This was great! I'm so glad I watched it! My dad met James Cagney while he was recovering from pneumonia after being shipped to England via the North Sea during WW2. Dad was recovering in a hospital for military personnel in London. Cagney took the time to visit these patients while he was in the area. He shook my father's hand and thanked him for his service. My father often spoke of the incident and had tremendous admiration for Cagney.
I actually met him in Los Angeles about 2-3 years before hi passed away. We were there on a vacation of a lifetime. One day we were in a tourist trap shop. I was looking for photos of some favorites to buy. Most of whom I wanted, were sold out of everything. I remembered about two years before, that I saw James Cagney in The Fighting 69th, but all but one photo were all sold. This photo was not what I had in mind because he was wearing a Tuxedo and top hat; but I got it anyway. I picked up about 10 other photos of John Wayne and others. Anyway, we were leaving the shop to go back to our motorhome, but walked out onto a side street. I noticed but didn't recognize, an older man sitting at a table outside a cafe, reading a newspaper and drinking coffee. My parents said: "Do you know who that is? I said, yes, now that I had remembered. They said to go over and introduce myself to him. I was a kid at 15 and was afraid to go, but when anyway. I walked up to his table and he lowered his newspaper and looked up at me and said: "Is there anything I can do for you son?" At first I couldn't speak, and he asked what my name was? Finally I blurted it out and was going to walk back across the street. He asked what I had in the bag? and I gave it to him. He took the stack of photos out and started thumbing through them complimenting me on my choices saying that he knew all of them very well. I had two or three of Clint Eastwood, the majority were of John Wayne of course; then he saw one of him and asked: "Why me?" I said well, the only movie I had seen with him was Mister Roberts, till about 1981; and grew up hating him because of his character. He laughed and then asked the saw his photo in a tux. He asked why I chose that one instead of any other? i said that was the only photo of him from any movie they had for sale in there-all others were sold out. He was surprised that he was still so popular. I said that with cable TV finally in my then home town, that we get to see many old classics. He told me the photo I had of him was from: Yankee Doodle Dandy. He asked me if he could sign it and I said yes. He personalized that photo for me. I apologized to him that his coffee was cold and that I wanted to pay for another cup. He said," That's OK, I can afford another cup." I had asked if he would allow me to buy another cup, and he said I could. I thanked him and told him that it was not just every day that someone could buy him a cup of coffee." He asked if the couple waiting across the street were my parents and I said yes, and they were invited over. He shook hands with us all. It was nice to chat with him for about 10 or so minutes. Before we left, he gave me his address in New York and asked my to write to him. I sure would write. After getting back home, it was awhile before I wrote, but I finally did. About 2 months later, I got a lone hand-written and signed letter, plus he got me a few pictures of him in The Fighting 69th, White Heat and Strawberry Blonde (I also loved Olivia de Havilland) and had mentioned that. He was nice enough to send me twelve photos of him, each signed and from various movies. I will never forget that either. Forever more, he is one of my five top most favorites.
@@torque3022 Thank you. If I was lucky to have met anyone else except John Wayne, Clint Eastwood or Charlton Heston; I would have wanted him to be James Cagney.
@@gregsmith1342 Fred Astaire was a fantastic dancer and ok singer. But he couldn’t act with the diversity that Cagney had. Sorry but my moneys on James Cagney.
@@edcpike don't get me wrong both were exceptional performers, yes I agree that Cagney was a better actor, he did comedy, drama, and musical! I think Fred Aistere was a better dancer
Mikhail (Misha) Baryshnikov, the fabulous ballet dancer, was a life-long fan of James Cagney. As a child, he would stand in line for hours in his home town of Riga, Latvia to buy tickets to Cagney's movies. After Misha defected in 1974, he met Cagney and they became good friends. Misha served as one of the pallbearers at Cagney's funeral -- you can see him clearly in this video around 19:23 -- he is the young, blond man at the head of the casket, on the right side of the screen.
Some, not all. It was a segregated military. He was not able to life the spirits of all solders. For those he did that was great. It’s just was not for all.
@@markgolden6265 ALWAYS someone, who will go out of his, or, her way to bring every good story, DOWN‼️To trash smiles & laughter, and bring on a horrible feeling of depression, and feeling sick! Honest to God, I'll bet you couldn't WAIT to write something trashy, here! We are ALL SO TIRED OF FEELING DOWN, AND DEPRESSED BY PEOPLE LIKE YOU.
Cagney was a guy who grew up tough and worked his ass off in any job to put money in his pocket during the great depression Tenacious, adaptable and willing to try. What a wonderful story. The line "Made it, Ma" says it all. Thanks very much for the insights..GB
Many years ago I read James' autobiography, " James Cagney, By Me" He didn't hold back and was as honest as the day is long! I will always miss him and will always love him!!! Rest in heavenly peace, Jimmy! Simply the best!
I read somewhere he lived in the same house until he passed away. His Hollywood pals asked him why he still live in the same house. When he could buy a Manson. He said, why move, I'm happy here.
