James Cagney
Acting
🎂 1899-07-17
James Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American film actor. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of roles, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys". In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth among the Greatest Male Stars of All Time. In his first performing role, Cagney danced dressed as a woman in the chorus line of the 1919 revue Every Sailor. He spent several years in vaudeville as a hoofer and comedian until his first major acting role in 1925. He secured several other roles, receiving good reviews before landing the lead in the 1929 play Penny Arcade. After rave reviews for his acting, Warners signed him for an initial $500 a week, three-week contract to reprise his role; this was quickly extended to a seven year contract. Cagney's seventh film, The Public Enemy, became one of the most influential gangster movies of the period. Notable for its famous grapefruit scene, the film thrust Cagney into the spotlight, making him one of Warners' and Hollywood's biggest stars. In 1938, he received his first Academy Award Best Actor nomination for Angels with Dirty Faces, before winning in 1942 for his portrayal of George M. Cohan in Yankee Doodle Dandy. He was nominated a third time in 1955 for Love Me or Leave Me. Cagney retired for 20 years in 1961, spending time on his farm before returning for a part in Ragtime mainly to aid his recovery from a stroke. Cagney walked out on Warners several times over his career, each time coming back on improved personal and artistic terms. In 1935, he sued Warners for breach of contract and won; this marked one of the first times an actor had beaten a studio over a contract issue. He worked for an independent film company for a year while the suit was settled, and also established his own production company, Cagney Productions, in 1942 before returning to Warners again four years later. Jack Warner called him "The Professional Againster", in reference to Cagney’s refusal to be pushed around. Cagney also made numerous morale-boosting troop tours before and during World War II, and was President of the Screen Actors Guild for two years.
Cast credits(135)
Self
1961
George Bridgeman
1950
Self
1953
Self
1948
Self (uncredited)
1948
Self - Mystery Guest
1950
Self
1978
Martin Snyder (archive footage) (uncredited)
2006
Self (archive footage)
2014
Elwin Bixby
1950
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1983
(uncredited)
1935
Self (archive footage)
1997
Self
1947
Self
1973
1935
Arthur 'Cody' Jarrett
1949
Danny Kenny
1940
(archive footage)
1982
Self (archive footage)
1971
Jeremy Rodack
1956
C.R. MacNamara
1961
Tom Powers
1931
Narrator
1968
Ralph Cotter
1950
Captain Morton
1955
Self (archive footage)
2021
Eddie Bartlett
1939
Self (archive footage)
1975
Richard 'Patsy' Gargan
1933
Lefty Merrill
1933
(in "White Heat") (archive footage)
1982
George M. Cohan
1955
Self (archive footage)
1982
Self (archival)
2003
Self (archive footage)
1976
Martin Snyder
1955
New York Police Commissioner Rhinelander Waldo
1981
Self (archive footage)
2002
Lon Chaney
1957
Admiral William 'Bull' Halsey
1960
James Cagney
1951
Steve Bradford
1956
Handsy Patron at Blackie Joe's (uncredited)
1928
Self (segment 'Yankee Doodle Dandy') (archive footage)
1943
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1941
Bottom
1935
Self (Archive footage)
1992
Self (archive footage)
1991
Self
1940
Bat Morgan
1935
(archive footage)
1976
Jerry Plunkett
1940
Self
1982
Jack
1931
Tom Richards
1943
Joseph
1948
Self (archive footage)
1988
Self (archive footage)
2003
Self
1936
Hank Martin
1953
Tommy Powers (archive footage)
1946
From 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' (archive footage)
1985
Himself (uncredited)
1935
George M. Cohan
1942
Chesty O'Conner
1934
Johnny 'Red' Cave
1936
Rocky Sullivan
1938
Self (archive footage)
2008
Self (archive footage)
1985
Schofield
1931
Self
1998
Lew Marsh
1951
Self
1979
Tommy O'Toole
1935
Matt Dow
1955
Self (archive footage)
2009
Harry Delano
1930
Danny O'Hara
1935
Self (archive footage)
1976
‘Brick' Davis
1935
Sean Lenihan
1959
Self (uncredited)
1939
Self (uncredited)
1934
Captain Flagg
1952
Joe Moran
1984
Robert Law
1938
Tom Powers in The Public Enemy (archive footage)
2004
Eddie Kennedy
1934
Frank Ross
1939
Nick Condon
1945
Dan
1933
(archive footage)
1984
Jimmy Corrigan
1934
Self (archive footage)
2008
Jim Kincaid
1939
Himself (prologue)
1957
Self
1935
NY Police Commissioner Rheinlander Waldo (archive footage)
2004
Robert Emmett 'Bob' Sharkey
1947
Joe Greer
1932
Brian MacLean (bush pilot)
1942
Steve Mileaway
1930
(archive footage)
1975
Chester Kent
1933
Albert 'Bert' Harris
1931
Biff Grimes
1941
Matt Nolan
1931
Himself
1956
Self (archive footage)
2017
Self
1943
Nick Butler
1940
Flicker Hayes, aka Jerry Allen
1934
Himself (uncredited)
1935
Daniel Patrick "Danny" Kean
1933
Self
1939
1981
Terrence 'Terry' Rooney
1937
Jim 'Jimmy' Kane
1932
Self (archive footage)
1993
Jake MacIllaney
1959
Dizzy Davies
1936
Himself
1931
Steve Collins
1941
Self (archive footage)
2005
Self (archive)
2009
Self (archive footage)
2005
Narrator (voice)
1966
Ed 'Eddie' Bailey
1931
Self (archive footage)
2005
Himself
1934
John Jones
1943
Himself
1931
Himself (archive footage)
1942
Narrator
1962