“To write an autobiography, you’ve got to expose other people. I hope to get out of this world as gracefully as possible, without embarrassing anyone.”
“I have no plans to write an autobiography, I will leave that to others. I’m sure they will turn me into a homosexual or a Nazi spy or something else.”
Cary Grant never wrote an autobiography, quite simply for the reasons he himself expresses in the quotes above.
The closest he came was writing a three-part article for The Ladies Home Journal, entitled 'Archie Leach'
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| (January/February 1963 (Part 1), March 1963 (Part 2), April 1963 (Part 3)) |
Maybe because of this, so many other people wrote about him.
Some, trying to get to the truth of how Archie Leach became Cary Grant, and others just repeating unfounded rumors and gossip.
But as a complete body of works...all add something to the story of a boy from a working-class upbringing in Bristol, who became one of, if not the greatest Hollywood Star ever.
Below are listed the biographies that grace my collection - The Cary Grant Collection.
(I have listed them in date order and scaled the pictures to give an idea of how the books compare to each other in size)
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Cary Grant: An Unauthorized Biography by Albert Govoni (1971) |
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Back Cover
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Ian Allan Film Albums - 3: Cary Grant (1971) |
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Back Cover
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The Pictorial Treasury of Film Stars - Cary Grant by Jerry Vermilye (1973)
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| Back Cover |
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The Films of Cary Grant by Donald Deschner (1973)
Introduction by Charles Chaplin
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| Back Cover |
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The Life and Loves of Cary Grant - A Biography by Lee Guthrie (1977) |
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Back Cover
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In The Spotlight - Cary Grant by Gallery Press (1980) |
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| Back Cover |
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Cary Grant: The Light Touch by Lionel Godfrey (1981) |
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| Back Cover |
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Cary Grant: A Celebration by Richard Schickel (1983) |
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| Back Cover |
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Cary Grant: Haunted Idol by Geoffrey Wansell (1983) |
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| Back Cover |
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The Private Cary Grant by William Currie McIntosh ans William Weaver (1983) |
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| Back Cover |
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Cary Grant by Jean-Jacques Dupuis (1984) |
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| Back Cover |
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Cary Grant by Chuck Ashman and Pamela Trescott (1986) |
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| Back Cover |
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Cary Grant: A Touch of Elegance by Warren G. Harris (1987) |
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| Back Cover |
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Cary Grant by Pamela Trescott (1987) |
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| Back Cover |
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An Affair to Remember: My Life With Cary Grant by Maureen Donaldson and William Royce (1989) |
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| Back Cover |
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Cary Grant: The Lonely Heart by Charles Higham and Roy Moseley (1989) |
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| Back Cover |
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Cary Grant: A Portrait in His Own Words and by Those Who Knew Him Best by Nancy Nelson (1991)
Foreword by Barbara and Jennifer Grant. |
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| Back Cover |
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Cary Grant: Dark Angel by Geoffrey Wansell (1996) |
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| Back Cover |
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Cary Grant: A Class Apart by Graham MaCann (1997)
Hardback |
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| Back Cover |
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Cary Grant: A Class Apart by Graham MaCann (1997)
Paperback |
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| Back Cover |
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Legends: Cary Grant by Richard Schickel (1998) |
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| Back Cover |
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Cary Grant: A Life in Pictures by Jerry Curtis (1998) |
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| Back Cover |
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Cary Grant: In Name Only by Gary Morecombe and Martin Sterling (2003)
Foreword by Sheridan Morley |
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| Back Cover |
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Evenings With Cary Grant: Recollections in His Own Words and by Those Who Knew Him Best by Nancy Nelson (2003)
New Foreword by Barbara and Jennifer Grant |
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| Back Cover |
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Cary Grant: A Biography by Marc Eliot (2004) |
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| Back Cover |
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Cary Grant: The Wizard of Beverly Grove by Bill Royce (2006) |
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| Back Cover |
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Cary Grant: A Celebration of Style by Richard Torregrossa (2006)
Foreword by Giorgio Armani
Afterword by Michael Kors |
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| Back Cover |
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Movie Icons: Grant by Taschen (2007) |
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| Back Cover |
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Dear Cary: My Life with Cary Grant by Dyan Cannon (2011) |
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| Back Cover |
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Good Stuff: A Reminiscence of My Father, Cary Grant by Jennifer Grant (2011) |
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| Back Cover |
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Cary Grant: A Life in Picture by Pavilion (2011) |
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| Back Cover |
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How to Become Cary Grant: A Remarkable Life in Quotes and Remembrances by Horace Martin Woodhouse (2013) |
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| Back Cover |
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Cary Grant Movie Poster Book: Special edition by Greg Lenburg (2016) |
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| Back Cover |
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Cary Grant: A Brilliant Disguise by Scott Eyman (2020) |
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| Back Cover |
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Cary Grant: The Making of a Hollywood Legend by Mark Glancy (2020) |
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| Back Cover |
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American Legends: The Life of Cary Grant by Charles River Editors (?) |
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| Back Cover |
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Etre Cary Grant (To Be Cary Grant) by Martine Reid (2021) |
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| Back Cover |
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Some Versions of Cary Grant by James Naremore (2022) |
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| Back Cover |
Listed below are writers who have put their name to more then one Cary Grant Biography:
Cary Grant by Chuck Ashman and Pamela Trescott (1986)
Cary Grant by Pamela Trescott (1987)
Cary Grant: Haunted Idol by Geoffrey Wansell (1983)
Cary Grant: Dark Angel by Geoffrey Wansell (1996)
An Affair to Remember: My Life With Cary Grant by Maureen Donaldson and William Royce (1989)
Cary Grant: The Wizard of Beverly Grove by Bill Royce (2006)
Cary Grant: A Portrait in His Own Words and by Those Who Knew Him Best by Nancy Nelson (1991)
Foreword by Barbara and Jennifer Grant.
Evenings With Cary Grant: Recollections in His Own Words and by Those Who Knew Him Best by Nancy Nelson (2003)
New Foreword by Barbara and Jennifer Grant
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| The Cary Grant Collection - 2022 |
