Film historian and acclaimed New York Times bestselling biographer Scott Eyman has written the definitive biography of Hollywood legend Cary Grant, one of the most accomplished—and beloved—actors of his generation, who remains as popular as ever today.
Born Archibald Leach in 1904, he came to America as a teenaged acrobat to find fame and fortune, but he was always haunted by his past. His father was a feckless alcoholic, and his mother was committed to an asylum when Archie was eleven years old. He believed her to be dead until he was informed she was alive when he was thirty-one years old. Because of this experience Grant would have difficulty forming close attachments throughout his life. He married five times and had numerous affairs.
Despite a remarkable degree of success, Grant remained deeply conflicted about his past, his present, his basic identity, and even the public that worshipped him in movies such as Gunga Din, Notorious, and North by Northwest.
Drawing on Grant’s own papers, extensive archival research, and interviews with family and friends, this is the definitive portrait of a movie immortal.
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“Was there ever a more fabulously charming, witty, stylish, and seductive movie star than Cary Grant? Scott Eyman’s biography peers under the hood of Hollywood’s most self-invented persona to explore the anxious, self-pitying, needy, and depressed narcissist lurking within. Eyman does so with empathy, critical admiration, and a deeply historical perspective that bring to life not just this remarkable performer but the golden age of Hollywood that he dominated.”
— Glenn Frankel, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of The Searchers and High Noon
“As always, Scott Eyman builds on a bedrock of scrupulous research, spiking his narrative with juicy behind-the-scenes stories. The result is a richly detailed portrait of the man whose greatest performance was the one that fooled moviegoers for decades: the belief that Archie Leach was just like the movie star we knew as Cary Grant.”
— Leonard Maltin, film critic and historianBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Scott Eyman is the author or coauthor of fifteen books, including the New York Times bestsellers John Wayne and (with actor Robert Wagner), Pieces of My Heart and You Must Remember This. He was formerly the literary critic at the Palm Beach Post and now writes book reviews for the Wall Street Journal and contributes articles for the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Chicago Tribune.
Christopher Gebauer is a multifaceted actor who excels in both leading and character roles. He is a graduate of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting through the New York University Tisch School of the Arts.