“Hello” James Cagney – Born 17 July 1899

James Francis Cagney, Jr. (July 17, 1899 – March 30, 1986) was an American actor, first on stage, then in film,  best remembered for playing tough guys. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth among its 50 Greatest American Screen Legends.

Cagney’s seventh film, The Public Enemy, became one of the most influential gangster movies of the period and made Cagney one of Warner Bros and Hollywood’s biggest stars. In 1938, he received his first Academy Award for Best Actor nomination, for Angels with Dirty Faces, before winning in 1942 for his portrayal of George M. Cohan in Yankee Doodle Dandy.

Cagney retired for twenty years in 1961 before returning for a part in Ragtime, his last film.