Cary Grant THE MAKING of AN ICON

THE LEGENDARY ACTOR’S ROOMMATE HELPED HIM CREATE HIS SMOOTH, CULTURED IMAGE

- By LOUISE A. BARILE

When director Henry Hathaway sought an actor to play an upper-class cavalryman opposite Gary Cooper in 1935’s Lives of a Bengal Lancer, Paramount Studios suggested Cary Grant. “You mean that Cockney guy with the long neck and the big ears?” he asked. “He’s no gentleman.”

Bristol, England-born Archie Leach arrived in Los Angeles by way of the Broadway stage.

Signed with Paramount under the new name Cary Grant in 1932, he appeared in at least four films a year but didn’t leave much of an impression until 1937’s comedy The Awful Truth, in which he played half of a wealthy couple on the rocks. The hit film marked the debut of the “Cary Grant persona.”

In the 1930s, Cary learned everything about the fine art of being a gentleman from his best friend and roommate Randolph Scott.

The pair met as co-stars in 1932’s Hot Saturday and eventually leased a house near Griffith Park together. While both tall, handsome young men, Randy, as he was called by friends, had an enviable backstory too.

The Virginia-reared actor’s father worked as an accountant and he was related to a wealthy North Carolina family on his mother’s side. Randy attended private schools where he excelled at swimming, football and horseback riding. He dressed well, spoke with a charming southern accent and oozed refinement.