Mansions are a headache for families of deceased wealthy men. No matter how much they inherit, exorbitant expenses can bankrupt them after the main income is gone. Lucky ones sell, but often the places are so customized to the previous owner's unique tastes that there are no buyers.
My favorite actor of all time. I grew up watching his movies on late night and Sunday afternoon TV. There really wasn't anything he couldn't do. Make you laugh, make you cry, scare you with his street smarts and even make the ladies look silly. He was a treasure. Leaving his money to his wife was not unusual in the time period he lived, it doesn't mean she didn't share with her daughter and/or other family members. It simply shows he loved and trusted her.
My dad left everything to my mom who will leave it to us. My parents were born in the 1920’s. My mom just turned 99. I never heard of leaving anything to your kids if your spouse is still alive. Why would they. Kids can go and work. Weird if parents are leaving to kids if other parent is still alive. Figures today’s lazy entitled generation would expect that. Weird.
@@AlexAvey-yk5mw And that just sums up what happened to me when my long time fiancé passed. All our kids hate me because HE didn’t leave leave them anything. I swear, it shows me who THEY ARE.
I had the immence pleasure of meeting James Cagney, as my husband was his piano tuner, when he lived in Coldwater Canyon, in Los Angeles CA. In 1973, I was able to meet him in his driveway as my husband was tuning James Cagney's piano. He greeted me, and told me my 6 mos. old son, Ricky, was "a cute little bambino". I also had answered the phone when Mr. Cagney called to arrange the tuning. He had our phone number from when my husband had tuned his brothers piano in Newport Beach, Ca. and had introduced him to James. A brush with greatness, for sure!
What a cool memory to have. I was not alive when Cagney was but I am addicted to watching old movies with anything Cagney, Stewart, Bogart, Mitchum and so many more. I can watch them over and over. Back then, acting had to carry a film, no explosions or nudity just plain talent, a good, director, and a story. It is hard to watch today's movies after watching classics.
Thank you for this video of James Cagney he was one movie star that to this day nobody can compare with him he was a dancer an actor comedy drama he played a hood No Matter What role he was in he was fantastic better than any movie star that's ever been around I am 77 years old I was born two years after World War II ended I remember the old movies and the new movies James Cagney was the best thank you so much for❤😂🎉
When I lived in California I became very friendly with Pat O'Brien and his wife Eloise they were very kind to Pat told me that James Cagney was one of his best friends and they lived together in New York before going to Hollywood they both went to Hollywood around the same time great memories of great people the O'Brien's
Cagney danced as if he was suspended from a spring or a string. He literally danced on air! He was at his finest in "Footlight Parade" in 1933, a wonderful film studded eith Busby Berkeley chreography in which Cagney shone brightly. Thiz film is in regular rotatiom of TCM. It's a forgotten gem!
Yes, he danced so much as if he was suspended from a spring or strings I've thought someone must've taught him to visualize himself that way: To help 'lift' and center the dance.
Grew up watching all the Hollywood Greats every Sunday matinee on tv. James Cagney and James Stewart were and still are ma Favourites. He was happily married all his life , I never realised Cagney did so much for others, that makes him even more special now.
Cagney was a great talent and a great man who fought for human rights all his life. Thanks for this- well done…question, though- In a good marriage in which two people work side by side for decades to create a life, isn’t it usual for the surviving spouse to inherit everything?
Footlight Parade is also Fabulous, with Ruby Keeler & Joan Blondell & Dick Powell. A Busby Berkeley film, I believe it was Warner Bros. Biggest film in 1933. In Yankee Doodle Dandee, his dancing down the W.H. steps is completley unscripted.
James Cagney gave possibly his greatest performance in White Heat for Warners after he sold his production company. He was possibly the greatest ever Hollywood actor.
A lot of people might say the same thing about other movie actors. I think it would be more accurate to say that James Cagney was ONE of the greatest actors who ever lived.
White Heat is my favorite. My favorite scene was when he asked the man that was in the trunk if he could breathe and he shot rounds of bullets into the trunk. Ha
Hey this was a great run down of Cagney’s life although it would have been great to hear more about his marriage and the adoption of the two children. Boy could he do it all. Talented man. Thanks for sharing this with us!
Oddly enough, I have only really seen one of his movies, "One, Two, Three", which I love, but alas, the difficulty of working with Horst Bucholz turned him off acting until Ragtime. Despite being more a familiar face from old Hollywood, there's no doubt about that remarkable Irish charm that his mentor while working at the NY Public Library saw. It so heartwarming that he travelled to the UK on the QE II, had a mob of fans waiting to greet him, and that the Queen Mother gave him a standing ovation for his live performance.....British Royalty applauding an Irish-American from the streets! What a success story!!!! I watched the Tom Snyder Interview a while back, and the real man shined through. Despite not appearing in the type of genre I often prefer, remains Hollywood Royalty preserved for all time in film.
One of the best portrayals of a psychopath in Hollywood history is White Heat; "top of the world ma!" Batcrap crazy, mean, and unbalanced it's Scarface 40 years earlier. The grapefruit scene made Cagney and for him is as iconic as Bob Hope's, "Thanks for the Memories."
