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IMDbPro

James Cagney(1899-1986)

  • Actor
  • Director
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
James Cagney
Watch Official Trailer
Play Trailer2:13
One, Two, Three (1961)
35 Videos
99+ Photos
One of Hollywood's preeminent male stars of all time, James Cagney was also an accomplished dancer and easily played light comedy. James Francis Cagney was born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City, to Carolyn (Nelson) and James Francis Cagney, Sr., who was a bartender and amateur boxer. Cagney was of Norwegian (from his maternal grandfather) and Irish descent. Ending three decades on the screen, he retired to his farm in Stanfordville, New York (some 77 miles/124 km. north of his New York City birthplace), after starring in Billy Wilder's One, Two, Three (1961). He emerged from retirement to star in the 1981 screen adaptation of E.L. Doctorow's novel "Ragtime" (Ragtime (1981)), in which he was reunited with his frequent co-star of the 1930s, Pat O'Brien, and which was his last theatrical film and O'Brien's as well). Cagney's final performance came in the title role of the made-for-TV movie Terrible Joe Moran (1984), in which he played opposite Art Carney.
BornJuly 17, 1899
DiedMarch 30, 1986(86)
BornJuly 17, 1899
DiedMarch 30, 1986(86)
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
  • Won 1 Oscar

Photos852

James Cagney and Madge Evans in The Mayor of Honor (1933)
James Cagney and Madge Evans in The Mayor of Honor (1933)
James Cagney and Madge Evans in The Mayor of Honor (1933)
James Cagney and Madge Evans in The Mayor of Honor (1933)
James Cagney in The Bride Came C.O.D. (1941)
James Cagney in The Public Enemy (1931)
James Cagney, Jean Harlow, and Edward Woods in The Public Enemy (1931)
James Cagney and Joan Blondell in Blonde Crazy (1931)
James Cagney and Joan Blondell in Blonde Crazy (1931)
James Cagney in 'G' Men (1935)
James Cagney in 'G' Men (1935)
James Cagney, Robert Armstrong, and Barton MacLane in 'G' Men (1935)

Known for

Humphrey Bogart, Pat O'Brien, Gabriel Dell, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Billy Halop, Bobby Jordan, Bernard Punsly, and The Dead End Kids in Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)
Angels with Dirty Faces
7.9
  • Rocky Sullivan
  • 1938
James Cagney in White Heat (1949)
White Heat
8.1
  • Cody Jarrett
  • 1949
Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Priscilla Lane in The Roaring Twenties (1939)
The Roaring Twenties
7.9
  • Eddie Bartlett
  • 1939
James Cagney in Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
Yankee Doodle Dandy
7.6
  • George M. Cohan
  • 1942

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • James Cagney in Terrible Joe Moran (1984)
    Terrible Joe Moran
  • Ragtime (1981)
    Ragtime
  • Yvonne De Carlo, Brian Donlevy, Scott Brady, John Ireland, Howard Keel, Marilyn Maxwell, and Roy Rogers Jr. in Arizona Bushwhackers (1968)
    Arizona Bushwhackers
    • (voice, uncredited)
  • The Ballad of Smokey the Bear (1966)
    The Ballad of Smokey the Bear
    • (voice)
  • One, Two, Three (1961)
    One, Two, Three
  • The Gallant Hours (1960)
    The Gallant Hours
  • Shake Hands with the Devil (1959)
    Shake Hands with the Devil
  • James Cagney, Shirley Jones, and Roger Smith in Never Steal Anything Small (1959)
    Never Steal Anything Small
  • James Cagney, Jane Greer, and Dorothy Malone in Man of a Thousand Faces (1957)
    Man of a Thousand Faces
  • The Christophers
  • Robert Montgomery Presents (1950)
    Robert Montgomery Presents
  • These Wilder Years (1956)
    These Wilder Years
  • James Cagney, Stephen McNally, and Irene Papas in Tribute to a Bad Man (1956)
    Tribute to a Bad Man
  • James Cagney, Henry Fonda, Jack Lemmon, and William Powell in Mister Roberts (1955)
    Mister Roberts
  • The Seven Little Foys (1955)
    The Seven Little Foys

Director

  • Robert Ivers and Georgann Johnson in Short Cut to Hell (1957)
    Short Cut to Hell

Producer

  • The Gallant Hours (1960)
    The Gallant Hours
    • (uncredited)

IMDb Best of 2022

IMDb Best of 2022

Discover the stars who skyrocketed on IMDb’s STARmeter chart this year, and explore more of the Best of 2022; including top trailers, posters, and photos.
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Personal details

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    • July 17, 1899
    • New York City, New York, USA
    • March 30, 1986
    • Stanfordville, New York, USA(heart attack following illness from diabetes)
    • Frances CagneySeptember 28, 1922 - March 30, 1986 (his death, 2 children)
    • Carolyn Cagney
    • Jeanne Cagney(Sibling)
  • Other works
    Stage: Appeared (as "Ensemble"; Broadway debut) in "Pitter Patter" on Broadway. Musical comedy. Music by / lyrics by / produced by William B. Friedlander. Book by William M. Hough. Additional music / lyrics by William M. Hough. Based on a farce by William Collier Sr. and Grant Stewart. Musical Director: Harry Archer. Choreographed by David Bennett. Longacre Theater, (111 performances). Cast: Mabel Benelisha (as "Ensemble"), Helen Bolton (as "Mrs. George Meriden"), Georgie Cable (as "Ensemble"), Estelle Callen (as "Ensemble"), Florence Carroll (as "Ensemble"), Hugh Chilvers (as "Howard Mason"), Pearl Crossman (as "Ensemble"), Florence Davis (as "Ensemble"), Elsa Dawn (as "Ensemble"), Rae Fields (as "Ensemble"), Anne Foose (as "Ensemble"), Arthur Greeter (as "Butler"), Aileen Grenier (as "Ensemble"), Frederick Hall (as "James Maxwell"), Sunny Harrison (as "Ensemble"), Violet Hazel (as "Ensemble"), John Price Jones (as "Bob Livingston"), Mildred Keats (as "Violet Mason"), William Kent (as "Dick Crawford"), 'Lionel Maclyn' (as "Ensemble"; Broadway debut), Gertrude Morgan (as "Ensemble"), Alice Norris (as "Ensemble"), Katherine Powers (as "Ensemble"), Dawn Renard (as "Ensemble"), Jane Richardson (as "Muriel Mason"), Hazel Rix (as "Ensemble"), George Smithfield (as "Proprieter of Candy Shop"), George Spelvin (as "Street Car Conductor"), Jack Squires (as "Bryce Forrester"), Billie Vernon (as "Ensemble"), Albert Warner (as "George Thompson").
  • Publicity listings
    • 5 Biographical Movies
    • 10 Print Biographies
    • 4 Portrayals
    • 1 Interview
    • 21 Articles
    • 2 Pictorials
    • 3 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    Often left the set early claiming he was too ill to continue filming in order to ensure an extra day of filming so that the extras and the film crew, whom he thought woefully underpaid, could get an additional day's salary.
  • Quotes
    There's not much to say about acting but this. Never settle back on your heels. Never relax. If you relax, the audience relaxes. And always mean everything you say.
    • Famous for his gangster roles he played in the 1930s and 1940s (which made his only Oscar win as the musical composer/dancer/actor George M.Cohan most ironic).
    • The Roaring Twenties
      (1939)
      $12,500 /week

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