[177], Cagney was born in 1899 (prior to the widespread use of automobiles) and loved horses from childhood. That meant to work not only for temperance, but also for women's' suffrage, "social purity" (protecting young girls and other women sexually by raising the age of consent, establishing rape laws, holding male customers equally responsible for prostitution violations, etc. From 1876, she also headed up the WCTU publications committee. James Francis Cagney Jr. (/ˈkæɡni/;[1] July 17, 1899 – March 30, 1986)[2] was an American actor and dancer on stage and in film. It's nice to know that you people thought I did a good job. It was agreed so we put in all those fits and headaches. [153] One of the few positive aspects was his friendship with Pamela Tiffin, to whom he gave acting guidance, including the secret that he had learned over his career: "You walk in, plant yourself squarely on both feet, look the other fella in the eye, and tell the truth. She was married to James Cagney. In his first professional acting performance in 1919, Cagney was costumed as a woman when he danced in the chorus line of the revue Every Sailor. James Cagney, who appeared generally as an anti-hero in 64 films beginning in 1930, may be best known for his Oscar-winning role as song-and-dance man George M. Cohan in the 1942 film “Yankee Doodle Dandy.”. (Some sources point to pernicious anemia, the source of several years of ill health.) He played a young tough guy in the three-act play Outside Looking In by Maxwell Anderson, earning $200 a week. One of the qualities of a brilliant actor is that things look better on the screen than the set. She mentions a secret love in her diaries, but it was never revealed who the person was. [206], In 1999 the U.S. Zimmermann then took it upon herself to look after Cagney, preparing his meals to reduce his blood triglycerides, which had reached alarming levels. This was a favor to Montgomery, who needed a strong fall season opener to stop the network from dropping his series. [110][111], Many critics of the time and since have declared it Cagney's best film, drawing parallels between Cohan and Cagney; they both began their careers in vaudeville, struggled for years before reaching the peak of their profession, were surrounded with family and married early, and both had a wife who was happy to sit back while he went on to stardom. Cagney Productions, which shared the production credit with Robert Montgomery's company, made a brief return, though in name only. [145][146], Later in 1957, Cagney ventured behind the camera for the first and only time to direct Short Cut to Hell, a remake of the 1941 Alan Ladd film This Gun for Hire, which in turn was based on the Graham Greene novel A Gun for Sale. I said 'I don't give a shit what you tell him, I'm not going to say that line.'" A third film, Dynamite, was planned, but Grand National ran out of money. [124], While negotiating the rights for his third independent film, Cagney starred in 20th Century Fox's 13 Rue Madeleine for $300,000 for two months of work. In 1938 he received his first Academy Award for Best Actor nomination for his subtle portrayal of the tough guy/man-child Rocky Sullivan in Angels with Dirty Faces. The first version of the National Labor Relations Act was passed in 1935 and growing tensions between labor and management fueled the movement. Her father wanted her to transfer to a Methodist school, so Frances and her sister Mary went to Evanston College for Ladies in Illinois. As an adult, well after horses were replaced by automobiles as the primary mode of transportation, Cagney raised horses on his farms, specializing in Morgans, a breed of which he was particularly fond. [152] In fact, it was one of the worst experiences of his long career. "[154], Cagney remained in retirement for 20 years, conjuring up images of Jack L. Warner every time he was tempted to return, which soon dispelled the notion. Filming on Midway Island and in a more minor role meant that he had time to relax and engage in his hobby of painting. While coming from a "separate spheres" vision of society and valuing women's contributions as homemakers and child educators as equal to men's in the public sphere, she also promoted women's right to choose to participate in the public sphere.