One of Hollywood's preeminent male stars of all time, James Cagney was also an accomplished dancer and easily played light comedy. James Francis Cagney was born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City, to Carolyn (Nelson) and James Francis Cagney, Sr., who was a bartender and amateur boxer. Cagney was of Norwegian (from his maternal grandfather) and Irish descent. Ending three decades on the screen, he retired to his farm in Stanfordville, New York (some 77 miles/124 km. north of his New York City birthplace), after starring in Billy Wilder's One, Two, Three (1961). He emerged from retirement to star in the 1981 screen adaptation of E.L. Doctorow's novel "Ragtime" (Ragtime (1981)), in which he was reunited with his frequent co-star of the 1930s, Pat O'Brien, and which was his last theatrical film and O'Brien's as well). Cagney's final performance came in the title role of the made-for-TV movie Terrible Joe Moran (1984), in which he played opposite Art Carney. In this article, we will talk about James Cagney's Biography including Net Worth, Age, Birthday, Height, Weight, Family, Children etc.
James Cagney Biography
To know his complete profile, check the following table.
| Name | : | James Cagney |
| Birth Name/Full Name | : | James Francis Cagney |
| Nickname (s) | : | The Professional Againster, Jimmy |
| Other Name (s) | : | - |
| Gender | : | Male |
| Date of Birth | : | July 17, 1899 |
| Birthplace | : | New York City, New York, USA |
| Citizenship | : | American |
| Height | : | 1.65 m |
| Weight | : | - kg |
| Profession (s) | : | Actor , Director , Producer |
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James Cagney Age in 2023 and Birthday Info
In this section, we will add James Cagney's birthday-related information. James Cagney was born in New York City, New York, USA on July 17, 1899.He died on in Stanfordville, New York, USA (heart attack following illness from diabetes). Check the below table for more information.
| Date of Birth | : | July 17, 1899 |
| Birth Place | : | New York City, New York, USA |
| Country | : | United States |
| Date of Death | : | 1986-3-30 |
| Death Place | : | Stanfordville, New York, USA (heart attack following illness from diabetes) |
| Aged | : | 87 years |
| Next Birthday | : | 17 July, 2023 |
| Horoscope(Zodic Sign) | : | Cancer |
James Cagney Height and Weight
Now we are going to add James Cagney's Height (In Meter, Centi Meter, and Feet-Inches) and Weight (In Kilogram and Pounds). As weight changes frequently, we may not have the current weight of James Cagney. The height of James Cagney is 1.65 m. Check the below table to see in more units.
| Height in Meter | : | 1.65 m. |
| Height in Centimeter | : | 165 cm. |
| Height in Feet-inches | : | 5'5" |
| Weight in Kilogram | : | - kg |
| Weight in Pounds | : | - lb |
James Cagney Family (Spouse, Children, Parents, Siblings, Relatives)
In this section, we will add James Cagney's complete family information including his martial status, husbandorwife, children, parents, relatives, and siblings.
| Marital Status | : | Married |
| Spouse (s) | : | Frances Cagney (28 September 1922 - 30 March 1986) (his death) (2 children) |
| Children (s) | : | James Cagney Jr. (adopted child) , Casey Cagney Thomas (adopted child) |
| Parents (Father and Mother) | : | Carolyn Cagney |
| Relatives | : | Jeanne Cagney (sibling) , William Cagney (sibling) |
James Cagney Social Accounts (Facebbok, Instagram, Twitter, Website)
In this section, we will add James Cagney's Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and personal website.
| : | James Cagney Facebook | |
| : | James Cagney Instagram | |
| : | James Cagney Twitter | |
| Personal Website | : | James Cagney Webiste |
James Cagney Net Worth in 2023
You might be interested to know what was the net worth of James Cagney at time when he died. The net worth of James Cagney was $20 Million. We do not guarantee the net worth of James Cagney is the exact amount. This is based on several sources on the internet.
James Cagney Facts and Trivia
Here is the list of top facts about James Cagney.
- Cagney's first job as an entertainer was as a female dancer in a chorus line.
- According to his authorized biography, Cagney, although of three quarters Irish and one quarter Norwegian extraction, could speak Yiddish, since he had grown up in a heavily Jewish area in New York. He used to converse in Yiddish with Jewish performers like Paul Muni, Sylvia Sidney and John Garfield.
- Ranked #45 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]
- Brother of actor-producer William Cagney and of actress Jeanne Cagney.
- Received the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award (1974).
- (1942-1944) President of Screen Actors Guild (SAG).
- Convinced decorated war hero Audie Murphy to go into acting.