@victoriagoforth9748 absolutely really promotes the psychological reality that his character is truly unbalanced. Backed up earlier with the trunk scene where the guy is begging for air soCagney shoots him through the trunk. And his mother is just as evil
Loved Cagney. In Public Enemy, that grapefruit scene came directly from director William Wellmans crazy married life. Wellman & his wife had alot of fights at the breakfast table. She liked grapefruit & one big fight he picked up the grapefruit...but didn't do it. He didn't want her to file for divorce, so he but it in the movie instead...Wellman was a great director & there are some crazy stories about him as a director.
My grandmother had 17 children, 13 are buried in the family cemetery. My mom has been gone for almost 2 years now. (Rip moma) now there is only one child left, she's in her 90s. 13 died at birth or days later.
Actually, most of them died of communicable diseases like small pox and measles. For example, without modern hygiene and medical care, measles is one of the worst illnesses you can get -- and one of the easiest to pass on yo others. Modern improvements in our lifespan are due mostly to the development of vaccinations, so make sure you and your children are up to date on your shots.
It also affected the well off too. There are countless numbers of People who inherited the monarchy because of the death of an older brother through illness,
He grew uo in Yorkville on the upper East side , German, Jew, Irish, Swedes , He could speak perfect Yiddish learned from his Jewish frienfs He was buried in the church he grew up in St Frances de Sales Parish which was on 96th Street between Park and Madison and is still there. He was buried there too. He was a lifelong devout Catholic and had a farm up in Orange county Verney Farm, where he built a small stone house with three rooms for himself , his wife and his sister-in law. He didn;t write his children out of his will He put them in a trust fund to provide for them. You erroniously said he grew up in the lower East Side,
It's rumored he scared Jack Warner too with his perfect Yiddish. JL's attorney tried to sneak one by Cagney by speaking Yiddish in a contract negotiation. Warner apparently turned pale and told him don't do that he speaks our language!! He also referred to him as a "professional againster'
Love James Cagney…he attended the same grammar school I went to. 96th Street Lexington Ave. school long gone. Had no idea he spoke Yiddish. Cagney One of the greats.
Clip made it seem spiteful that Cagney left everything to his 1 & only wife of 64 years. She's *_supposed to_* get everything. It's normal w/this type of marriage: Kids get nothing til both parents are deceased.
i remember a interview he did, he said if he and his wife were to divorce, she would deserve half of what he had, then he said more than half. because that women stuck with me when i didn't have a wooden nickel.
I was waiting for the “dark” part, but it never seemed to come. Of course he left his estate to his wife - that’s typically what you do when your spouse outlives you. I’m sure when SHE died, she gave what was left to their children.
When my grandad died we found a picture of my grandad driving a jeep with James Cagney and another man in the back. We have no clue about when or why the picture was taken but it must have been during WWII because that’s the only time my grandad served.
Ive always found James Cagney so talented and charismatic and he's one of my favouite actors from the Hollywood Golden Age. Some say 1939 is the peak of that era and JC had his own entry in that stella year with The Roaring Twenties, one of the all time great Warner Bros. gangster movies. Thank you for making this video.
I Love ❤️ My Father, Not Because He’s My Father, Simply Because He Introduced Me To James Cagney When I Was 8. Now At 48 James Cagney Is Still Number 1. The Greatest of All-Time. Later Admired By 2Pac, Denzel Washington and Tony Soprano.
A power-hungry, talented performer who was relentless in his pursuit of success & achieved his dreams. 💗 Frank Capra was an awesome force in Hollywood. Glad he was able to help Cagney during his downward spiral.
My dad, a redhead, had more than a passing resemblance to James Cagney, became a boxer because of him & shared his love of his movies with me. He was a young man living in a inner city area during Cagney's early movie career & even fancied himself as a bit of a gangster according to my aunt. Lol
James Cagney Is One Of My Favorite Actor's From Hollywood's Golden Era! My Parent's Loved Him As Well! My Father Was Also A WW11 War Veteran! He Fought Under General Omar Bradley In The Battle Of The Bulge! I Can Remember Him Saying What A Great Actor And Dancer Cagney Was! Shalom And Amen!✝️✝️🛐🛐📛🕊️🕊️🕊️❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥🤰🤱🧬🤰🤱✨👑✨🦁🦁🦁❣️❣️❣️🌺🌺🌺😇🌟🤗🙏🙏🙏🇨🇦🇮🇱♾️🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🗽🦅‼️
I loved when he showed how talented he was with song and dance...he looked like he was dancing on a trampoline. All his movements were graceful and seemingly with 13:58 out any effort...just like a cat. But my all-time favorite will always be Yankee Doodle Dandy. ❤❤
Cagney left everything to his wife as it should be. My father did the same. My father-in-law did the same. My friends parents did the same. Why do you think the children were entitled to anything until their mother passed away? You don’t know what Cagney gave his son’s family before his death!!
