When Cary Grant, the giant actor in US cinema, died in 1986 at the age of 82, the following lines appeared in the New York Times:
“Cary Grant should not have died, he should have remained in this world as an eternal symbol of glamor, grace, romance, and youth.”
When the lifeless body of the famous actor of Hollywood's golden age was cremated and his ashes scattered in the Pacific Ocean, his greatest legacy was indeed immortal grace. The series about Cary Grant, one of the most beloved actors of all time, is also produced by his only child, daughter, actress Jennifer Grant, now 57 years old. Stating that she misses her father very much, Jennifer Grant says that the life of the actor deserves to be told.
Traumatic childhood
The TV series "Archie", shot for the British channel ITV, also highlights how hard Cary Grant started his life. Born to a very poor family in Bristol, England, on January 18, 1904, the actor was named Archibald Alexander. His father, Elias Leach, who was stated to be an alcoholic, worked in a clothing factory, and his mother, Elsie, was a tailor. Depressed after her brother died of an illness before Archibald was born, his mother Elsie was later placed in a mental institution by her husband. Father Elias also told his then-nine-year-old son, Archibald, that his mother first took a long vacation and then died. Archibald, who was very angry that his mother left him, was later left with his grandmother, and his father married someone else. Archibald, who did not know the truth until the age of 31, found his mother and took care of her after his father confessed that he had lied before he died.
He was a talented
Archibald, who went to school by day and worked backstage at Bristol theaters in the evening, was expelled at the age of 14. Then, while going to the USA with a traveling theater group and performing on stage, he changed his name to Cary Grant on the advice of a producer and went to Hollywood. When he started to act in films, he attracted attention with his acting talent and physique.
Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904 – November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one of classic Hollywood's definitive leading men. He was nominated twice for the Academy Award, and was honored with Academy Honorary Award in 1970, and the Kennedy Center Honor in 1981.
As a sought-after actor in Hollywood's golden age, Cary Grant had great talent, making movies with all the hit stars from Ingrid Bergman to Grace Kelly. He had transformed from a penniless kid to one of the highest-paid stars of the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. But he said goodbye to the cinema with the birth of his only child, Jennifer, at the age of 62 in 1966. While he was focusing on raising his daughter, his departure from the cinema was also effective because, with the end of Hollywood's golden age, he was no longer able to get the role he wanted.
The box office was high
For Cary Grant, who has been one of Hollywood's highest-grossing attractions for 30 years, and who has received many awards, including an Oscar, his daughter Jennifer Grant said:
“My father had to suppress his past to be successful in life. He rarely spoke to me about his parents, especially about his father. Occasionally he would say something polite about the way he taught her how to dress. And once in a while, my grandmother would talk about Elsie. In fact, given the pain he suffered as a child, he could have burned himself! But these pains motivated him. So the pendulum swung in the other direction. He suppressed so many things that his story deserves to be told for that reason. Working on this drama also helped me close the circuit between my father and the mismatch of his secrets. My longing for him does not go away either.”
'He was a very attractive man'
Cary Grant had been married five times. His daughter, Jennifer Grant, was also born to his fourth wife, actress Dyan Cannon. Jennifer Grant, who stated that her father took parenting very seriously due to the childhood she could not live, answered some of the allegations about the actor's sexuality as follows:
“My father was a symbol of graceful masculinity. He was very attractive and liked by everyone. I didn't see anything about a different gender identity. He was an English gentleman in Hollywood, sophisticated and elegant.”