Cary Grant
was born in 1904 in Bristol, England with the unfortunate name of Archibald
Leach. When Archie was only 9, his father put
Archie’s mother in a mental hospital, remarried and then abandoned Archie to
the care of the state.
By the age of 14 he was expelled from school and joined
a traveling vaudeville show as a stilt-walker. At the age
of 16, he left England for a two year tour of the American vaudeville circuit
with his British troupe. Soon he was working with an American troupe in St.
Louis where he mastered acrobatics, mime and juggling. After a stint on
Broadway, Archie moved to west to California and soon signed a contract with
Paramount Studios under his new name of Cary Grant.
In spite of his poor
background and his vaudeville past, he would constantly be cast as a wealthy
sophisticate.
George
Randolph Scott’s early years were almost the exact opposite of Cary Grant’s.
George was born in 1898 to a well off family. As a child growing up in
Virginia, he lived a life of privilege. George’s parents made sure that he
attended the best private schools and that he had a happy and care free
childhood.
After
serving in World War I, going to college and a brief stint in the family
business; George eventually decided on a career in acting. George’s father knew
Howard Hughes, who was making films at that time, and arranged an introduction
for his son. Soon known as Randolph Scott, he was only getting bit parts and
was little more than window dressing. On the advice of director Cecil B.
Demille, Scott gained some much needed acting experience by performing in local
productions at the Pasadena Playhouse. The work paid off and soon he was
landing larger roles.
Cary and Randolph met on the set of the 1932 movie, “Hot
Saturday.” The attraction was mutual and
they quickly began spending all of their free time together. Their friends from
that period said that the two handsome young actors lived together openly and
began traveling in Hollywood’s gay social circles. A few years before, Cary
Grant had lived openly with gay Hollywood designer, Orry-Kelly.
Cary and
Randolph shared a Santa Monica beach house as well as a mansion in Los Feliz at
2177 West Live Oak Drive.
They would live together for a total of 11 years,
longer than most Hollywood marriages.
A closeted gay journalist named Ben Maddox wrote a
profile of the two bachelors for Modern Screen in 1933. The photos show Cary
Grant and Randolph Randolph sharing house and living a very cozy and domestic life at the
beach. Maddox used various code words in his story that would identify them as
a couple to gay readers. These photos of them wearing aprons were apparently too much for heterosexual columnists who ridiculed the two men and implied
that there was “something” between them.
In 1934, the studio “encouraged” Grant to marry in order
to kill the gay rumors that were swirling around the two young actors. In
February of 1934, he married Virginia Cherril and 13 months later she divorced
him, claiming that he had hit her.
Virginia also said the Grant was constantly
drunk and sullen and never showed any sexual interest. There is an unconfirmed
rumor that Cary had been so depressed by his situation that he even attempted
suicide. An attempted suicide was something that the studios would have done
everything in their power to hush up; so that may be why there is no real
evidence of it happening.
Cary moved back in with Randolph as soon as the divorce
was settled. The studio publicity department regularly planted stories about an endless
stream of attractive young women going in and out of the beach house which they
now referred to as “Bachelor Hall.”
Their good
friend, Carole Lombard, when joking about Grant notorious cheapness said "Their
relationship is perfect. Randy pays the bills and Cary mails them.” Between the
two of them, they had 7 failed marriages, but they were most likely marriages
of convenience.
Mr Blackwell,
the notorious fashion critic, lived with Cary and Randolph for several months.
In his memoir he said that he considered them, “deeply, madly in love, their
devotion complete…Behind closed doors they were warm, kind, loving and caring,
and unembarrassed about showing it.”
By 1940 they
were no longer living together, due to pressure from the studio heads to marry
and protect their image. They only made one movie together, ironically it was
called, “My Favorite Wife.”
They must have still be lovers at the time since the script
supervisor, Bert Granet, for “My Favorite Wife” recalled Cary and Randolfs
unusual behavior on set:
“We shot the pool sequence at the Huntington Hotel in Pasadena. Cary and Randy
Scott arrived as a pair and, to the total astonishment of myself, the director,
and the ultra-macho crew, instead of taking separate suites moved into the same
room together. Everyone looked at everyone else. It seemed hardly
believable.”
Cary and
Randolph remained extremely close their entire lives. The maître d' at the
Beverly Hillcrest Hotel saw both actors in the 1970s, sitting in the back of
the restaurant, long after the place had emptied. Cary Grant and Randolph Scott
were sitting alone, quietly holding hands.
If you enjoyed
these vintage photos of Cary and Randolph, please subscribe to the Homo
History blog. There are links at the top and very bottom of every page.
For more photos of Cary Grant or Randolph Scott, check out: http://hotvintagemen.blogspot.com/2016/05/early-photos-of-cary-grant.html
https://hotvintagemen.blogspot.com/2019/01/randolph-scott.html
Thanks,
Jeffrey Gent
