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
Acting
1961
asC.R. MacNamara
1991
asSelf (archive footage)
1985
asSelf (archive footage)
1942
asGeorge M. Cohan
2005
asSelf (archive footage)
2005
asSelf (archive footage)
2005
asSelf (archive footage)
1940
asDanny Kenny
1931
asEd 'Eddie' Bailey
1981
asNew York Police Commissioner Rhinelander Waldo
1982
as(in "White Heat") (archive footage)
1955
asGeorge M. Cohan
1942
asBrian MacLean (bush pilot)
1930
asSteve Mileaway
1935
as‘Brick' Davis
1938
asRocky Sullivan
1933
asChester Kent
1955
asMartin Snyder
1939
asFrank Ross
1935
as(uncredited)
1941
asSteve Collins
1931
asAlbert 'Bert' Harris
1957
asLon Chaney
1933
asDan Quigley
1939
asEddie Bartlett
1955
asCaptain Morton
1949
asArthur 'Cody' Jarrett
1956
asSteve Bradford
1936
asJohnny 'Red' Cave
1931
asJack
1931
asTom Powers
1933
asDaniel Patrick "Danny" Kean
1939
asJim Kincaid
1947
asRobert Emmett 'Bob' Sharkey
1950
asRalph Cotter
1935
asBottom
1957
asHimself (prologue)
1941
asSelf (archive footage) (uncredited)
1982
as(archive footage)
2004
asTom Powers in The Public Enemy (archive footage)
1934
asJimmy Corrigan
1950
asElwin Bixby
1932
asJim 'Jimmy' Kane
1931
asMatt Nolan
1983
asSelf (archive footage) (uncredited)
1940
asJerry Plunkett
1952
asCaptain Flagg
1956
asJeremy Rodack
1934
asChesty O'Conner
1936
asDizzy Davies
1945
asNick Condon
1941
asBiff Grimes
1937
asTerrence 'Terry' Rooney
1948
asJoseph
1940
asNick Butler
1955
asMatt Dow
1975
asSelf (archive footage)
1933
asRichard 'Patsy' Gargan
1960
asAdmiral William 'Bull' Halsey
2002
asSelf (archive footage)
1993
asSelf (archive footage)
1932
asJoe Greer
1953
asHank Martin
1951
asLew Marsh
1938
asRobert Law
1988
asSelf (archive footage)
1943
asTom Richards
1998
asSelf
2008
asSelf (archive footage)
1935
asBat Morgan
1933
asLefty Merrill
2004
asNY Police Commissioner Rheinlander Waldo (archive footage)
1930
asHarry Delano
2021
asSelf (archive footage)
1979
asSelf
1934
asFlicker Hayes, aka Jerry Allen
1951
asJames Cagney
1934
asEddie Kennedy
1935
asDanny O'Hara
1931
asSchofield
1943
asJohn Jones
1959
asJake MacIllaney
1962
asNarrator
1939
asSelf (uncredited)
1984
as(archive footage)
1959
asSean Lenihan
1928
asHandsy Patron at Blackie Joe's (uncredited)
2023
asSelf (archive footage) (uncredited)
1935
asTommy O'Toole
1984
asJoe Moran
1992
asSelf (Archive footage)
1936
asSelf
1942
asHimself (archive footage)
1931
asHimself
1947
asSelf
1931
asHimself
2008
asSelf (archive footage)
1935
asHimself (uncredited)
1966
asNarrator (voice)
1934
asSelf (uncredited)
1935
asSelf
1935
asHimself (uncredited)
1939
asSelf
1940
asSelf
1943
asSelf
2003
asSelf (archive footage)
1976
as(archive footage)
2017
asSelf (archive footage)
1997
asSelf (archive footage)
1968
asNarrator
1946
asTommy Powers (archive footage)
1943
asSelf (segment 'Yankee Doodle Dandy') (archive footage)
1985
asFrom 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' (archive footage)
2014
asSelf (archive footage)
2009
asSelf (archive footage)
1976
asSelf (archive footage)
1981
as
1934
asHimself
1982
asSelf
2009
asSelf (archive)
1975
as(archive footage)
1956
asHimself
2003
asSelf (archival)
1976
asSelf (archive footage)
1935
as
asSelf
asGeorge Bridgeman
asSelf
asSelf
asSelf
asSelf
asSelf (uncredited)
asSelf - Mystery Guest
asMartin Snyder (archive footage) (uncredited)
Production
1960
asCrew
Directing
1957
as