- His widow Frances (nicknamed 'Bill') outlived Cagney by eight years, dying aged 95 in 1994.
- Pictured on a 33¢ USA commemorative postage stamp in the Legends of Hollywood series, issued 22 July 1999.
- Had two adopted children: Casey Cagney Thomas and James Cagney Jr..
- Was best friends with actors Pat O'Brien and Frank McHugh.
- Earned a Black Belt in Judo.
- He was voted the 14th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
- Extraordinarily (for Hollywood), he never cheated on his wife Frances, resulting in a marriage that lasted 64 years (ending with his death). The closest he came was nearly giving into a seduction attempt by Merle Oberon while the two stars were on tour to entertain World War II GIs.
- His paternal grandparents and maternal grandmother were all of Irish descent, and his maternal grandfather was from Norway. As he told an interviewer shortly before his death in 1986: "My mother's father, my Grandpa Nelson, was a Norwegian sea captain, but when I tried to investigate those roots I didn't get very far, for he had apparently changed his name to another one that made it impossible to identify him within the rest of the population.".
- His electric acting style was a huge influence on future generations of actors. Actors as diverse as Clint Eastwood and Malcolm McDowell point to him as their number one influence to become actors.
- Lived in a Gramercy Park building in New York City that was also occupied by Margaret Hamilton and now boasts Jimmy Fallon as one of its tenants.
- Though most Cagney imitators use the line "You dirty rat!", Cagney never actually said it in any of his films.
- According to James Cagney's autobiography Cagney By Cagney, (Published by Doubleday and Company Inc 1976, and ghost written by show biz biographer Jack McCabe), a Mafia plan to murder Cagney by dropping a several hundred pound klieg light on top of him was stopped at the insistence of George Raft. Cagney at that time was president of the Screen Actors Guild, and was determined not to let the mob infiltrate the industry. Raft used his many mob connections to cancel the hit.
- He was voted the 11th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Premiere magazine.
- Named the #8 greatest Actor on The 50 Greatest Screen Legends List by The American Film Institute
- According to his autobiography his brother Bill (who was also his manager) actively pursued the role of Cohan in the ultra-patriotic film Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) as a way of removing the taint of Cagney's radical activities in the 1930s, when he was a strong Roosevelt liberal. When Cohan himself learned about Cagney's background as a song-and-dance man in vaudeville, he okay-ed him for the project.
- Lost the role of Knute Rockne to his friend Pat O'Brien when the administration of Notre Dame - which had approval over all aspects of the filming - nixed Cagney because of his support of the far-left (and anti-Catholic) Spanish Republic in the then-ongoing Spanish Civil War.
- Originally a very left-wing Democrat activist during the 1930s, Cagney later switched his viewpoint and became progressively more conservative with age. He supported his friend Ronald Reagan's campaigns for the Governorship of California in 1966 and 1970, as well as his Presidential campaigns in 1980 and 1984. President Reagan delivered the eulogy at Cagney's funeral in 1986.
- His performance as George M. Cohan in Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) is ranked #6 on Premiere magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).
- His performance as Tom Powers in The Public Enemy (1931) is ranked #57 on Premiere magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.
- Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) is ranked #88 on the American Film Institute's 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time.
- Often said that he did not understand the method actors like Marlon Brando. Cagney admitted that he used his own personal experiences to help create his performances and encouraged other actors to do so, but he did not understand actors who felt a need to go to the extreme length that method actors went to.
- Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume Two, 1986- 1990, pages 149-152. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999.
- To protest the quality of scripts he was given at Warner Brothers, instead of violating his contract by refusing to appear in a picture he reputedly used his appearance to get even. In Jimmy the Gent (1934), he got an ugly crewcut to make himself look like the hoodlum Warners wanted him to play. In movies like He Was Her Man (1934), he grew a thin mustache to upset thin-mustachioed studio boss Jack L. Warner.
- Encouraged by his mother to take up boxing as a hobby. She thought it was a necessary skill to have, especially in the rough Eastside section of New York City where he grew up. She would often show up and watch him take on neighborhood kids in a street fight. However, when he wanted to become a professional boxer, she disapproved. She started to put on a pair of boxing gloves and told him "If you want to become a professional fighter, then your first fight will have to be against me." He abandoned the idea of doing boxing professionally from that moment on.
- Inspiration for the Madonna song "White Heat" from her 1986 album "True Blue".
- Turned down Stanley Holloway's role as Eliza's father in My Fair Lady (1964).
- Turned down the lead role in The Jolson Story (1946), which went to Larry Parks.
