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James Cagney
Known for: ActingJames 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 58
The Roaring Twenties
+2
as Eddie Bartlett 
One, Two, Three
as C.R. MacNamara 
White Heat
+1
as Arthur 'Cody' Jarrett 
Run for Cover
as Matt Dow 
Lady Killer
as Dan 
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
as (in "White Heat") (archive footage) 
Ragtime
+1
as New York Police Commissioner Rhinelander Waldo 
Angels with Dirty Faces
as Rocky Sullivan 
Mister Roberts
as Captain Morton 
Yankee Doodle Dandy
as George M. Cohan 
The Public Enemy
+1
as Tom Powers 
Love Me or Leave Me
+1
as Martin Snyder 
What Price Glory
as Captain Flagg 
You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story
as Self (archive footage) 
Footlight Parade
+2
as Chester Kent 
A Midsummer Night's Dream
+1
as Bottom 
Taxi!
as Matt Nolan 
Tribute to a Bad Man
as Jeremy Rodack 
That's Dancing!
as From 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' (archive footage) 
Man of a Thousand Faces
as Lon Chaney 
The Oklahoma Kid
as Jim Kincaid 
Blood on the Sun
+3
as Nick Condon 
'G' Men
as ‘Brick' Davis 
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
as Ralph Cotter 
City for Conquest
+1
as Danny Kenny 
Each Dawn I Die
+2
as Frank Ross 
Picture Snatcher
as Daniel Patrick "Danny" Kean 
The Mayor of Hell
+1
as Richard 'Patsy' Gargan 
The Strawberry Blonde
as Biff Grimes 
The West Point Story
as Elwin Bixby 
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
as Self (archive footage) 
Short Cut to Hell
as Himself (prologue) 
Shake Hands with the Devil
as Sean Lenihan 
Frisco Kid
as Bat Morgan 
A Lion Is in the Streets
+1
as Hank Martin 
The Time of Your Life
as Joseph 
Jimmy the Gent
+1
as Jimmy Corrigan 
The Fighting 69th
+1
as Jerry Plunkett 
Captains of the Clouds
+1
as Brian MacLean 
The Bride Came C.O.D.
+1
as Steve Collins 
The Doorway to Hell
as Steve Mileaway 
Devil Dogs of the Air
as Tommy O'Toole 
The Gallant Hours
as Admiral William 'Bull' Halsey 
Other Men's Women
as Ed 'Eddie' Bailey 
These Wilder Years
as Steve Bradford 
Arizona Bushwhackers
+1
as Narrator 
The St. Louis Kid
as Eddie Kennedy 
Never Steal Anything Small
as Jake MacIllaney 
Here Comes the Navy
as Chesty O'Conner 
Torrid Zone
as Nick Butler 
Smart Money
+1
as Jack 
This Is Bob Hope...
+1
as Self (archive footage) 
Blonde Crazy
as Albert 'Bert' Harris 
Something to Sing About
+1
as Terry Rooney 
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
as Self (archive footage) 
The Crowd Roars
as Joe Greer 
Hard to Handle
as Lefty Merrill 
The Bob Hope Chevy Show
as Himself