Right!! When a husband dies, leaving the money to the kids, one of them usually kicks mom out of the house and into an old folks home. It happened to my grandmother - 1 day my mom goes to her house and neighbor's like oh sorry, Carm and Peg put her in a home. Here's the address.😮😢
An actor without scandal. Refreshing
This was great! I'm so glad I watched it! My dad met James Cagney while he was recovering from pneumonia after being shipped to England via the North Sea during WW2. Dad was recovering in a hospital for military personnel in London. Cagney took the time to visit these patients while he was in the area. He shook my father's hand and thanked him for his service. My father often spoke of the incident and had tremendous admiration for Cagney.
I actually met him in Los Angeles about 2-3 years before hi passed away. We were there on a vacation of a lifetime. One day we were in a tourist trap shop. I was looking for photos of some favorites to buy. Most of whom I wanted, were sold out of everything. I remembered about two years before, that I saw James Cagney in The Fighting 69th, but all but one photo were all sold. This photo was not what I had in mind because he was wearing a Tuxedo and top hat; but I got it anyway. I picked up about 10 other photos of John Wayne and others. Anyway, we were leaving the shop to go back to our motorhome, but walked out onto a side street. I noticed but didn't recognize, an older man sitting at a table outside a cafe, reading a newspaper and drinking coffee. My parents said: "Do you know who that is? I said, yes, now that I had remembered. They said to go over and introduce myself to him. I was a kid at 15 and was afraid to go, but when anyway.
I walked up to his table and he lowered his newspaper and looked up at me and said: "Is there anything I can do for you son?" At first I couldn't speak, and he asked what my name was? Finally I blurted it out and was going to walk back across the street. He asked what I had in the bag? and I gave it to him. He took the stack of photos out and started thumbing through them complimenting me on my choices saying that he knew all of them very well. I had two or three of Clint Eastwood, the majority were of John Wayne of course; then he saw one of him and asked: "Why me?" I said well, the only movie I had seen with him was Mister Roberts, till about 1981; and grew up hating him because of his character. He laughed and then asked the saw his photo in a tux. He asked why I chose that one instead of any other? i said that was the only photo of him from any movie they had for sale in there-all others were sold out. He was surprised that he was still so popular. I said that with cable TV finally in my then home town, that we get to see many old classics. He told me the photo I had of him was from: Yankee Doodle Dandy. He asked me if he could sign it and I said yes. He personalized that photo for me.
I apologized to him that his coffee was cold and that I wanted to pay for another cup. He said," That's OK, I can afford another cup." I had asked if he would allow me to buy another cup, and he said I could. I thanked him and told him that it was not just every day that someone could buy him a cup of coffee." He asked if the couple waiting across the street were my parents and I said yes, and they were invited over. He shook hands with us all. It was nice to chat with him for about 10 or so minutes. Before we left, he gave me his address in New York and asked my to write to him. I sure would write. After getting back home, it was awhile before I wrote, but I finally did. About 2 months later, I got a lone hand-written and signed letter, plus he got me a few pictures of him in The Fighting 69th, White Heat and Strawberry Blonde (I also loved Olivia de Havilland) and had mentioned that. He was nice enough to send me twelve photos of him, each signed and from various movies. I will never forget that either. Forever more, he is one of my five top most favorites.
Thanks for sharing your friendly encounter with James Cagney.
@@torque3022 Thank you. Of the few actors I met, he was the best.
@@torque3022 Thank you. If I was lucky to have met anyone else except John Wayne, Clint Eastwood or Charlton Heston; I would have wanted him to be James Cagney.
BE HONORED AND BLESSED HE WAS MY HERO SINCE I WAS 9
I grew up on his movies. Im 57 now but as a boy of 8 i was hooked on cagney movies. 🎉❤
My 61 yo experience also!
I cried the day Cagney left us!
All Fans should read his autobiography ❤😊 The GOAT!!!
A wonderful story without scandal. It can be done.
Cagney was an icon and national treasure.... Seemed like a classy intelligent man, I really admired his great work!!!!
He really was one of a kind!
He was perfect as Cohen, great dancer and actor...I enjoyed most of his movies shown on TCM. Thank you Ted Turner!!
@@lindadeal3344 Cohan , I think.
I agree he was very special.
I love the way Cagney moves. Even when he's not dancing he moves beautifully.
He was something ❤❤❤❤
Yankee Doodle Dandy is one of the greatest musicals ever and Cagney was an incredible dancer.
Love him in everything he did. The man did it all, while dancing circles around everyone else.
He was no match for Fred Aistre!
@@gregsmith1342 Fred Astaire was a fantastic dancer and ok singer. But he couldn’t act with the diversity that Cagney had. Sorry but my moneys on James Cagney.
@@edcpike don't get me wrong both were exceptional performers, yes I agree that Cagney was a better actor, he did comedy, drama, and musical! I think Fred Aistere was a better dancer
@@gregsmith1342, Cagney was a better boxer than Astair though 😉
But he made dancing so effortless
Mikhail (Misha) Baryshnikov, the fabulous ballet dancer, was a life-long fan of James Cagney. As a child, he would stand in line for hours in his home town of Riga, Latvia to buy tickets to Cagney's movies. After Misha defected in 1974, he met Cagney and they became good friends. Misha served as one of the pallbearers at Cagney's funeral -- you can see him clearly in this video around 19:23 -- he is the young, blond man at the head of the casket, on the right side of the screen.
