James Cagney
Acting • Born 1899-07-17 – Died 1986-03-30
Biography
James Francis Cagney, Jr. (July 17, 1899 – March 30, 1986) 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.
Filmography
136 credits
One, Two, Three
Movie • 1961
C.R. MacNamara
Movie Tough Guys
Movie • 1991
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
Movie • 1985
Self (archive footage)
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Movie • 1942
George M. Cohan
White Heat: Top of the World
Movie • 2005
Self (archive footage)
Beer and Blood: Enemies of the Public
Movie • 2005
Self (archive footage)
Angels with Dirty Faces: Whaddya Hear? Whaddya Say?
Movie • 2005
Self (archive footage)
City for Conquest
Movie • 1940
Danny Kenny
Other Men's Women
Movie • 1931
Ed 'Eddie' Bailey
Ragtime
Movie • 1981
New York Police Commissioner Rhinelander Waldo
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
Movie • 1982
(in "White Heat") (archive footage)
The Seven Little Foys
Movie • 1955
George M. Cohan
Captains of the Clouds
Movie • 1942
Brian MacLean
The Doorway to Hell
Movie • 1930
Steve Mileaway
'G' Men
Movie • 1935
‘Brick' Davis
Angels with Dirty Faces
Movie • 1938
Rocky Sullivan
Footlight Parade
Movie • 1933
Chester Kent
Love Me or Leave Me
Movie • 1955
Martin Snyder
Each Dawn I Die
Movie • 1939
Frank Ross
Mutiny on the Bounty
Movie • 1935
(uncredited)
The Bride Came C.O.D.
Movie • 1941
Steve Collins
Blonde Crazy
Movie • 1931
Albert 'Bert' Harris
Man of a Thousand Faces
Movie • 1957
Lon Chaney
Lady Killer
Movie • 1933
Dan
The Roaring Twenties
Movie • 1939
Eddie Bartlett
Mister Roberts
Movie • 1955
Captain Morton
White Heat
Movie • 1949
Arthur 'Cody' Jarrett
These Wilder Years
Movie • 1956
Steve Bradford
Great Guy
Movie • 1936
Johnny 'Red' Cave
Smart Money
Movie • 1931
Jack
The Public Enemy
Movie • 1931
Tom Powers
Picture Snatcher
Movie • 1933
Daniel Patrick "Danny" Kean
The Oklahoma Kid
Movie • 1939
Jim Kincaid
13 Rue Madeleine
Movie • 1947
Robert Emmett 'Bob' Sharkey
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
Movie • 1950
Ralph Cotter
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Movie • 1935
Bottom
Short Cut to Hell
Movie • 1957
Himself (prologue)
Breakdowns of 1941
Movie • 1941
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Showbiz Goes to War
Movie • 1982
(archive footage)
Los Angeles Plays Itself
Movie • 2004
Tom Powers in The Public Enemy (archive footage)
Jimmy the Gent
Movie • 1934
Jimmy Corrigan
The West Point Story
Movie • 1950
Elwin Bixby
Winner Take All
Movie • 1932
Jim 'Jimmy' Kane
Taxi!
Movie • 1932
Matt Nolan
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Movie • 1983
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Fighting 69th
Movie • 1940
Jerry Plunkett
What Price Glory
Movie • 1952
Captain Flagg
Tribute to a Bad Man
Movie • 1956
Jeremy Rodack
Here Comes the Navy
Movie • 1934
Chesty O'Conner
Ceiling Zero
Movie • 1936
Dizzy Davies
Blood on the Sun
Movie • 1945
Nick Condon
The Strawberry Blonde
Movie • 1941
Biff Grimes
Something to Sing About
Movie • 1937
Terrence 'Terry' Rooney
The Time of Your Life
Movie • 1948
Joseph
Torrid Zone
Movie • 1940
Nick Butler
Run for Cover
Movie • 1955
Matt Dow
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Movie • 1975
Self (archive footage)
The Mayor of Hell
Movie • 1933
Richard 'Patsy' Gargan
The Gallant Hours
Movie • 1960
Admiral William 'Bull' Halsey
The Crowd Roars
Movie • 1932
Joe Greer
A Lion Is in the Streets
Movie • 1953
Hank Martin
Come Fill the Cup
Movie • 1951
Lew Marsh
Boy Meets Girl
Movie • 1938
Robert Law
Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC
Movie • 1988
Self (archive footage)
Johnny Come Lately
Movie • 1943
Tom Richards
Doris Day: It's Magic
Movie • 1998
Self
Public Enemies: The Golden Age of the Gangster Film
Movie • 2008
Self (archive footage)
Frisco Kid
Movie • 1935
Bat Morgan
Hard to Handle
Movie • 1933
Lefty Merrill
Remembering Ragtime
Movie • 2004
NY Police Commissioner Rheinlander Waldo (archive footage)
Sinners' Holiday
Movie • 1930
Harry Delano
Parkinson at 50
Movie • 2021
Self (archive footage)
Frank Sinatra: The First 40 Years
Movie • 1979
Self
He Was Her Man
Movie • 1934
Flicker Hayes, aka Jerry Allen
Starlift
Movie • 1951
James Cagney
The St. Louis Kid
Movie • 1934
Eddie Kennedy
The Irish in Us
Movie • 1935
Danny O'Hara
The Millionaire
Movie • 1931
Schofield
You, John Jones!
