James Cagney
Biography
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.
Personal Details
Also Known As
Movies (46)
Parkinson at 50
as Self (archive footage)
2021
This Is Bob Hope...
as Self (archive footage)
2017
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
as Self (archive footage)
2009
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression
as Self (archive footage)
2009
Public Enemies: The Golden Age of the Gangster Film
as Self (archive footage)
2008
You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story
as Self (archive footage)
2008
Angels with Dirty Faces: Whaddya Hear? Whaddya Say?
as Self (archive footage)
2005
Beer and Blood: Enemies of the Public
as Self (archive footage)
2005
White Heat: Top of the World
as Self (archive footage)
2005
Remembering Ragtime
as NY Police Commissioner Rheinlander Waldo (archive footage)
2004
Los Angeles Plays Itself
as Tom Powers in The Public Enemy (archive footage)
2004
Tupac: Resurrection
as Self (archival)
2003
Complicated Women
as Self (archive footage)
2003
Doris Day: It's Magic
as Self
1998
Bogart: The Untold Story
as Self (archive footage)
1997
James Cagney: Top of the World
as Self (Archive footage)
1992
Movie Tough Guys
as Self (archive footage)
1991
Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC
as Self (archive footage)
1988
That's Dancing!
as From 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' (archive footage)
1985
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
as Self (archive footage)
1985
Terrible Joe Moran
as Joe Moran
1984
Going Hollywood: The '30s
as (archive footage)
1984
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1983
Showbiz Goes to War
as (archive footage)
1982
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
as (in "White Heat") (archive footage)
1982
Showbiz Ballyhoo
as Self (archive footage)
1982
Night of 100 Stars
as Self
1982
James Cagney: That Yankee Doodle Dandy
1981
Ragtime
as New York Police Commissioner Rhinelander Waldo
1981
Frank Sinatra: The First 40 Years
as Self
1979
That's Entertainment, Part II
as (archive footage)
1976
It's Showtime
as Self (archive footage)
1976
Hooray for Hollywood
as Self (archive footage)
1976
Texaco Presents: A Quarter Century of Bob Hope on Television
as (archive footage)
1975
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
as Self (archive footage)
1975
Dynamite Chicken
as Self (archive footage)
1971
Arizona Bushwhackers
as Narrator
1968
Ballad of Smokey the Bear
as Narrator (voice)
1966
The Day of the Oath
as Narrator
1965
The Road to the Wall
as Narrator
1962
One, Two, Three
as C.R. MacNamara
1961
The Gallant Hours
as Admiral William 'Bull' Halsey
1960
Shake Hands with the Devil
as Sean Lenihan
1959
Never Steal Anything Small
as Jake MacIllaney
1959
Short Cut to Hell
as Himself (prologue)
1957
Man of a Thousand Faces
as Lon Chaney
1957
