Cary Grant: A Brilliant Disguise by Scott Eyman

☆☆☆☆
ebook, 607 pages
Expected publication: October 20th 2020 by Simon & Schuster
About the Book:
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. Drawing on Grant’s own papers, extensive archival research, and interviews with family and friends, this is the definitive portrait of a movie immortal.

Cary Grant is my favourite actor.
The movie Penny Serenade, 1941 with Irene Dunn, is my favourite movie.

Scott Eyman is probably the best celebrity biographer around. He'd done extensive research for this biography. I knew somewhat about Cary Grant, but Eyman makes it seem like Grant is in the living room with you talking about his life. Grant's childhood to the height of his Hollywood fame and is post-Hollywood career is all explained in detail. I loved the references to his early films, as well as the backstory behind the films and what was going on during filming. It made me feel like a fly on the wall.

“It’s important to know where you’ve come from so that you can know where you’re going. I probably chose my profession because I was seeking approval, adulation, admiration and affection.” —Cary Grant, aka Archie Leach
As a great fan of Cary Grant as actor and person, this book is simply a true delight to read. Well written, documented and researched. Scott Eyman's biography stands as the definitive account of the actor's life. It is well worth the time of those interested in the Golden Age of Hollywood. It is chock full of telling anecdotes about Grant and his peers. I found it interesting, informative and I highly recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley, Scott Eyman and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review; all opinions are my own.

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