Cary Grant: The Debonair Comedian
Grant signed up with Paramount for $450 a week, and the studio told Archie Leach that from now on, he'd be known as Cary Grant. It didn't take long for Grant to make his mark. He soon co-starred with Marlene Dietrich in Blonde Venus. It was there that Grant met the woman who would eventually become his wife, actress Virginia Cherrill. The following year he co-starred with Mae West in She Done Him Wrong.
Grant worked almost continuously over the next few years, and starred with some amazing actresses, including Kathryn Hepburn, Irene Dunne and Myrna Loy, among others. Most of his movies were hits, and even those that weren't gained him good reviews. People simply loved Cary Grant.
In his private life, he divorced Cherrill after a few years and then surprised everyone by marrying multi-millionaire Barbara Hutton, the heiress to the Woolworth fortune. They didn't get along well, because Hutton was jealous of Grant's co-stars, and Grant couldn't understand Hutton's lifestyle and friends among the superrich. They divorced in 1945. In 1947 Grant saw a play in New York and was intrigued by actress Betsy Drake. They were married after a time and remained married for almost a decade.
During his marriage to Drake, he made some amazing movies, including Indiscreet, To Catch a Thief, An Affair to Remember, and North by Northwest. He was a bona fide star in every sense of the word. Also during his marriage to Drake, Grant began undergoing LSD therapy which many friends claimed changed Grant's life. The self-contained man supposedly became more open and friendly to those around him, thanks to this controversial drug therapy.
After his divorce from Drake became final in 1962, Grant was seen around town with Dyan Cannon, a young actress who eventually became his fourth wife and mother of his only child, daughter Jennifer Grant. But the relationship soured after awhile, and they had a bitter divorce in 1967.
In 1966, Grant had made his last move, Walk, Don't Run, and basically retired from acting. He began working for Faberge, and was on the board of directors. In 1970, Grant was awarded an honorary Academy Award for lifetime achievement in film. He had been nominated for two Oscars in his lifetime but hadn't won either time, so this honorary one was very special.
In 1981, Grant married his fifth and last wife, Barbara Harris, with only a handful of witnesses, including his daughter. He
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