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Cary Grant

A Brilliant Disguise

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About The Book

Film historian and acclaimed New York Times bestselling biographer Scott Eyman has written the definitive, “captivating” (Associated Press) biography of Hollywood legend Cary Grant, one of the most accomplished—and beloved—actors of his generation, who remains as popular as ever today.

Born Archibald Leach in 1904, he came to America as a teenaged acrobat to find fame and fortune, but he was always haunted by his past. His father was a feckless alcoholic, and his mother was committed to an asylum when Archie was eleven years old. He believed her to be dead until he was informed she was alive when he was thirty-one years old. Because of this experience, Grant would have difficulty forming close attachments throughout his life. He married five times and had numerous affairs.

Despite a remarkable degree of success, Grant remained deeply conflicted about his past, his present, his basic identity, and even the public that worshipped him in movies such as Gunga Din, Notorious, and North by Northwest.

This “estimable and empathetic biography” (The Washington Post) draws on Grant’s own papers, extensive archival research, and interviews with family and friends making it a definitive and “complex portrait of Hollywood’s original leading man” (Entertainment Weekly).

About The Author

Photograph by Greg Lovett

Scott Eyman was formerly the literary critic at The Palm Beach Post and is the author or coauthor of sixteen books, including the bestseller John Wayne and Pieces of My Heart and You Must Remember This with actor Robert Wagner. Eyman also writes book reviews for The Wall Street Journal, and has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Chicago Tribune. He and his wife, Lynn, live in West Palm Beach.

About The Reader

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio (October 20, 2020)
  • Runtime: 17 hours and 3 minutes
  • ISBN13: 9781797114101

Raves and Reviews

"Scott Eyman's exhaustive and well-researched examination of the beloved actor Cary Grant successfully argues that Grant was the fanciful invention of the man himself—born Archibald Leach. Angelo Di Loreto skillfully lends a Continental flair to his genuinely artful narration. His performance is as charming and stylish as Grant himself. The text is empathetic toward Grant and his occasionally tortured relationship with his mother. While not necessarily covering any new information, this is an entertaining discussion of a fascinating persona. Consider spending some time with a great Hollywood invention and the appealing voice of Di Loreto."

– AudioFile Magazine

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