Yes, he admitted the ease and loft.
“Made it, Ma! Top of the world!!”
💥🙏💯💪❤️💥👑
It's my favorite movie of all time,white heat. And you can't find it anywhere without buying it or renting it. Damn good movie!!!
@@vp-ns1udI'll second that 👍😊💯
"You wouldn't kill me in cold blood would ya?". "Nah, I'll let you warm up a little"!
One of the all-time best performances by an actor on film.
Never underestimate him. He was an accomplished painter.
We’ll whoop di do!!!!
@@brucemercer8441
Whoop di do? What are you, Archie Bunker?
By the way, it's "well," not "we'll," which is the shortened form of "we will."
Could he paint an apartment in one afternoon, two coats???
With a "Dirty Rat"..@@anastasiosgkotzamanis5277
Unfortunately you always have a Smart A$$ in the bunch. @@michaelpalmieri7335
Great man, who increased our WW II SOLDIERS Spirits, with his wonderful song & dance❤️ He lifted us ALL, up❤️
Some, not all. It was a segregated military. He was not able to life the spirits of all solders. For those he did that was great. It’s just was not for all.
@@markgolden6265 ALWAYS someone, who will go out of his, or, her way to bring every good story, DOWN‼️To trash smiles & laughter, and bring on a horrible feeling of depression, and feeling sick! Honest to God, I'll bet you couldn't WAIT to write something trashy, here! We are ALL SO TIRED OF FEELING DOWN, AND DEPRESSED BY PEOPLE LIKE YOU.
Mark golden is a debbie downer. Always one in every crowd unfortunately. He’s a self righteous victim. Well he’s not spoiling my memories or day.
Cagney was a guy who grew up tough and worked his ass off in any job to put money in his pocket during the great depression Tenacious, adaptable and willing to try. What a wonderful story. The line "Made it, Ma" says it all. Thanks very much for the insights..GB
Many years ago I read James' autobiography, " James Cagney, By Me" He didn't hold back and was as honest as the day is long! I will always miss him and will always love him!!! Rest in heavenly peace, Jimmy! Simply the best!
I've read his book too. Excellent stuff. I think it was called "Cagney by Cagney ."
I didn't know he wrote his autobiography. I need to get hold of that
You won't regret it . A riveting read! I think it was published in the 70's.
@@wendyaddison977
I LOVE THIS THANK YOU FOR HONORING ONE OF THE GREATEST PERFORMERS OF ALL TIME MR. JAMES CAGNEY.
I read somewhere he lived in the same house until he passed away. His Hollywood pals asked him why he still live in the same house. When he could buy a Manson. He said, why move, I'm happy here.
You mean "mansion." Manson was the crazy mass murderer who died in prison recently. You know, CHARLES MANSON?
A lot to be said for comfort.
You mean "MANSION," not "Manson," which was the name of a notorious psycho cult leader and murderer.
@@michaelpalmieri7335. Another Mister School teacher, Got nothing intelligent to say, but pick up people on their spelling mistakes,Idiot.
Mansions are a headache for families of deceased wealthy men. No matter how much they inherit, exorbitant expenses can bankrupt them after the main income is gone. Lucky ones sell, but often the places are so customized to the previous owner's unique tastes that there are no buyers.
My favorite actor of all time. I grew up watching his movies on late night and Sunday afternoon TV. There really wasn't anything he couldn't do. Make you laugh, make you cry, scare you with his street smarts and even make the ladies look silly. He was a treasure.
Leaving his money to his wife was not unusual in the time period he lived, it doesn't mean she didn't share with her daughter and/or other family members. It simply shows he loved and trusted her.
It is what was done, leaving your assets to your spouse who then will provide for the children when he/she passes.
WTH????
My dad left everything to my mom who will leave it to us. My parents were born in the 1920’s. My mom just turned 99. I never heard of leaving anything to your kids if your spouse is still alive. Why would they. Kids can go and work. Weird if parents are leaving to kids if other parent is still alive. Figures today’s lazy entitled generation would expect that. Weird.
@@AlexAvey-yk5mw And that just sums up what happened to me when my long time fiancé passed. All our kids hate me because HE didn’t leave leave them anything. I swear, it shows me who THEY ARE.
@@AlexAvey-yk5mw Both of their children were adopted ...
Where😮 is he buried?
Loved this man from the first moment I saw him on screen over 50yrs ago. ❤
I had the immence pleasure of meeting James Cagney, as my husband was his piano tuner, when he lived in Coldwater Canyon, in Los Angeles CA. In 1973, I was able to meet him in his driveway as my husband was tuning James Cagney's piano. He greeted me, and told me my 6 mos. old son, Ricky, was "a cute little bambino". I also had answered the phone when Mr. Cagney called to arrange the tuning. He had our phone number from when my husband had tuned his brothers piano in Newport Beach, Ca. and had introduced him to James. A brush with greatness, for sure!
