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As an actor who
professes he became intrigued by the show world only because it seemed
the best way to pursue a driving ambition to travel, Cary
Grant concentrates as much care and concern on his business as
any atomic scientist does on his. he is as devoted to the art of
acting as any professional man is to his chosen field. He works
as hard as long.
Needless to say, he is
never late to a set, never without knowing his lines and never in
a hurry to leave his work.
Not satisfied only to
act - which, technically is all he is required to do - Cary Grant
has a vital concern with every phase of movie production. He
works hand in hand with other actors, the producer, director,
writer, wardrobe man - and even the set designer and art director
- to achieve the best possible effects. He questions lines as to
meaning, situations as to plausibility, and bits of action as to
believability. Nothing escapes his interest.
In offering suggestions
for the changing of dialogue, he has argued, "I wouldn't say
anything like that." He will offer a substitute that may
have no apparent value, but delivered in the inimitable Grant
manner it will. His mind is a storehouse of interesting
sentences, phrases and colloquialisms gathered from his travels.
Cary Grant is as dapper,
suave and debonair off-screen as he is on and lives as glittering
a life as any of the heroes he portrays. He keeps "a Rolls
Royce here and a Rolls Royce there . . . " and maintains
homes in Beverly Hills and palm Springs, each of which he
decorated. He often travels - preferably on a tramp steamer to
revel in the luxury of not being recognized - and within the past
year has been reported in Brazil (where he has a coffee
plantation), Moscow (where he recently visited after obtaining a
Russian visa in a record six days), Monocot (where he dropped in
on his close friends the Prince and Princess de Monaco), the
Mediterranean area and Paris, London, New York and Chicago.
His valet, discovered in
London, doubles as his chauffeur, bodyguard, masseur - and as a
highly specialized Rolls Royce mechanic. He is reputed to own the
largest collection of men's clothes in Hollywood and still wears
suits and greatcoats made twenty years ago - because he only buys
the best. His handmade shows come from England, his suits are
from Hong Kong.
It is obvious why he has
been referred to as "the last of the true elegants."
Privately and
professionally, the key to Cary Grant is that he never does
anything half-heartedly.
As for the way he
conducts himself professionally, Cary Grant shrugs calmly. "I
don't believe in taking money for doing a job just passably. To
be good, you must do your best. If not for yourself, then out of
consideration of others working with and around you."
A scan of the original
article (including the photo) can be found on
Donna
Moore's
page.
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