Cary Grant was a Hollywood heartthrob who starred in Hitchcock films such as North by Northwest and Notorious. He was even Ian Fleming’s first choice to play James Bond but he turned the part down. Some people think he would have been excellent as Bond but his own background was very different from the fictional James Bond or the public school educated Ian Fleming. As he himself said “I pretended to be someone I wanted to be until I finally became that person. “

This week for Natalie’s weekend coffee share and Thursday doors I am inviting you for a drink in Cary’s bar in the Bristol Hippodrome. He is probably their most famous ex-employee.

Show of Strength are a Bristol based theatre group who lead walks around the city to introduce visitors and locals to Bristol characters and stories. This week we enjoyed an evening walk in the sunshine and learnt more about Cary Grant and his connection to Bristol.

Bristol is very proud of Cary Grant and an annual Cary Grant film festival takes place each Autumn. The walk started at the Cary Grant statue in Millenium square (top). Our walk leader looked very dapper in a smart suit and polished shoes. He even managed Cary Grant’s famous mid Atlantic accent.

When Cary Grant was growing up Bristol would have looked very different with busy docks and lots of small narrow streets. There would have been many small music halls, theatres and cinemas.

Cary Grant’s early life

In 1904 Cary Grant was born as Archibald Leach in Horfield Bristol, the son of Elias and Elsie Leach. His father was a presser for a local tailor and his mother was a seamstress. He was a clever boy and won a scholarship to the local grammar school.

However, when he was ten his mother had a breakdown and was admitted to Bristol lunatic asylum. Cary was told she had gone on holiday and later that she had died. His father did not admit the truth until much later when he was very ill. This early childhood trauma may help to explain why Cary Grant was married five times and experiment with drugs including LSD.

Cary Grant wanted to escape. He tried to get a job as a cabin boy on one of the ships that docked in Bristol but his father refused to let him go. He did however manage to find parttime work at the newly built Bristol Hippodrome as a lighting stagehand.

When he was 13, he tried to run away again. This time with a troupe of acrobats. His father again tried to stop him but after Archie was expelled from school he relented. Archie joined the Pender troupe the next year and went with them to America. It was not all plain sailing he even worked for a time as a stilt walker on Coney Island.

Coming back to Bristol

He was not an instant success but thanks to his good looks and talent he became a film star.

After his father’s death, he returned to Bristol regularly and was able to get to know his mother. He rescued her from Bristol Lunatic Asylum now Glenside hospital and bought her a house in Clifton. When he visited Bristol he had an agreement with the local press that he would pose for photos and in exchange they would keep his visits to his mother secret.