Lucky you!
Awesome.
What a cool memory to have. I was not alive when Cagney was but I am addicted to watching old movies with anything Cagney, Stewart, Bogart, Mitchum and so many more. I can watch them over and over. Back then, acting had to carry a film, no explosions or nudity just plain talent, a good, director, and a story. It is hard to watch today's movies after watching classics.
I carried his book (autobiography) I believe…everywhere I went when I visited Martha’s Vineyard!
I hoped to run into him for a signing!
Loved that man
👍🏿
Thank you for this video of James Cagney he was one movie star that to this day nobody can compare with him he was a dancer an actor comedy drama he played a hood No Matter What role he was in he was fantastic better than any movie star that's ever been around I am 77 years old I was born two years after World War II ended I remember the old movies and the new movies James Cagney was the best thank you so much for❤😂🎉
I loved watching Cagney with Pat O'Brien, also an Irishman. They were great together.
And great friends.
@@AnnaPace-t5v Yes!
Yes ! The Fighting 69th !
When I lived in California I became very friendly with Pat O'Brien and his wife Eloise they were very kind to Pat told me that James Cagney was one of his best friends and they lived together in New York before going to Hollywood they both went to Hollywood around the same time great memories of great people the O'Brien's
The Irish mafia .
Cagney danced as if he was suspended from a spring or a string. He literally danced on air! He was at his finest in "Footlight Parade" in 1933, a wonderful film studded eith Busby Berkeley chreography in which Cagney shone brightly. Thiz film is in regular rotatiom of TCM. It's a forgotten gem!
Ha ha , that's exactly how I would describe his dancing. He was like a marionette.
Loved him and what a great talent
as
The Shanghai Lil sequence was one of the best in film history. Plus it was SO preCode, lol!
Yes, he danced so much as if he was suspended from a spring or strings I've thought someone must've taught him to visualize himself that way: To help 'lift' and center the dance.
Loved him with Edward G Robinson. I also really loved him in Yankee Doodle Dandy.
Robinson was the real deal
“I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy” great song and dance/movie.
He was such a handsome man. And a talented actor.
I always love to watch Cagney dance.
He was amazing in, "man od a thousand faces"
Absolutely one of my favorites, along with Footlight Parade ❤
He was my dads favourite actor,so of course he became mine. We always sat down together to watch his movies. Yanky Doodle Dandy was our favourite.
Same here.
We're their any black people at all in the world then!
He was at the top of legends.
Orson Welles said Cagney was the greatest film actor ... not one false motion or movement ...
Thankyou x
Cagney, Bogart, Jimmy Stewart, Gary Cooper etc, those guys are real talents. No special effects needed for support for them, it’s just natural
One of My Favorite Actor. May He R.I.P.
Love Cagney. Childhood favourite actor ,I used to sit & watch these old & golden B&W' movies with my Dad as kid.
Legend!
Grew up watching all the Hollywood Greats every Sunday matinee on tv. James Cagney and James Stewart were and still are ma Favourites.
He was happily married all his life , I never realised Cagney did so much for others, that makes him even more special now.
Cagney was a great talent and a great man who fought for human rights all his life. Thanks for this- well done…question, though- In a good marriage in which two people work side by side for decades to create a life, isn’t it usual for the surviving spouse to inherit everything?
The scene in "Yankee Doodle Dandy" where he dances down the steps at the White House was unscripted. Cagney did it on his own in one take.
Super cool!
Amazing dancer
Yes so so so much talent!
Footlight Parade is also Fabulous, with Ruby Keeler & Joan Blondell & Dick Powell. A Busby Berkeley film, I believe it was Warner Bros. Biggest film in 1933. In Yankee Doodle Dandee, his dancing down the W.H. steps is completley unscripted.
🙏👑✊🏿 Thank You for The Great Movie My Friend R.I.P.🙏🙏✨👑
James Cagney gave possibly his greatest performance in White Heat for Warners after he sold his production company. He was possibly the greatest ever Hollywood actor.
A lot of people might say the same thing about other movie actors. I think it would be more accurate to say that James Cagney was ONE of the greatest actors who ever lived.
White Heat is my favorite. My favorite scene was when he asked the man that was in the trunk if he could breathe and he shot rounds of bullets into the trunk. Ha
@@michaelpalmieri7335 Bogart was the greatest of all
@@jamesgibson2220 , nah Cagney was better than Bogart.
Hey this was a great run down of Cagney’s life although it would have been great to hear more about his marriage and the adoption of the two children. Boy could he do it all. Talented man. Thanks for sharing this with us!
What can one say? America without Cagney would be like Paris without the Eiffel Tower!The Man was a genius! Love everything he played in! God rest him
James Cagney was the best actor ever! I watch his movies over and over, they never get old.
What a great actor. He's a Hollywood Icon.
I read a book on him many years ago, and his motto was always, "No stress, no strain."
Big fan!
