny Kenny |
| 1940 | The Fighting 69th | Jerry Plunkett |
| 1940 | Torrid Zone | Nick Butler |
| 1940 | Breakdowns of 1940 | Self |
| 1939 | Each Dawn I Die | Frank Ross |
| 1939 | The Roaring Twenties | Eddie Bartlett |
| 1939 | The Oklahoma Kid | Jim Kincaid |
| 1939 | Hollywood Hobbies | Self (uncredited) |
| 1939 | Breakdowns of 1939 | Self |
| 1938 | Angels with Dirty Faces | Rocky Sullivan |
| 1938 | Boy Meets Girl | Robert Law |
| 1937 | Something to Sing About | Terrence 'Terry' Rooney |
| 1936 | Great Guy | Johnny 'Red' Cave |
| 1936 | Ceiling Zero | Dizzy Davies |
| 1936 | Breakdowns of 1936 | Self |
| 1935 | 'G' Men | ‘Brick' Davis |
| 1935 | Mutiny on the Bounty | (uncredited) |
| 1935 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Bottom |
| 1935 | Frisco Kid | Bat Morgan |
| 1935 | The Irish in Us | Danny O'Hara |
| 1935 | Devil Dogs of the Air | Tommy O'Toole |
| 1935 | A Trip Thru a Hollywood Studio | Himself (uncredited) |
| 1935 | Things You Never See on the Screen | Self |
| 1935 | A Dream Comes True | Himself (uncredited) |
| 1935 | Screen Snapshots Series 14, No. 8 | |
| 1934 | Jimmy the Gent | Jimmy Corrigan |
| 1934 | Here Comes the Navy | Chesty O'Conner |
| 1934 | He Was Her Man | Flicker Hayes, aka Jerry Allen |
| 1934 | The St. Louis Kid | Eddie Kennedy |
| 1934 | The Hollywood Gad-About | Self (uncredited) |
| 1934 | Screen Snapshots No. 11 | Himself |
| 1933 | Footlight Parade | Chester Kent |
| 1933 | Lady Killer | Dan Quigley |
| 1933 | Picture Snatcher | Daniel Patrick "Danny" Kean |
| 1933 | The Mayor of Hell | Richard 'Patsy' Gargan |
| 1933 | Hard to Handle | Lefty Merrill |
| 1932 | Winner Take All | Jim 'Jimmy' Kane |
| 1932 | The Crowd Roars | Joe Greer |
| 1931 | Other Men's Women | Ed 'Eddie' Bailey |
| 1931 | Blonde Crazy | Albert 'Bert' Harris |
| 1931 | Smart Money | Jack |
| 1931 | The Public Enemy | Tom Powers |
| 1931 | Taxi! | Matt Nolan |
| 1931 | The Millionaire | Schofield |
| 1931 | How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 11: 'Practice Shots' | Himself |
| 1931 | Intimate Interviews: James Cagney | Himself |
| 1930 | The Doorway to Hell | Steve Mileaway |
| 1930 | Sinners' Holiday | Harry Delano |
| 1928 | The Singing Fool | Handsy Patron at Blackie Joe's (uncredited) |
| Year | TV Show | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Legends | Martin Snyder (archive footage) (uncredited) |
| 1978 | The Kennedy Center Honors | Self |
| 1973 | The American Film Institute Salute to ... | Self |
| 1961 | The Mike Douglas Show | Self |
| 1953 | The Oscars | Self |
| 1950 | Robert Montgomery Presents | George Bridgeman |
| 1950 | What's My Line? | Self - Mystery Guest |
| 1948 | The Ed Sullivan Show | Self |
| 1948 | The Ed Sullivan Show | Self (uncredited) |