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More than a biography, this is a savvy portrait of how Archie Leach, born to a poor working-class family in Bristol, England became Cary Grant, one of Hollywood's most irresistible and admired celebrities of all time.

About the Author

Graham McCann teaches at King's College, Cambridge University.

Reviews

More than a dozen previous books about the actor are available, but McCann's well-researched addition is particularly valuable for its careful investigation of old canards. Publishers Weekly British-American film critic David Thomson, who considers Grant 'the most important actor in the ceinma,' calls this the best book about him so far. Desert Sun (Knight Ridder Newspapers)

More than a dozen previous books about the actor are available, but McCann's well-researched addition is particularly valuable for its careful investigation of old canards. Publishers Weekly British-American film critic David Thomson, who considers Grant 'the most important actor in the ceinma,' calls this the best book about him so far. Desert Sun (Knight Ridder Newspapers)

"Everybody wants to be Cary Grant. Even I want to be Cary Grant," said Archie Leach, better known as Hollywood star Cary Grant. A professor at Kings College, Cambridge, and author of biographies on Marilyn Monroe, Woody Allen, and James Dean and Marlon Brando, McCann discovers how that wish came to be at least partially fulfilled. He traces the life of Leach from his 1904 birth in working-class Bristol, England, to his death as Cary Grant on the international lecture circuit in 1986. McCann charts Archie Leach's humble vaudeville beginnings, the invention of Cary Grant in Hollywood, and Leach/ Grant's rise to international fame. He explores personal issues such as Grant's relationship with his mother, his sexuality, his use of LSD, and his World War II spy activities. Though there have been more than ten biographies of Cary Grant, McCann's adds sensitivity, scholarship, and insight to that list. This excellent work will appeal to general readers browsing biography and film collections of both academic and public libraries.‘Lisa N. Johnston, Sweet Briar Coll. Lib., Va.