Cary Grant: A Life in Pictures

Today is Cary Grant's 122nd birthday. Known for his distinctive mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanour, light-hearted approach to acting, and impeccable comic timing, he was one of the most iconic leading men of Hollywood's Golden Age. Renowned for his performances in romantic screwball comedies such as The Awful Truth (1937), Bringing Up Baby (1938), His Girl Friday (1940) and The Philadelphia (1940), he also received acclaim for serious roles in films like Penny Serenade (1941) and None But the Lonely Heart (1944), and his collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock, which included Suspicious (1941), Notorious (1946), To Catch a Thief (1955) and North by Northwest (1959). He was nominated for two Academy Awards, five Golden Globes and a BAFTA, received a Star on the Walk of Fame in 1960, and remained a top box-office attraction for almost 30 years. To celebrate the man, the myth, the legend, this is his life in pictures. 

 

 At the age of 4 years old.

 

 Visiting his old secondary school in Bristol, England, in November 1933.

 

With Amelia Earhart, circa 1933. 

 

With his first wife, actress Virginia Cherill, at the 6th Academy Awards ceremony at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, on March 16, 1934.

 

 On the Paramount Studios lot, circa 1935.

 

 

With Randolph Scott at their beach house, known as «Bachelor Hall,» in 1935.

 

On the set during the making of Suzy (1936).

 

With Skippy on the set of The Awful Truth. 

 

With Howard Hawks and Katharine Hepburn on the set of Bringing Up Baby. 

 

Arriving in New York City aboard the SS Île de France after a holiday in Europe, on August 7, 1938.

 

At the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo in July 1939. 

 

With Rosalind Russell and Howard Hawks on the set of His Girl Friday. 

 

With Rosalind Russell at the 14th Academy Awards ceremony at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, on February 26, 1942. 

 

In a studio portrait, circa 1943.

 

With author William Spier during a break in rehearsal for the CBS radio program Suspense, on November 30, 1944, in Los Angeles, California.
 

Leaving a hotel in England in April 1946.

 

With Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe during the making of Monkey Business (1952). 

 

With Grace Kelly in Monaco, during the making of To Catch a Thief.

 

Photographed on the deck of a ship, circa 1955.

  

With Sophia Loren during a break from filming The Pride and the Passion (1957) in Spain. 

 

In London, England, in July 1957.

 

With his third wife, actress Betsy Drake, at London Airport after returning from a holiday in Nice, on December 31, 1957.

 

With Alfred Hitchcock on the set of North By Northwest (1959).
 

With Doris Day during the filming of That Touch of Mink (1962).

 

With Audrey Hepburn in Paris during the filming of Charade (1963). 

 

On location in Jamaica during the making of Father Goose (1964).

 

With his fourth wife, actress Dyan Cannon, and their three-month-old daughter, Jennifer, before boarding the SS Oriana to visit Grant's mother in England, in June 1966.

 

Being presented by Frank Sinatra with a special Oscar for Lifetime Achievement at the 42nd Academy Awards ceremony at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, on April 7, 1970. 

 

 With his daughter, Jennifer, in 1975.

 

 

With Prince Charles while attending the Humanitarian Award banquet organised by the Variety Club International at the Monte Carlo Sporting Club in Monaco, in April 1977.

 

Photographed by Maureen Donaldson in 1978.

  

Throwing the first pitch at Dodger Stadium on April 5, 1979, for the first home game of the season against the San Diego Padres. 

 

 

Presenting an honorary Oscar to James Stewart at the Academy Awards ceremony on March 25, 1985.

 

When Frank Sinatra presented Cary Grant with the Oscar for Lifetime Achievement in 1970, he said, «No one has brought more pleasure to more people for so many years than Cary has, and nobody has done so many things so well.» Happy birthday to one of the greatest stars who ever lived.