Who Was Cary Grant, Anyway?

I almost fell off my chair when a young staff member asked me that. Then it dawned on me that she wasn’t born in 1986 when the great leading man died. Thank Heavens for video recordings and DVDs! Born Archibald Leach, the actor left his home in Bristol, England, at the age of fourteen to join an acting troupe. Grant traveled with the troupe to the United States in 1920 for a two-year tour; when the troupe returned to Britain, Grant decided to stay. After some success in light Broadway comedies, he came to Hollywood in 1931, where he acquired the name Cary Grant. The rest is show business history. His enduring good looks, versatility as an actor, and the charm he projected from the big screen made him the greatest of movie stars. Grant was nominated for two Academy Awards in the 1940s, and was honored in 1970 with a special Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement. In 1981, he received the Kennedy Center Honors.