Misplaced Pages

#217782

76-487: The complex was originally designed by Welton Becket & Associates from Los Angeles for the Southland Life Insurance Company. When groundbreaking for the buildings took place in 1955 it was compared to Manhattan's Rockefeller Center , as Southland Center was the first mixed-use project in downtown containing both hotel and office space. Southland Center was the second major development in

152-591: A change of pace, casting him in the comedy Blonde Crazy , again opposite Blondell. The Public Enemy was an enormous box-office success, and Cagney began to compare his pay with that of his peers, believing that his contract allowed for salary adjustments based on the success of his films. However, Warner Bros. refused to allow him a pay raise. The studio heads also insisted that Cagney continue promoting their films, even those in which he did not appear, despite his opposition. Cagney returned to New York, leaving his brother Bill to look after his apartment. While Cagney

228-575: A comedy role, and received mixed reviews. Warner Bros. had allowed Cagney his change of pace, but was keen to get him back to playing tough guys, which was more lucrative. Ironically, the script for Angels was one that Cagney had hoped to do while with Grand National, but the studio had been unable to secure funding. Cagney starred as Rocky Sullivan, a gangster fresh out of jail and looking for his former associate, played by Humphrey Bogart , who owes him money. While revisiting his old haunts, he runs into his old friend Jerry Connolly, played by O'Brien, who

304-454: A country property where he could indulge his passion for farming. Cagney spent most of the next year on his farm, and went back to work only when Edward L. Alperson from Grand National Films , a newly established, independent studio, approached him to make movies for $ 100,000 a film and 10% of the profits. Cagney made two films for Grand National: Great Guy and Something to Sing About . He received good reviews for both, but overall

380-440: A deal that increased Cagney's salary to around $ 3000 a week, and guaranteed top billing and no more than four films a year. Having learned about the block-booking studio system that virtually guaranteed the studios huge profits, Cagney was determined to spread the wealth. He regularly sent money and goods to old friends from his neighborhood, though he did not generally make this known. His insistence on no more than four films

456-521: A lawyer who joins the FBI in G-Men , and he also took on his first, and only, Shakespearean role, as top-billed Nick Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream alongside Joe E. Brown as Francis Flute and Mickey Rooney as Puck . Cagney's last movie in 1935 was Ceiling Zero , his third film with Pat O'Brien. O'Brien received top billing, which was a clear breach of Cagney's contract. This, combined with

532-526: A local team, and entertained dreams of playing in the Major Leagues . His introduction to films was unusual. When visiting an aunt who lived in Brooklyn , opposite Vitagraph Studios , Cagney would climb over the fence to watch the filming of John Bunny movies. He became involved in amateur dramatics , starting as a scenery boy for a Chinese pantomime at Lenox Hill Neighborhood House (one of

608-583: A total of $ 40 million. At a further cost of $ 170 million, HBE redeveloped all three towers into one large hotel and built a convention center on the adjacent block, linked by skybridges. The Harvey Hotel tower remained open throughout the work. HBE placed the finished hotel within their Adam's Mark chain, naming it the Adam's Mark Dallas . The 1844-room hotel opened in October 1998. DART's adjacent light rail line and Pearl Station were major factors in converting

684-443: A week, the same salary as Edward G. Robinson, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and Kay Francis . Warner Bros. refused to cave in this time, and suspended him. Cagney announced that he would do his next three pictures for free if they canceled the five years remaining on his contract. He also threatened to quit Hollywood and go back to Columbia University to follow his brothers into medicine. After six months of suspension, Frank Capra brokered

760-503: A year was based on his having witnessed actors—even teenagers—regularly being worked 100 hours a week to turn out more films. This experience was an integral reason for his involvement in forming the Screen Actors Guild in 1933. Cagney returned to the studio and made Hard to Handle (1933). This was followed by a steady stream of crowd-pleasing films, including the highly regarded Footlight Parade , which gave Cagney

836-576: Is now a priest concerned about the Dead End Kids ' futures, particularly as they idolize Rocky. After a messy shootout, Sullivan is eventually captured by the police and sentenced to death in the electric chair . Connolly pleads with Rocky to "turn yellow" on his way to the chair so the Kids will lose their admiration for him, and hopefully avoid turning to crime. Sullivan refuses, but on his way to his execution, he breaks down and begs for his life. It