Probably my favorite male star of the 30's and 40's . There will never be another like him , that's for sure!
Old enough to be my great grand dad. I had a made crush on him. Watching dance, his frame and timing, perfect.
hello , great share , you failed to mention , what a great humanitarian , CAGNEY was🤔🤔🤔🤨🤨🤨thank you , for sharing🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰.................
Cagney studied Geo M Cohan films of him tap dancing. When you see that stiff legged technique in Yankee Doodle, it's all Cohan .
Great 👍 👌
Oddly enough, I have only really seen one of his movies, "One, Two, Three", which I love, but alas, the difficulty of working with Horst Bucholz turned him off acting until Ragtime. Despite being more a familiar face from old Hollywood, there's no doubt about that remarkable Irish charm that his mentor while working at the NY Public Library saw. It so heartwarming that he travelled to the UK on the QE II, had a mob of fans waiting to greet him, and that the Queen Mother gave him a standing ovation for his live performance.....British Royalty applauding an Irish-American from the streets! What a success story!!!! I watched the Tom Snyder Interview a while back, and the real man shined through. Despite not appearing in the type of genre I often prefer, remains Hollywood Royalty preserved for all time in film.
Have always , Will always ...be a fan ❤
One of the best portrayals of a psychopath in Hollywood history is White Heat; "top of the world ma!" Batcrap crazy, mean, and unbalanced it's Scarface 40 years earlier.
The grapefruit scene made Cagney and for him is as iconic as Bob Hope's, "Thanks for the Memories."
Great acting❤
The cafeteria scene in White Heat was genius!
@victoriagoforth9748 absolutely really promotes the psychological reality that his character is truly unbalanced. Backed up earlier with the trunk scene where the guy is begging for air soCagney shoots him through the trunk.
And his mother is just as evil
@@victoriagoforth9748 It sure was pure genius. He used props to the fullest extent like Steve McQueen and few others did.
@@CarlEvans-t6hit was reported that he scared extras half to death.. They didn’t know he was going to do it…
Cagney was a Movie Legend 🎬
I loved watching him tap dance
He is one of my favorite actors from the old Era.
Excellent actor I was a little young to remember him I watched his movies when I got older
On the big screen he was,along with Bogart,Edward G.Robinson,one of the "Original Gangstas."
Yes, and, I don’t know about Bogart, but E G Robinson and Cagney were very nice men in real life.
Great story, thank you. Lovely man and inspiration.
One of my all time favorites, such a charismatic guy..
Brilliant👌
Thanks!
"Top of the world Ma".
James Cagney one of Hollywoods legends Public Enemy one of his great roles.I loved his role as Long Chany in The Man of a thousand Faces.RIP
Loved Cagney. In Public Enemy, that grapefruit scene came directly from director William Wellmans crazy married life. Wellman & his wife had alot of fights at the breakfast table. She liked grapefruit & one big fight he picked up the grapefruit...but didn't do it. He didn't want her to file for divorce, so he but it in the movie instead...Wellman was a great director & there are some crazy stories about him as a director.
Ahah! Thanks for the knowledgeable info. I hate grapefruit, but that's OK.
When I was a kid, he was one of my favorites.
Infantile mortality was always rife in poor societies...many children died in their first couple of years of life from poor nutrition.
My grandmother had 17 children, 13 are buried in the family cemetery. My mom has been gone for almost 2 years now. (Rip moma) now there is only one child left, she's in her 90s. 13 died at birth or days later.
Actually, most of them died of communicable diseases like small pox and measles. For example, without modern hygiene and medical care, measles is one of the worst illnesses you can get -- and one of the easiest to pass on yo others. Modern improvements in our lifespan are due mostly to the development of vaccinations, so make sure you and your children are up to date on your shots.
It also affected the well off too. There are countless numbers of People who inherited the monarchy because of the death of an older brother through illness,
He grew uo in Yorkville on the upper East side , German, Jew, Irish, Swedes , He could speak perfect Yiddish learned from his Jewish frienfs He was buried in the church he grew up in St Frances de Sales Parish which was on 96th Street between Park and Madison and is still there. He was buried there too. He was a lifelong devout Catholic and had a farm up in Orange county Verney Farm, where he built a small stone house with three rooms for himself , his wife and his sister-in law. He didn;t write his children out of his will He put them in a trust fund to provide for them. You erroniously said he grew up in the lower East Side,
There's a scene in his film "Taxi" (1932) in which Cagney's character speaks to someone in Yiddish.
@@michaelpalmieri7335 He speaks Gaelic in The Fighting 69th.
It's rumored he scared Jack Warner too with his perfect Yiddish. JL's attorney tried to sneak one by Cagney by speaking Yiddish in a contract negotiation. Warner apparently turned pale and told him don't do that he speaks our language!!
He also referred to him as a "professional againster'
I admire this man…God Bless you James Cagney
Love James Cagney…he attended the same grammar school I went to. 96th Street Lexington Ave. school long gone. Had no idea he spoke Yiddish. Cagney One of the greats.
