Film historian and acclaimed New York Times bestselling biographer Scott Eyman has written the definitive, “captivating” (Associated Press) biography of Hollywood legend Cary Grant, one of the most accomplished–and beloved–actors of his generation, who remains as popular as ever today. Born Archibald Leach in 1904, he came to America as a teenaged acrobat to find fame and fortune, but he was … and fortune, but he was always haunted by his past. His father was a feckless alcoholic, and his mother was committed to an asylum when Archie was eleven years old. He believed her to be dead until he was informed she was alive when he was thirty-one years old. Because of this experience, Grant would have difficulty forming close attachments throughout his life. He married five times and had numerous affairs.
Despite a remarkable degree of success, Grant remained deeply conflicted about his past, his present, his basic identity, and even the public that worshipped him in movies such as Gunga Din, Notorious, and North by Northwest.
This “estimable and empathetic biography” (The Washington Post) draws on Grant’s own papers, extensive archival research, and interviews with family and friends making it a definitive and “complex portrait of Hollywood’s original leading man” (Entertainment Weekly).
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Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.
Film historian and acclaimed New York Times bestselling biographer Scott Eyman draws on Grant’s own papers, extensive archival research, and interviews with family and friends to give us an engrossing look into the life of Cary Grant. I liked the book because it wasn’t just some tell-all of scandalous tales, instead it is a comprehensive look at Archibald Leach’s early life, and his transformation into the witty, charming and debonair Cary Grant.
Born Archibald Leach to an alcoholic father, his mother was committed to an asylum when Archibald was young. Archibald thought she had died, and didn’t find out she was still alive until he was in his 30’s, perhaps the basis for his inability to form close attachments. Seeking fame and fortune, he arrived in Hollywood as a vaudeville actor and ended up fashioning his life into the legendary Cary Grant. Unfortunately, that trait didn’t spillover into his real life, and he ended up marrying five times, including the Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton. The book takes us from his early days, through his film career and into his retirement from show biz, where he sat on the board of directors for quite a few companies.
The book is an in-depth look at the epitome of a gentleman. He had his faults, as do we all, but underneath there seemed to be a good heart.
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If there’s ever been a book written about Cary Grant, it only scratches the surface compared to this one.
I thought I knew a bit about Archie Leach, aka Cary Grant. He’s aloof, he’s sensual, but he’s also very GQ. Right? That’s him? I had no idea how much he struggled with his self-esteem, only to end up being rather full of himself. He could be quite generous, but also off-putting in his stinginess. He loved his friends dearly, but only had a few friends. He was the ultimate romantic, trying to find the right one…all while not being entirely sure what he wanted in that right one.
He’s a complicated man, but what really stuck with me about Cary Grant was him trying so hard to impress his mother, the woman who left him to be raised by his father. He wanted nothing more than to make her happy. Bought her houses, cars, made sure someone took care of her, but he never quite measured up to what she wanted and what he thought she wanted of him. Honestly, it was the most relatable thing in the book. I can understand not measuring up to what my mother thinks I should be and how I try only to fail quite a bit–like he did.
If you’re looking for a book that’s unflinching in it’s honesty and covers almost all of Grant’s life, then this might be the book you’re looking for. Be prepared–it’s a long book, so buckle in for the wild ride.
Noted celebrity biographer Scott Eyman examines the life of a beloved Hollywood megastar in “Cary Grant: A Brilliant Disguise”. All of his life, Cary Grant was followed by the shadow of his birth persona, Archie Leach–or was it the other way around? Despite his impeccable on-screen skills, Grant was a man riddled by insecurities and self-doubts, shaped in large part by his troubled childhood. His father was a drinker who committed young Archie’s mother to a mental asylum and later told him that she had died. Years later, Grant would learn that his mother was still living. He would never fully reconcile with either parent. From the time that teen-aged Archie arrived in America as a vaudeville acrobat, to decades later when sixty-two-year-old Cary effectively retired from show business in order to spend time with his only child, Grant was an entertainer like no other. In his private life, he was prone to neurosis, he was a known penny-pincher, and he married five times. His sexuality was questioned, but his talent was never in doubt. His combination of looks, charm, wit, physical comedy, and his ability to also project a dark, mysterious allure still stands without peer. Later in life, he traveled the country in a series of one-man shows–“An Evening with Cary Grant”–which were extremely well-received. White-haired and bespectacled, Grant was possibly more handsome and charming than ever, and audiences were enthralled. The love of Grant’s life was his daughter, Jennifer. He had waited a very long time to become a father, and he cherished every moment of their time together. His timeless appeal far eclipses whatever his inner conflicts may have been, and he remains one of the top film stars of all time. Author Scott Eyman’s lengthy biography, which includes wonderful black & white photos chronicling Grant both on and off screen, is appropriate for such a storied life. It contains a wealth of information about its subject and the glittering world of entertainment. It includes insights featuring a galaxy of stars and show business luminaries, but none shine brighter than Grant himself.