SECTION 10

#1732784040218

912-474: Is unclear whether this cowardice is real or just feigned for the Kids' benefit. Cagney himself refused to say, insisting he liked the ambiguity. The film is regarded by many as one of Cagney's finest, and garnered him an Academy Award for Best Actor nomination for 1938. He lost to Spencer Tracy in Boys Town . Cagney had been considered for the role, but lost out on it due to his typecasting. (He also lost

988-533: The Screen Actors Guild for two years. James Francis "Jimmy" Cagney Jr. was born in 1899 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. His biographers disagree as to the actual location: either on the corner of Avenue D and 8th Street , or in a top-floor apartment at 391 East 8th Street, the address that is on his birth certificate. His father, James Francis Cagney Sr. (1875–1918),

1064-666: The Soviet Union and its foreign policies. The courts eventually decided the Warner Bros. lawsuit in Cagney's favor. He had done what many thought unthinkable: taking on the studios and winning. Not only did he win, but Warner Bros. also knew that he was still their foremost box office draw and invited him back for a five-year, $ 150,000-a-film deal, with no more than two pictures a year. Cagney also had full say over what films he did and did not make. Additionally, William Cagney

1140-626: The Student Army Training Corps , but he dropped out after one semester, returning home upon the death of his father during the 1918 flu pandemic . Cagney held a variety of jobs early in his life: junior architect , copy boy for the New York Sun , book custodian at the New York Public Library , bellhop , draughtsman , and night doorkeeper . He gave all his earnings to his family. While Cagney

1216-573: The William B. Friedlander musical Pitter Patter , for which he earned $ 55 a week. (He sent $ 40 to his mother each week. ) So strong was his habit of holding down more than one job at a time, that he also worked as a dresser for one of the leads, portered the casts' luggage, and understudied for the lead. Among the chorus line performers was 20-year-old Frances Willard "Billie" Vernon; they married in 1922. The show began Cagney's 10-year association with vaudeville and Broadway. The Cagneys were among

1292-508: The 31 story (448 ft) north Skyway Tower was added as additional office space. All three buildings are rectangular slab structures resting on a common base. The facade was covered with curtain walls of glass and 1,000+ spandrel panels of light weight precast concrete faced with blue Italian glass mosaic tiles. The Southland Life Building overtook the Republic National Bank Building and became from 1959 to 1964

1368-555: The Grand National experiment was a success for Cagney, who was able to move away from his traditional Warner Bros. tough guy roles to more sympathetic characters. How far he could have experimented and developed will never be known, but back in the Warner fold, he was once again playing tough guys. Cagney's two films of 1938, Boy Meets Girl and Angels with Dirty Faces , both costarred Pat O'Brien. The former had Cagney in

1444-736: The Oscar for his energetic portrayal of George M. Cohan in Yankee Doodle Dandy . He was nominated a third time in 1955 for Love Me or Leave Me with Doris Day . Cagney retired from acting and dancing in 1961. He came out of retirement 20 years later for a part in the movie Ragtime (1981), mainly to aid his recovery from a stroke. Cagney walked out on Warner Bros. Twice over the course of his career, each time returning on much improved personal and artistic terms. In 1935 he sued Warner for breach of contract He worked for poverty row film company Grand National (starring in two films:

1520-530: The Sheraton chain in 1990 and was renamed the Harvey Hotel in 1994. In 1990, a central tower addition of 25 floors and bay windows was proposed to make the complex competitive to newer projects going up in the city. However, the office towers remained vacant until 1996, when HBE Corp. purchased the entire 1.5 million-square-foot complex from New York Life , as well as the entire block across the street, for

1596-401: The case of restaurants) menus, silverware, matchbooks, and napkins. After Wurdeman's death in 1949, Becket formed Welton Becket and Associates and continued to grow the firm to the extent that it was one of the largest architectural offices in the world by the time of his death in 1969. In 1987, his firm was acquired by Ellerbe Associates, and the merged firm continued as Ellerbe Becket until

