By KATHARINE RAMSDEN
Born on this day in 1899, Player James Francis Cagney Jr. was an actor and dancer known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing.
Best remembered for playing multifaceted tough guys, he starred in films such as The Public Enemy (1931), Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), The Roaring Twenties (1939), City for Conquest (1940) and White Heat (1949). Orson Welles described him as "maybe the greatest actor who ever appeared in front of a camera".
Born on East 8th Street in lower Manhattan, he first acted professionally in 1919, costumed as a woman dancing in the chorus line of Every Sailor. He spent several years in vaudeville as a dancer and comedian, until he got his first major acting part in 1925.
He went on to become one of Hollywood's leading stars and won Academy Awards for Angels with Dirty Faces, his portrayal of George M. Cohan in Yankee Doodle Dandy and a third for Love Me or Leave Me with Doris Day.
In 1920, Cagney was in the chorus for the show Pitter Patter when he met Frances Willard "Billie" Vernon. They were wed on September 28, 1922, and remained married until his death in 1986.
At a funeral Mass held in Manhattan, the eulogy was delivered by his close friend Ronald Reagan, who was President of the United States at the time.
Katharine Ramsden is a (semi-retired) former journalist and corporate communications executive. A graduate of Mount Holyoke College and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, she is a recently new Player, avid reader and one time a cappella singer.
My hero.