- At the time of filming of White Heat (1949), Special Effects were not yet using squibs (tiny explosives that simulate the effects of bullets). The producers employed skilled marksmen who used low velocity bullets to break windows or show bullets hitting near the characters. In the factory scene, Cagney was missed by mere inches.
- Broke a rib while filming the dance scene in Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) but continued dancing until it was completed.
- He once claimed that problems with Horst Buchholz had convinced him to retire from acting.
- Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald Reagan at a ceremony at the White House on March 26, 1984.
- Along with Rita Hayworth, is mentioned by name in the Tom Waits song "Invitation to the Blues".
- In his autobiography, he mentions that while in the chorus of the musical "Pitter Patter", he earned $55 a week, of which he sent $40 a week home to his mother. As his salary increased, so did the amount he sent back home. In The Public Enemy (1931), he earned $400 a week, sending over $300 back home. Until his mother passed, he never kept more than 50% of his earnings.
- Often left the set early claiming he was too ill to continue filming in order to ensure an extra day of filming so that the extras and the film crew, whom he thought woefully underpaid, could get an additional day's salary.
- Wrote that of the sixty-two films he made, he rated Love Me or Leave Me (1955) co-starring Doris Day among his top five.
- Had two grandchildren from his daughter Cathleen: Verniey Lee and Christina May Thomas.
- He was the father-in-law of screenplay writer Jack W. Thomas, who married his daughter Cathleen on February 17, 1962.
- Grandfather of actor James Cagney IV. Great uncle of Pattee Mack.
- Great grandfather of actress Fiona Cagney.
- Great-great uncle of Brian Harrison Mack.
- Had appeared with Pat O'Brien in nine films: Here Comes the Navy (1934), Devil Dogs of the Air (1935), The Irish in Us (1935), Ceiling Zero (1936), Boy Meets Girl (1938), Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), The Fighting 69th (1940), Torrid Zone (1940) and Ragtime (1981).
- "Cagney! The Musical", an original biographical stage work written by Peter Colley and directed by Bill Castellino, had its world premiere in March 2009 at the Florida Stage theatre in Manalapan, Florida. Robert Creighton starred as Cagney, both he and the show received good to excellent reviews and the run soon sold out, setting a record for the theatre.
- Part of the first group of major stars to join the Screen Actors Guild in October 1933 as member number 50. Before his Guild presidency, he served nearly a decade on the Board and as First Vice President. Cagney was elected Guild president in September 1942.
- Had appeared with Frank McHugh in eleven films: The Crowd Roars (1932), Footlight Parade (1933), Here Comes the Navy (1934), Devil Dogs of the Air (1935), The Irish in Us (1935), A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935), Boy Meets Girl (1938), The Roaring Twenties (1939), The Fighting 69th (1940), City for Conquest (1940) and A Lion Is in the Streets (1953).
- Cagney and best friends Frank McHugh and Pat O'Brien, were known collectively and affectionately as the "Irish Mafia" and would often be seen out together around Hollywood nightclubs having a quiet drink and a chat. Other members of this close knit social group included actors Bing Crosby, William Gargan, Lee Tracy, Lynne Overman, James Gleason, George Murphy, Ralph Bellamy, Frank Morgan, Bert Lahr, Allen Jenkins and Spencer Tracy.
- Once worked as a waiter.
- A studio changed his birth date from 1899 to 1904 to capitalize on his youthful appearance.
- In 1973, he was offered the title role in the comedy Harry and Tonto (1974) but Cagney, who was then 74-year-old and had not starred in a feature film since 1961, did not want to come out of retirement. The role, and the Best Actor Oscar, would go to Art Carney.
- He refused payment for his cameo in The Seven Little Foys (1955) even though he spent ten days learning his complicated tap routine for the film.
- He was originally intended for the role of Robin Hood in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) but left Warner Brothers who then shelved the film for three years.
- A proposed project that would have had him starring as an elderly Wyatt Earp set in Los Angeles in the 1920s was in development prior to his death.
- Francis Ford Coppola wanted him to play Hyman Roth in The Godfather Part II (1974), even going so far as to visit the star at his home in Hollywood. He declined and the role went to Lee Strasberg.
- He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6504 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960.
- The day when James Cagney was born was Monday.
FAQ
Below you can find the most frequently asked questions about James Cagney in the context of this article.
What was the Net Worth of James Cagney?
The net worth of James Cagney was $20 Million.
Where is the birthplace of James Cagney?
The birthplace of James Cagney is New York City, New York, USA.
How old was James Cagney?
James Cagney 87 years old.
How tall was James Cagney?
The height of James Cagney was 1.65 m.
was James Cagney married?
The marital status of James Cagney was Married
Conclusion
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