Book Copy Gratis Simon & Schuster
Was there ever a more fabulously charming, witty, stylish and seductive movie star than Cary Grant? Scott Eyman’s biography peers under the hood of Hollywood’s most self-invented persona to explore the anxious, self-pitying, needy and depressed narcissist lurking within. Eyman does so with empathy, critical admiration and a deeply historical perspective that bring to life not just this remarkable performer but the golden age of Hollywood that he dominated.
The long quest by Scott Eyman to reclaim the Golden Age of Hollywood reaches its apotheosis with this always intelligent, carefully documented, intimate life story that helps explain the charm, genius, and immortality of Cary Grant.
As Scott Eyman’s masterful biography reveals, being ‘Cary Grant’ required A Brilliant Disguise. This is a riveting, scrupulously researched account of how Archie Leach, a penniless runaway from a broken home, willed himself into becoming one of the most iconic stars in Hollywood history. In examining Grant’s incredible feat of self-invention and the steep price the actor paid for his extraordinary success, Eyman once again demonstrates why he is one of our finest biographers.
Here is the astonishing story of someone with enormous talent and charm, who never quite believed he had become the man he most wanted to be. And how lucky we were, his adoring public, to have watched it happen.
Whenever friends ask the question “what are your favorite go to movies when you need to escape from life stress” my list always starts with Cary Grant movies – Charade, North by Northwest, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, Arsenic and Old Lace, House Boat and Topper. Of all of the great actors on the silver screen, he has always been the one I turned to for laughter and escape. You can bet those movies are getting a real workout these days.
This biography seems to me to be a very clear and fair telling of a great life lived. It didn’t go for the cheap or sly inference of hidden secrets, the gossip and such. I learned about the man he was, warts and all and I have to say, I found it to be a great read. After learning more about his childhood and then his various relationships, I have even more admiration for him. When I finished the book I went and binged on my previously mentioned list of favorites. I can think of several people who would like to find this gift from me in their future.
My thanks to the publisher Simon Schuster and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review
Archie Leach had a lousy childhood. His disturbed mother, institutionalized when he was eleven, and his alcoholic father left him in perpetual anxiety. He became Cary Grant, suave, debonair, radiant, everything he wasn’t. He chose the acting profession for approval, adulation, admiration, and affection.
In his first year with Paramount, he didn’t impress anyone, but the studio saw possibilities. He made 73 movies. My favorites are Operation Petticoat, Father Goose, and That Touch of Mink, none of which supposedly were successes at the time.
Learning about a favorite actor can be disappointing. Grant was often petulant and complaining. He didn’t care how much override he cost a studio. He demanded a limo during To Catch a Thief, decided it was too pretentious and cancelled it, then a week later he wanted it back.
He self-diagnosed himself as a “series of contradictions.” While he fussed and fumed about directors, he was magnificent with children. He considered his greatest accomplishment his daughter Jennifer. Too bad he didn’t become a father as a younger man.
I received a free copy for my honest opinion.
‘One doesn’t direct Cary Grant. One just puts him in front of a movie camera.’ (Alfred Hitchcock)
Cary Grant has always been one of my favorite movie stars. I much prefer the old movies to anything new. Much better made, better stars, with no vulgarity and profanity. Cary Grant only had to stand still to exude sexiness. I loved him in everything he did.
This biography is well written and very in depth. Fans of Cary Grant will definitely want to read this book. I wish it had had more photos, though. But I had a digital copy; perhaps the print copy has more photos.
*My thanks to Simon & Schuster for a preview copy of this book. The opinion in this review is entirely my own.