Cary Grant

One of the silver screen's true gentlemen, Cary Grant was born in Bristol, England, on Jan. 18, 1904. He left school at age 14 to join a comedic troupe of acrobats, which was discovered by a producer and brought to America to perform in 1920.

Opting to stay in the United States, Grant started working in film and made his first credited screen appearance in This Is the Night (1932), but got his big break opposite Mae West in She Done Him Wrong (1933). During his 30-plus years as an actor, Grant was a favorite of directors such as George Cukor, Howard Hawks, Frank Capra, George Stevens and Alfred Hitchcock (for whom Grant starred in four films, including Hitchcock's biggest financial success, North by Northwest).

Other notable Grant films include To Catch a Thief, Charade and The Philadelphia Story. At the top of his game, Grant retired in 1966 and died of a stroke on Nov. 29, 1986.

Filmography