caption resting_place death_date death_place years_active birth_place children name birth_date alt spouse image article_title birth_name occupation death_cause
cagney in a publicity photo gate of heaven cemetery 30 march 1986 stanford , new york , united states 1919 -- 1984 new york city , new york , united states 2 james cagney 17 july 1899 publicity headshot of james cagney frances vernon 1922 1986 his death james cagney promo photo.jpg james cagney
 james francis cagney , jr. actor , dancer heart attack
james cagney

james francis cagney , jr. -lrb- july 17 , 1899march 30 , 1986 -rrb- was an american actor and dancer , both on stage and in film , though he had his greatest impact in film .
known for his consistently energetic performances , distinctive vocal style , and deadpan comic timing , he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances .
he is best remembered for playing multi-faceted tough guys in movies like `` the public enemy '' -lrb- 1931 -rrb- , `` taxi ! ''
-lrb- 1932 -rrb- , `` angels with dirty faces '' -lrb- 1938 -rrb- and `` white heat '' -lrb- 1949 -rrb- and was even typecast or limited by this view earlier in his career .
in 1999 , the american film institute ranked him eighth among its 50 greatest american screen legends .
orson welles said of cagney that he was `` maybe the greatest actor who ever appeared in front of a camera '' and stanley kubrick considered him to be one of the best actors of all time .
in his first professional acting performance , cagney danced costumed as a woman in the chorus line of the 1919 revue `` every sailor '' .
he spent several years in vaudeville as a dancer and comedian , until he got his first major acting part in 1925 .
he secured several other roles , receiving good notices , before landing the lead in the 1929 play `` penny arcade '' .
after rave reviews , warner bros. signed him for an initial $ 500-a-week , three-week contract to reprise his role ; this was quickly extended to a seven-year contract .
cagney 's seventh film , `` the public enemy '' , became one of the most influential gangster movies of the period .
notable for a famous scene in which cagney pushes a grapefruit against his co-star 's face , the film thrust him into the spotlight .
he became one of hollywood 's biggest stars and one of warner brothers ' biggest contracts .
in 1938 , he received his first academy award for best actor nomination , for `` angels with dirty faces '' for his subtle portrayal of the tough guy/man-child rocky sullivan .
in 1942 , cagney won the oscar for his energetic portrayal of george m. cohan in `` yankee doodle dandy '' .
he was nominated a third time in 1955 for `` love me or leave me '' .
cagney retired from acting and dancing in 1961 to spend time on his farm with his family .
he exited retirement , twenty years later , for a part in the 1981 movie `` ragtime '' , mainly to aid his recovery from a stroke .
cagney walked out on warner brothers several times over the course of his career , each time returning on much improved personal and artistic terms .
in 1935 , he sued warners for breach of contract and won .
this was one of the first times an actor prevailed over a studio on a contract issue .
he worked for an independent film company for a year while the suit was being settled -- and established his own production company , cagney productions , in 1942 , before returning to warners four years later .
in reference to cagney 's refusal to be pushed around , jack l. warner called him `` the professional againster '' .
cagney also made numerous morale-boosting troop tours before and during world war ii , and was president of the screen actors guild for two years .