Movie • 1943
John Jones
Never Steal Anything Small
Movie • 1959
Jake MacIllaney
The Road to the Wall
Movie • 1962
Narrator
Hollywood Hobbies
Movie • 1939
Self (uncredited)
Going Hollywood: The '30s
Movie • 1984
(archive footage)
Shake Hands with the Devil
Movie • 1959
Sean Lenihan
The Singing Fool
Movie • 1928
Handsy Patron at Blackie Joe's (uncredited)
Devil Dogs of the Air
Movie • 1935
Tommy O'Toole
Terrible Joe Moran
Movie • 1984
Joe Moran
James Cagney: Top of the World
Movie • 1992
Self (Archive footage)
Breakdowns of 1936
Movie • 1936
Self
Calling All Girls
Movie • 1942
Himself (archive footage)
How I Play Golf, by Bobby Jones No. 11: 'Practice Shots'
Movie • 1931
Himself
Blow-Ups of 1947
Movie • 1947
Self
Intimate Interviews: James Cagney
Movie • 1931
Himself
You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story
Movie • 2008
Self (archive footage)
A Trip Thru a Hollywood Studio
Movie • 1935
Himself (uncredited)
Ballad of Smokey the Bear
Movie • 1966
Narrator (voice)
The Hollywood Gad-About
Movie • 1934
Self (uncredited)
Things You Never See on the Screen
Movie • 1935
Self
A Dream Comes True
Movie • 1935
Himself (uncredited)
Breakdowns of 1939
Movie • 1939
Self
Breakdowns of 1940
Movie • 1940
Self
Show-Business at War
Movie • 1943
Self
Complicated Women
Movie • 2003
Self (archive footage)
That's Entertainment, Part II
Movie • 1976
(archive footage)
This Is Bob Hope...
Movie • 2017
Self (archive footage)
Bogart: The Untold Story
Movie • 1997
Self (archive footage)
Arizona Bushwhackers
Movie • 1968
Narrator
Okay for Sound
Movie • 1946
Tommy Powers (archive footage)
The Voice That Thrilled the World
Movie • 1943
Self (segment 'Yankee Doodle Dandy') (archive footage)
That's Dancing!
Movie • 1985
From 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' (archive footage)
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
Movie • 2009
Self (archive footage)
It's Showtime
Movie • 1976
Self (archive footage)
James Cagney: That Yankee Doodle Dandy
Movie • 1981
Screen Snapshots No. 11
Movie • 1934
Himself
Night of 100 Stars
Movie • 1982
Self
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression
Movie • 2009
Self (archive footage)
Texaco Presents: A Quarter Century of Bob Hope on Television
Movie • 1975
(archive footage)
The Bob Hope Chevy Show
Movie • 1956
Himself
Tupac: Resurrection
Movie • 2003
Self (archival)
Hooray for Hollywood
Movie • 1976
Self (archive footage)
Screen Snapshots Series 14, No. 8
Movie • 1935
Dynamite Chicken
Movie • 1971
Self (archive footage)
Showbiz Ballyhoo
Movie • 1982
Self (archive footage)
The Day of the Oath
Movie • 1965
Narrator
Warner at War
Movie • 2008
(archive footage)
Becoming Marilyn
Movie • 2022
The Ed Sullivan Show
TV • 1948
Self
Robert Montgomery Presents
TV • 1950
George Bridgeman
The Oscars
TV • 1953
Self
The Kennedy Center Honors
TV • 1978
Self
The Mike Douglas Show
TV • 1961
Self
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
TV • 1973
Self
The Ed Sullivan Show
TV • 1948
Self (uncredited)
What's My Line?
TV • 1950
Self - Mystery Guest
Legends
TV • 2006
Martin Snyder (archive footage) (uncredited)
MGM Parade
TV • 1955
self