Born: July 17th, 1899 (New York City)
Died: March 30th, 1986 (heart attack related to diabetes)
Marriage: Frances Cagney (1922-1986 His Death)
Children: They adopted a boy and a girl: James Cagney Jr. & Cathleen Cagney.
Awards: He won only one Oscar, which was for his performance in Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942). He was nominated two other times for Best Actor: Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) & Love Me or Leave Me (1955). He achieved eight other awards with one additional nomination. He also has a star on the Walk of Fame.
Interesting Fact: He began his career as a female dancer in a chorus line.
My Favorite Movie: Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942). Though I love his gangster films, this one hits home for me. I was named after Cohan, and I just love Cagney's portrayal of him. Another favorite film is Man of a Thousand Faces (1957), it is a unique story about a unique man, Lon Chaney Sr..
First I would like to mention how odd it is that there are so many movie stars with the name James. Jimmy Stewart, James Cagney, Jimmy Durante, James Dean, James Garner and so on. Cagney was a strong actor who often got his way and it usually paid off when he did. He had a voice, he could dance, but all of that was incidental to his amazing ability as an actor.
One of his most powerful performances is found in Man of a Thousand Faces, here he is seen transforming himself as Chaney did with all the emotion that comes with it. Another thing to love about Cagney is his patriotism. This is seen best in the flag waving Yankee Doodle Dandy. He did an excellent job telling a story that would be considered corny in our day. This is a fantastic actor to watch.
This is a scene from Yankee Doodle Dandy
with a Rooney / Garland remake.
Cohan cameo on The Seven Little Foys (1955)
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE OF HIS?
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