On this day in 1902, Archibald Alexander Leach was born.

To escape poverty and a fractious family, Archie Leach ran away from home at age 13 to perform as a juggler with the Bob Pender Troupe of comedians and acrobats. He made the United States his home during the company’s American tour of 1920, and for the next several years he honed his performing skills in such disparate pursuits as a barker at Coney Island, a stilt walker at Steeplechase Park, and a straight man in vaudeville shows. His performances throughout the country in numerous stage musicals and comedies during the late 1920s and early ’30s led to a contract with Paramount Pictures in 1932. Studio executives thought “Archie Leach” was an unsuitable name for a leading man and rechristened the actor Cary Grant, a name he would legally adopt in 1941. Grant first appeared in several short films and low-budget features for Paramount, and he attracted some attention with his role as a wealthy playboy in the Marlene Dietrich vehicle Blonde Venus (1932). The next year, Grant became a star when Mae West chose him for her leading man in two of her most successful films, She Done Him Wrong and I’m No Angel (both 1933).

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