James Cagney
James Francis Cagney, Jr. (July 17, 1899 – March 30, 1986) was an American film actor. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of roles, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys". In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth among the Greatest Male Stars of All Time.
In his first performing role, Cagney danced dressed as a woman in the chorus line of the 1919 revue Every Sailor. He spent several years in vaudeville as a hoofer and comedian until his first major acting role in 1925. He secured several other roles, receiving good reviews before landing the lead in the 1929 play Penny Arcade. After rave reviews for his acting, Warners signed him for an initial $500 a week, three-week contract to reprise his role; this was quickly extended to a seven year contract. Cagney's seventh film, The Public Enemy, became one of the most influential gangster movies of the period. Notable for its famous grapefruit scene, the film thrust Cagney into the spotlight, making him one of Warners' and Hollywood's biggest stars.
In 1938, he received his first Academy Award Best Actor nomination for Angels with Dirty Faces, before winning in 1942 for his portrayal of George M. Cohan in Yankee Doodle Dandy. He was nominated a third time in 1955 for Love Me or Leave Me. Cagney retired for 20 years in 1961, spending time on his farm before returning for a part in Ragtime mainly to aid his recovery from a stroke.
Cagney walked out on Warners several times over his career, each time coming back on improved personal and artistic terms. In 1935, he sued Warners for breach of contract and won; this marked one of the first times an actor had beaten a studio over a contract issue. He worked for an independent film company for a year while the suit was settled, and also established his own production company, Cagney Productions, in 1942 before returning to Warners again four years later. Jack Warner called him "The Professional Againster", in reference to Cagney’s refusal to be pushed around. Cagney also made numerous morale-boosting troop tours before and during World War II, and was President of the Screen Actors Guild for two years.
Known for
What's My Line?
Self - Mystery Guest
Robert Montgomery Presents
George Bridgeman
The Oscars
Self
Complicated Women
Self (archive footage)
Starlift
James Cagney
Dynamite Chicken
Self (archive footage)
Mutiny on the Bounty
(uncredited)
The Kennedy Center Honors
Self
Showbiz Ballyhoo
Self (archive footage)
You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Legends
Martin Snyder (archive footage) (uncredited)
Hooray for Hollywood
Self (archive footage)
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
Self
The Oklahoma Kid
Jim Kincaid
MGM Parade
self
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
Self (archive footage)
City for Conquest
Danny Kenny
Showbiz Goes to War
(archive footage)
Things You Never See on the Screen
Self
Hollywood Hobbies
Self (uncredited)
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression
Self (archive footage)
Something to Sing About
Terrence 'Terry' Rooney
The West Point Story
Elwin Bixby
Show-Business at War
Self
Okay for Sound
Tommy Powers (archive footage)
The Day of the Oath
Narrator
Tribute to a Bad Man
Jeremy Rodack
Ballad of Smokey the Bear
Narrator (voice)
'G' Men
‘Brick' Davis
That's Entertainment, Part II
(archive footage)
Man of a Thousand Faces
Lon Chaney
Hard to Handle
Lefty Merrill
White Heat
Arthur 'Cody' Jarrett
Mister Roberts
Captain Morton
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
(in "White Heat") (archive footage)
Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC
Self (archive footage)
Angels with Dirty Faces
Rocky Sullivan
One, Two, Three
C.R. MacNamara
Picture Snatcher
Daniel Patrick "Danny" Kean
The Fighting 69th
Jerry Plunkett
Texaco Presents: A Quarter Century of Bob Hope on Television
(archive footage)
Footlight Parade
Chester Kent
The Roaring Twenties
Eddie Bartlett
The Bride Came C.O.D.
