Grant Cary

British-American film actor, the quintessential handsome sophisticated male movie star of Hollywoods Golden Era. In 34 years of work, Grant appeared in 72 films, comedies, dramas and tragedies, all with an apparently effortless display of easygoing charm that became his film trademark. Grant was the only son of Elisie Kingdom and Elias James Leach, his dad a half-Jewish pants presser and tailors assistant. Living in despair and poverty, his father had his mother committed to Fishponds mental institution. The father deceived his son on his moms whereabouts and took up with his mistress and an illegitimate son. At 13, Grant ran away from home and joined a group of traveling acrobats. By the time he was 17, he worked his way to America taking various jobs as a stilt-walker in Atlantic City and a song and dance man in Philadelphia. He made his Hollywood debut in 1932 with "This is the Night" and appeared in seven more films in the same year. His handsome good looks got him important roles in Marlene Dietrichs "Blonde Venus" and Mae Wests "She Done Him Wrong." Grant began to develop his aristocratic screen image persona that would eventually typecast the actor as a light comedian with a smooth "mid Atlantic" accent and glib delivery. In 1936, he made his first major breakthrough film with Katherine Hepburn in "Sylvia Scarlett." He defined American style, taste, and sophistication with "Topper,"1937, "His Girl Friday," 1940, "Gunga Din,"1939 and "The Philadelphia Story" in 1940. Grant also played characters with emotional depth and was praised with two Academy award nominations in "Penny Serenade," 1941 and "None But the Lonely Heart" in 1944. In the 50s and 60s, he worked with suspense thriller British director Alfred Hitchcock. He retired from films in 1966 with "Walk, Dont Run." Grant married his first wife, actress Virginia Cherrill, the leading lady in "Charlie Chaplins City Lights," in 1934. He was a physically abusive husband and they were divorced within a year. Grants second marriage was to the Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton in July 1942 at Lake Arrowhead. The marriage ended in a divorce after three years. Though wags called them "Cash and Cary," he was the only husband of Huttons many who took no financial settlement. He married actress Betsy Drake on 12/25/1949 and the nuptials lasted ten years. Grant grew bored of Drakes company and after the studio days work refused to talk to his wife. In his boredom, Grant began to chase after the female co-stars in his films. He pursued Grace Kelly during shooting of "To Catch a Thief," 1955, Sophia Loren during the filming of "Houseboat" in 1958 and Audrey Hepburn in 1963 with "Charade." He married his fourth wife, actress Dyan Cannon in July 1965. At 62, his only child, Jennifer Diane was born on 2/26/1966. Cannon divorced Grant in 1967 claiming that he an overbearing husband and control-freak who made her take the experimental drug LSD with him. For a period in the hippie 60s, he explored his realities and consciousness with many acid trips. Highly controlling, he would yell, scream and spank her. In the late 1970s, Grant pursued his fifth wife, Barbara Harris, a press agent for the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London. They married in 1981 and lived in his $5 million French-style farmhouse on top of Benedict Canyon overlooking Beverly Hills. Grant enjoyed being a part of the Hollywood community. He was a regular at the Hollywood race track and shared exclusive bo Read less