Cagney, James, 1899–1986, American movie actor, b. New York City. He worked on Broadway as an actor and dancer before appearing in films. He is best remembered as a brash, sadistic, tough guy in such movies as Public Enemy (1931) and The Roaring Twenties (1939). He displayed equal vigor in sympathetic parts, appearing in numerous comedies and musicals. He broke a twenty-year retirement to appear in the film Ragtime (1981). His many other films include Angels With Dirty Faces (1936), The Bride Came C.O.D. (1942), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), White Heat (1949), Love Me or Leave Me (1955), Man of a Thousand Faces (1957), and One Two Three (1961).

Bibliography

See his autobiography, Cagney by Cagney (1976); biography by J. McCabe (1997).

Cagney, James

(born July 17, 1899, New York, N.Y., U.S.—died March 30, 1986, Stanfordville, N.Y.) U.S. actor. He toured in vaudeville as a song-and-dance man before starring in the successful Broadway musical Penny Arcade (1929). He played the first in a series of pugnacious criminal roles in the film Public Enemy (1931), followed by Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) and White Heat (1949). As George M. Cohan in Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942, Academy Award) he showed off his dance skills and streetwise charm. Later films include Mister Roberts (1955) and Ragtime (1981).

Cagney, James (1899–1986) film actor; born in New York City. Graduating from vaudeville to the Broadway stage, he made his film debut in Sinner's Holiday (1930). A leading role in The Public Enemy (1931) established him as the quintessential screen gangster, and he played thugs through most of the 1930s. His performance in Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), as George M. Cohan, earned him an Oscar. After that movie, he appeared in a variety of roles.