I so love, love love James Cadney really enjoyed this. Thank you
A truly great star …
I'm really not a fan of outlandish click bait titles, but that was a very good documentary.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Clip made it seem spiteful that Cagney left everything to his 1 & only wife of 64 years. She's *_supposed to_* get everything. It's normal w/this type of marriage: Kids get nothing til both parents are deceased.
Thanks for this, what a great character and actor this guy was, love the films he is in and really came across as an all time baddy when needed!
Very good production. Thank you.
The Queen should have knighted him.
He was American. The Queen did not knight American actors.
Nice and positive. I certainly remember James Cagney.
Very interesting! I’m impressed!
i remember a interview he did, he said if he and his wife were to divorce, she would deserve half of what he had, then he said more than half. because that women stuck with me when i didn't have a wooden nickel.
In the Public Enemy, Mae Clarke's character wasn't his wife. They were living together. Before the moral code.
I noticed that blooper too. I was going to leave a comment about it, but apparently, you beat me to it.
@@michaelpalmieri7335 And he said wife like three or four times.
@@susanb2015common law?
@@BDot-dv7lq They weren't seeing each other very long.
I adored him and then l met my husband who would have passed as his twin- how lucky was that?
Lucky you 😅.xx
Please show a photo. That would be simply sublime.
Very!❤
I was waiting for the “dark” part, but it never seemed to come. Of course he left his estate to his wife - that’s typically what you do when your spouse outlives you. I’m sure when SHE died, she gave what was left to their children.
Yeah he seems to have been a basically decent man who left no dark secrets.
one of his children, the boy i believe, died before him.
Love him! I had a wonderful grandfather, also a redhead, only 5'6", & born in 1899
Cagney was 5'4 ... a 5'4 giant!
When my grandad died we found a picture of my grandad driving a jeep with James Cagney and another man in the back. We have no clue about when or why the picture was taken but it must have been during WWII because that’s the only time my grandad served.
Ive always found James Cagney so talented and charismatic and he's one of my favouite actors from the Hollywood Golden Age. Some say 1939 is the peak of that era and JC had his own entry in that stella year with The Roaring Twenties, one of the all time great Warner Bros. gangster movies. Thank you for making this video.
Great info on Cagney, thanks 👍
Our pleasure!
Cagney was absolutely brilliant. For me, the best dancer in films.
A Hollywood Rennaisance man!
He was the best of all time!
He was also insturmental in grtting Audie Murphy into movies as well
Orson Welles said Cagney was Hollywood's greatest actor.
I Love ❤️ My Father, Not Because He’s My Father, Simply Because He Introduced Me To James Cagney When I Was 8. Now At 48 James Cagney Is Still Number 1. The Greatest of All-Time. Later Admired By 2Pac, Denzel Washington and Tony Soprano.
James had the most beautiful face in Hollywood. He will forever be my crush.❤
A power-hungry, talented performer who was relentless in his pursuit of success & achieved his dreams. 💗 Frank Capra was an awesome force in Hollywood.
Glad he was able to help Cagney during his downward spiral.
My dad, a redhead, had more than a passing resemblance to James Cagney, became a boxer because of him & shared his love of his movies with me. He was a young man living in a inner city area during Cagney's early movie career & even fancied himself as a bit of a gangster according to my aunt. Lol
I Love James Cagney and he was so awesome thanks for sharing this!❤
My favorite Cagney movie was Yankee Doodle Dandy,my goodness that man could sing and dance.
My Dad's favourite actor, he fitted a lot into his life.
Loved Cagney. Even visited his grave (Gate of Heaven Valhalla NY). He filmed his last movie (Ragtime) in the town next to ours.
❤
Always have love for working class folks who take on and win against the pimps
One of my favourite actors tough guy x handsome devil loved his films always ❤️
James Cagney Is One Of My Favorite Actor's From Hollywood's Golden Era! My Parent's Loved Him As Well! My Father Was Also A WW11 War Veteran! He Fought Under General Omar Bradley In The Battle Of The Bulge! I Can Remember Him Saying What A Great Actor And Dancer Cagney Was! Shalom And Amen!✝️✝️🛐🛐📛🕊️🕊️🕊️❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥🤰🤱🧬🤰🤱✨👑✨🦁🦁🦁❣️❣️❣️🌺🌺🌺😇🌟🤗🙏🙏🙏🇨🇦🇮🇱♾️🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🗽🦅‼️
I loved when he showed how talented he was with song and dance...he looked like he was dancing on a trampoline. All his movements were graceful and seemingly with 13:58 out any effort...just like a cat. But my all-time favorite will always be Yankee Doodle Dandy. ❤❤
Cagney left everything to his wife as it should be. My father did the same. My father-in-law did the same. My friends parents did the same. Why do you think the children were entitled to anything until their mother passed away? You don’t know what Cagney gave his son’s family before his death!!
Right!! When a husband dies, leaving the money to the kids, one of them usually kicks mom out of the house and into an old folks home. It happened to my grandmother - 1 day my mom goes to her house and neighbor's like oh sorry, Carm and Peg put her in a home. Here's the address.😮😢