Search
What's Hot
Add New Fall Shows to Your Watchlist
Nashville Sneak Peek
Grimm Postmortem
Fall TV Day-By-Day Grid

James Cagney

Celebrity

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
User Rating: (79 ratings)
Add Your Rating: 1 stars2 stars3 stars4 stars5 stars
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:
  • William Cagney - Brother
  • Jeanne Cagney - Sister
  • Cathleen Thomas - Daughter
  • Frances Willard Cagney - Wife
  • James Francis Cagney - Father
  • James Cagney Jr. - Son
  • Edward Cagney - Brother
  • Harry Cagney - Brother
  • Carolyn Nelson Cagney - Mother
  • James Cagney Awards:
  • 1938 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Nominee
  • 1955 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Nominee
  • 1942 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Winner
  • 1977 Screen Actors Guild Awards: Life Achievement Award - Winner
  • College:
  • Attended Columbia University, New York, NY
Advertisement

Shop

Silver Screen Legends: James Cagney (Collector's Set)
Buy Silver Screen Legends: James Cagney (Collector's Set) from Amazon.com
From Synergy Ent (DVD)
Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy New: $17.98 (as of 05/21/13 11:03 PM EST - more info)
James Cagney Hollywood Classics/Great Detectives Hollywood Classics
Buy James Cagney Hollywood Classics/Great Detectives Hollywood Classics from Amazon.com
From Genius Entertainment (DVD)
Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy New: $7.15 (as of 05/21/13 11:03 PM EST - more info)

more James Cagney products

Our Partners

Related Websites

You might be also interested in the following websites:

Most Popular TV Shows

  1. The Voice
  2. American Idol
  3. Mad Men
  4. Dancing with the Stars
  5. Scandal
more popular tv shows

Most Popular Celebrities

  1. Kate Middleton
  2. Kim Kardashian
  3. Ben Affleck
  4. Jennifer Garner
  5. Jennifer Lawrence
more popular celebrities

Most Popular Movies

  1. Star Trek Into Darkness
  2. Iron Man 3
  3. The Great Gatsby
  4. Pain & Gain
  5. 42
more popular movies

Top Videos

  1. Dancing With The Stars
  2. Bad Girls Club
  3. Dancing With The Stars
  4. The Young and the Restless
  5. The Bold and the Beautiful
more top videos