Steve Collins
Night of 100 Stars
Self
The Strawberry Blonde
Biff Grimes
Come Fill the Cup
Lew Marsh
The Bob Hope Chevy Show
Himself
Lady Killer
Dan
Blood on the Sun
Nick Condon
The Public Enemy
Tom Powers
Bogart: The Untold Story
Self (archive footage)
13 Rue Madeleine
Robert Emmett 'Bob' Sharkey
Captains of the Clouds
Brian MacLean
Great Guy
Johnny 'Red' Cave
Ragtime
New York Police Commissioner Rhinelander Waldo
The St. Louis Kid
Eddie Kennedy
The Mayor of Hell
Richard 'Patsy' Gargan
Tupac: Resurrection
Self (archival)
What Price Glory
Captain Flagg
Los Angeles Plays Itself
Tom Powers in The Public Enemy (archive footage)
The Millionaire
Schofield
The Time of Your Life
Joseph
Shake Hands with the Devil
Sean Lenihan
Here Comes the Navy
Chesty O'Conner
The Gallant Hours
Admiral William 'Bull' Halsey
Each Dawn I Die
Frank Ross
The Singing Fool
Handsy Patron at Blackie Joe's (uncredited)
Taxi!
Matt Nolan
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
Self (archive footage)
The Doorway to Hell
Steve Mileaway
Frisco Kid
Bat Morgan
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Bottom
Run for Cover
Matt Dow
Love Me or Leave Me
Martin Snyder
A Lion Is in the Streets
Hank Martin
Yankee Doodle Dandy
George M. Cohan
The Irish in Us
Danny O'Hara
The Crowd Roars
Joe Greer
Smart Money
Jack
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
Ralph Cotter
A Dream Comes True
Himself (uncredited)
Parkinson at 50
Self (archive footage)
Going Hollywood: The '30s
(archive footage)
The Seven Little Foys
George M. Cohan
Doris Day: It's Magic
Self
Warner at War
(archive footage)
He Was Her Man
Flicker Hayes, aka Jerry Allen
Torrid Zone
Nick Butler
These Wilder Years
Steve Bradford
Ceiling Zero
Dizzy Davies
You, John Jones!
John Jones
Blonde Crazy
Albert 'Bert' Harris
That's Dancing!
From 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' (archive footage)
Beer and Blood: Enemies of the Public
Self (archive footage)
Movie Tough Guys
Self (archive footage)
Breakdowns of 1941
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Screen Snapshots No. 11
Himself
It's Showtime
Self (archive footage)
Jimmy the Gent
Jimmy Corrigan
Winner Take All
Jim 'Jimmy' Kane
This Is Bob Hope...
Self (archive footage)
Becoming Marilyn
Never Steal Anything Small
Jake MacIllaney
Public Enemies: The Golden Age of the Gangster Film
Self (archive footage)
Breakdowns of 1936
Self
Short Cut to Hell
Himself (prologue)
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Self (archive footage)
Johnny Come Lately
Tom Richards
The Hollywood Gad-About
Self (uncredited)
Boy Meets Girl
Robert Law
Terrible Joe Moran
Joe Moran
Blow-Ups of 1947
Self
Sinners' Holiday
Harry Delano
A Trip Thru a Hollywood Studio
Himself (uncredited)
Breakdowns of 1939
Self
Devil Dogs of the Air
Tommy O'Toole
James Cagney: Top of the World
Self (Archive footage)
Other Men's Women
Ed 'Eddie' Bailey
Remembering Ragtime
NY Police Commissioner Rheinlander Waldo (archive footage)
Breakdowns of 1940
Self
Arizona Bushwhackers
Narrator
Frank Sinatra: The First 40 Years
Self
James Cagney: That Yankee Doodle Dandy
White Heat: Top of the World
Self (archive footage)
The Road to the Wall
Narrator
Angels with Dirty Faces: Whaddya Hear? Whaddya Say?
Self (archive footage)
Calling All Girls
Himself (archive footage)
The Voice That Thrilled the World
Self (segment 'Yankee Doodle Dandy') (archive footage)
Intimate Interviews: James Cagney
Himself
How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 11: 'Practice Shots'
Himself
Screen Snapshots Series 14, No. 8
The Mike Douglas Show
Self
The Ed Sullivan Show
Self
The Ed Sullivan Show
Self (uncredited)