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James Cagney
Acting
Biography
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 initia…
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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.
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BODY OF WORK
James Cagney's Filmography
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Becoming Marilyn
as (archive footage)
Parkinson at 50
as Self (archive footage)
This Is Bob Hope...
as Self (archive footage)
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
as Self (archive footage)
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression
as Self (archive footage)
Warner at War
as (archive footage)
Public Enemies: The Golden Age of the Gangster Film
as Self (archive footage)
You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story
as Self (archive footage)
Stardust: The Bette Davis Story
as Self (archive footage) (voice)
Beer and Blood: Enemies of the Public
as Self (archive footage)
No Poster
White Heat: Top of the World
as Self (archive footage)
Angels with Dirty Faces: Whaddya Hear? Whaddya Say?
as Self (archive footage)
Remembering Ragtime
as NY Police Commissioner Rheinlander Waldo (archive footage)
Tupac: Resurrection
as Self (archival)
Complicated Women
as Self (archive footage)
Doris Day: It's Magic
as Self
Vaudeville
as Self (archive footage)
Bogart: The Untold Story
as Self (archive footage)
James Cagney: Top of the World
as Self (Archive footage)
Movie Tough Guys
as Self (archive footage)
I Don't Even Like Apple Pie...
as Self (archive footage)
Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Routine Pleasures
as Ed "Eddie" Bailey (archive footage)
That's Dancing!
as From 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' (archive footage)
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
as Self (archive footage)
Terrible Joe Moran
as Joe Moran
Going Hollywood: The '30s
as (archive footage)
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Showbiz Goes to War
as (archive footage)
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
as (in "White Heat") (archive footage)
Showbiz Ballyhoo
as Self (archive footage)
Night of 100 Stars
as Self
No Poster
James Cagney: That Yankee Doodle Dandy
Ragtime
as New York Police Commissioner Rhinelander Waldo
Frank Sinatra: The First 40 Years
as Self
No Poster
Bob Hope's World of Comedy
as (archive footage)
That's Entertainment, Part II
as (archive footage) (uncredited)
It's Showtime
as Self (archive footage)
Hooray for Hollywood
as Self (archive footage)
No Poster
Texaco Presents: A Quarter Century of Bob Hope on Television
as (archive footage)
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
as Self (archive footage)
Dynamite Chicken
as Self (archive footage)
Arizona Bushwhackers
as Narrator
Ballad of Smokey the Bear
as Narrator (voice)
The Day of the Oath
as Narrator
The Road to the Wall
as Narrator
One, Two, Three
as C.R. MacNamara
The Gallant Hours
as Admiral William 'Bull' Halsey
Shake Hands with the Devil
as Sean Lenihan
Never Steal Anything Small
as Jake MacIllaney
Short Cut to Hell
as Himself (prologue)
Man of a Thousand Faces
as Lon Chaney
The Bob Hope Chevy Show
as Himself
These Wilder Years
as Steve Bradford
Tribute to a Bad Man
as Jeremy Rodack
The Seven Little Foys
as George M. Cohan
Mister Roberts
as Captain Morton
Love Me or Leave Me
as Martin Snyder
Run for Cover
as Matt Dow
A Lion Is in the Streets
as Hank Martin
What Price Glory
as Captain Flagg
Starlift
as James Cagney
Come Fill the Cup
as Lew Marsh
The West Point Story
as Elwin Bixby
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
as Ralph Cotter
White Heat
as Arthur 'Cody' Jarrett
The Time of Your Life
as Joseph
Blow-Ups of 1947
as Self
13 Rue Madeleine
as Robert Emmett 'Bob' Sharkey
Okay for Sound
as Tommy Powers (archive footage)
Blood on the Sun
as Nick Condon
The Voice That Thrilled the World
as Self (segment 'Yankee Doodle Dandy') (archive footage)
Johnny Come Lately
as Tom Richards
Show-Business at War
as Self
You, John Jones!
as John Jones
Yankee Doodle Dandy
as George M. Cohan
Captains of the Clouds
as Brian MacLean
Calling All Girls
as Himself (archive footage)
Breakdowns of 1941
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Bride Came C.O.D.
as Steve Collins
The Strawberry Blonde
as Biff Grimes
Breakdowns of 1940
as Self
City for Conquest
as Danny Kenny
Torrid Zone
as Nick Butler
The Fighting 69th
as Jerry Plunkett
Breakdowns of 1939
as Self
The Roaring Twenties
as Eddie Bartlett
Each Dawn I Die
as Frank Ross
Hollywood Hobbies
as Self (uncredited)
The Oklahoma Kid
as Jim Kincaid
Angels with Dirty Faces
as Rocky Sullivan
Boy Meets Girl
as Robert Law
Something to Sing About
as Terry Rooney
Breakdowns of 1936
as Self
Great Guy
as Johnny 'Red' Cave
Ceiling Zero
as Dizzy Davies
A Dream Comes True
as Himself (uncredited)
Things You Never See on the Screen
as Self
Frisco Kid
as Bat Morgan
Mutiny on the Bounty
as (uncredited)
A Midsummer Night's Dream
as Bottom
The Irish in Us
as Danny O'Hara
'G' Men
as ‘Brick' Davis
No Poster
Screen Snapshots Series 14, No. 8
Devil Dogs of the Air
as Tommy O'Toole
A Trip Thru a Hollywood Studio
as Himself (uncredited)
The St. Louis Kid
as Eddie Kennedy
The Hollywood Gad-About
as Self (uncredited)
Here Comes the Navy
as Chesty O'Conner
He Was Her Man
as Flicker Hayes, aka Jerry Allen
Jimmy the Gent
as Jimmy Corrigan
Screen Snapshots No. 11
as Himself
Lady Killer
as Dan
Footlight Parade
as Chester Kent
The Mayor of Hell
as Richard 'Patsy' Gargan
Picture Snatcher
as Daniel Patrick "Danny" Kean
Hard to Handle
as Lefty Merrill
Winner Take All
as Jim 'Jimmy' Kane
The Crowd Roars
as Joe Greer
Taxi!
as Matt Nolan
No Poster
Intimate Interviews: James Cagney
as Himself
How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 11: 'Practice Shots'
as Himself
Blonde Crazy
as Albert 'Bert' Harris
Smart Money
as Jack
The Millionaire
as Schofield
The Public Enemy
as Tom Powers
Other Men's Women
as Ed 'Eddie' Bailey
The Doorway to Hell
as Steve Mileaway
Sinners' Holiday
as Harry Delano
The Singing Fool
as Handsy Patron at Blackie Joe's (uncredited)