Cary Grant was born Archibald Alexander Leach on January 18, 1904 in Bristol, England. He was the only surviving child of Elsie Maria Leach (née Kingdon, 1877–1973) and Elias James Leach (1873–1935), an alcoholic pants presser.
Archibald's mother disappeared when he was nine years old. Years later, he discovered that his mom, whom he thought was dead, had been put in a squalid mental asylum by his father.
Archibald's mother disappeared when he was nine years old. Years later, he discovered that his mom, whom he thought was dead, had been put in a squalid mental asylum by his father.
In 1917, while a pupil at Fairfield Grammar School, Grant attempted to join Bob Pender’s troupe of knockabout comedians by forging a letter from his father. In the letter, which he later admitted was “purportedly from my own father,” he also enclosed a snapshot of himself. Grant explained that he “conveniently neglected to explain that I was not yet fourteen and, therefore, not legally allowed to leave school.” With that ruse, he traveled to Norwich and tried to begin his stage career.
His father, however, discovered the escapade and brought him back to Bristol, insisting he continue at school. The following year, on March 13, 1918, Grant was officially expelled from Fairfield Grammar School for a string of infractions, the most notorious of which was being caught in the girls’ lavatory.
Just three days later, with his schooling over, he returned to the Penders — this time with his father’s consent and a properly signed contract. From that point forward, he was legally and fully a member of the troupe, launching the theatrical apprenticeship that would shape his future as Cary Grant.
Leach initially performed as a stilt walker with the Bob Pender Stage Troupe and learned pantomime as well as acrobatics with the group.
He traveled with the Bob Pender Stage Troupe to the United States in 1920 at the age of 16 on the RMS Olympic, on a two-year tour of the country. Their show on Broadway, Good Times, ran for 456 performances
When the troupe returned to Britain, Leach decided to stay in the US and continue his stage career where he became a part of the vaudeville world.
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| Grant in 1930 |
Leach shared a house with Randolph Scott for ten years after meeting him on the set of Hot Saturday in 1932.
His favorite food was Nathan’s Coney Island hot dogs.
In 1940 Leach donated all the money he earned from The Philadelphia Story to the British war effort.
Leach became a naturalized United States citizen on June 26, 1942, at which time he also legally changed his name from "Archibald Alexander Leach" to "Cary Grant".
His smile was one tooth short. A boyhood skating accident saw the loss of one incisor and Grant had a dentist push his other teeth together to fill the gap.
Grant was married five times. In a bid to find out why his marriages kept failing – and to deal with the childhood that saw him running away to the circus, in the late Fifties, he became a public advocate of the use of mind bending drug LSD.
One of his five wives was Woolworth’s heiress Barbara Hutton, then the richest woman in the world. The pair were dubbed ‘Cash and Cary’ and their 1942 marriage lasted just three years.
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He loved fish and chips. Whenever Grant was back in the UK, he would visit Rendezvous Fish Bar in his hometown of Bristol for a bag of fish and chips before eating it in his Rolls Royce.
Grant was famously stingy. His servants reported that he charged for autographs, counted the logs on the fire and noted the level in every bottle of booze in the house.
Grant was famously stingy. His servants reported that he charged for autographs, counted the logs on the fire and noted the level in every bottle of booze in the house.
U.S. actress Dyan Cannon was Cary Grant’s fourth wife, despite a 33-year age gap. She described the first time she went for dinner at Grant’s house as ‘the strangest date of my life’. Cannon was told to eat her meal relaxing on his bed in front of TV show Dr Kildare.
Cary Grant became a father for the first time at age of 62 when his fourth wife Dyan Cannon gave birth to their daughter Jennifer Diane Grant (aka Jennifer Grant) on February 26, 1966.
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| Jennifer and Cary Grant, Gerald Ford (top center), maid Willie in 1976 at the Century Plaza Hotel President's Suite, Los Angeles. |
In 1970, he was presented an Honorary Oscar at the 42nd Academy Awards by Frank Sinatra.
Grant suffered a major stroke in his hotel room prior to performing in his one man show An Evening With Cary Grant at the Adler Theater in Davenport, Iowa, on November 29, 1986. He died later that night at St. Luke's Hospital at at 11.22 pm aged 82.
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