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James Cagney

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James Cagney: Biography

james cagney

Birth Name: James Francis Cagney Jr.
Birth Place: New York, NY
Date of Birth / Zodiac Sign: 07/17/1899, Cancer
Date of Death: 03/30/1986
Profession: Actor; director; voice-overs

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James Cagney Fast Facts:

Among his odd jobs were gift wrapper, copy boy, ticket taker, waiter, poolroom racker, female impersonator and, along with his wife, Frances, vaudevillian.
Debuted on Broadway in the chorus of 1920's Pitter-Patter and got his breakout part in the 1929 musical Penny Arcade, going on to reprise the role in the 1930 film version, Sinner's Holiday.
After his star-making turn as a gangster in the 1931 Warner Bros. film Public Enemy, he defied typecasting by giving acclaimed performances in the 1935 Shakespearean drama A Midsummer Night's Dream, the 1942 musical Yankee Doodle Dandy and the 1961 Billy Wilder satire One, Two, Three.
Fought for freedom from the Hollywood studio system, serving as president of the Screen Actors Guild and, with his brother William, forming his own production company, Cagney Productions.
In 1981, ended a 20-year retirement with a small part in Milos Forman's Ragtime, then gave just one additional performance, in the 1984 TV-movie Terrible Joe Moran, before his 1986 death from a heart attack.

James Cagney Relationships:
Frances Willard Cagney - Wife
William Cagney - Brother
Edward Cagney - Brother
Harry Cagney - Brother
Jeanne Cagney - Sister
Cathleen Thomas - Daughter
Carolyn Nelson Cagney - Mother
James Francis Cagney - Father
James Cagney Jr. - Son
James Cagney Awards:
1977 Screen Actors Guild Awards: Life Achievement Award - Winner
1942 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Winner
1938 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Nominee
1955 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Nominee
College:
Attended Columbia University, New York, NY

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