SECTION 20

#1732784040218

1672-575: The chance to return to his song-and-dance roots. The film includes show-stopping scenes with Busby Berkeley -choreographed routines. In 1934, Here Comes the Navy paired him with Pat O'Brien for the first of nine films together. The two would have an enduring friendship. Also in 1934, Cagney made his first of two raucous comedies with Bette Davis , Jimmy the Gent , for which he had himself heavily made up with thick eyebrows and procured an odd haircut for

1748-452: The complex into a first-rate convention facility. A parking garage and 3-story convention building were constructed on an adjoining block to the southwest, and the building's facade of glass mosaics was painted gray during the building's conversion. In 2007, the Adam's Mark Dallas was among hotels in the chain sold to Oxford Lodging Group who re-branded it as a Sheraton, returning the complex to

1824-488: The day before the show sailed for England, they decided to replace him. This was a devastating turn of events for Cagney apart from the logistical difficulties this presented - the couple's luggage was in the hold of the ship and they had given up their apartment. He almost quit show business. As Vernon recalled, "Jimmy said that it was all over. He made up his mind that he would get a job doing something else." The Cagneys had run-of-the-play contracts, which lasted as long as

1900-559: The door!" The quote from Blonde Crazy was nominated for the American Film Institute 's 2005 AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes list. The film was swiftly followed by The Crowd Roars and Winner Take All . Despite his success, Cagney remained dissatisfied with his contract. He wanted more money for his successful films, but he also offered to take a smaller salary should his star wane. Warner Bros. refused, so Cagney once again walked out. He held out for $ 4000

1976-492: The early residents of Free Acres , a social experiment established by Bolton Hall in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey . Pitter Patter was not hugely successful, but it did well enough to run for 32 weeks, making it possible for Cagney to join the vaudeville circuit. He and Vernon toured separately with a number of different troupes, reuniting as "Vernon and Nye" to do simple comedy routines and musical numbers. "Nye"

2052-626: The end of 2009, when it was acquired by AECOM . It is now known as Ellerbe Becket, an AECOM Company. Becket's buildings used unusual facade materials such as ceramic tile and stainless steel grillwork, repetitive geometric patterns, and a heavy emphasis on walls clad in natural stone, particularly travertine and flagstone . With The Walt Disney Company and the United States Steel Corporation , Becket's firm co-designed Disney's Contemporary Resort , which opened in 1971 at Walt Disney World Resort . The Contemporary

2128-465: The fact that Cagney had made five movies in 1934, again against his contract terms, caused him to bring legal proceedings against Warner Bros. for breach of contract . The dispute dragged on for several months. Cagney received calls from David Selznick and Sam Goldwyn , but neither felt in a position to offer him work while the dispute went on. Meanwhile, while being represented by his brother William in court, Cagney went back to New York to search for

2204-415: The first settlement houses in the nation) where his brother Harry performed and Florence James directed. He was initially content working behind the scenes and had no interest in performing. One night, however, Harry became ill, and although Cagney was not an understudy , his photographic memory of rehearsals enabled him to stand in for his brother without making a single mistake. In 1919, while Cagney

2280-659: The four-month run of Outside Looking In , the Cagneys were financially secure enough for Cagney to return to vaudeville over the next few years, achieving various success. During this period, he met George M. Cohan , whom he later portrayed in Yankee Doodle Dandy , though they never spoke. Cagney secured the lead role in the 1926–27 season West End production of Broadway by George Abbott . The show's management insisted that he copy Broadway lead Lee Tracy 's performance, despite Cagney's discomfort in doing so, but

2356-415: The grapefruit bit. I never dreamed it would be shown in the movie. Director Bill Wellman thought of the idea suddenly. It wasn't even written into the script." However, according to Turner Classic Movies (TCM), the grapefruit scene was a practical joke that Cagney and costar Mae Clarke decided to play on the crew while the cameras were rolling. Wellman liked it so much that he left it in. TCM also notes that

Sheraton Dallas Hotel - Misplaced Pages Continue

2432-597: The hotel's original name from nearly fifty years before, the Sheraton Dallas Hotel. A $ 90 million project began in 2009 to renovate guestrooms, public spaces, and the convention center. In summer 2018, the hotel launched another renovation which added a rooftop garden, new entrance and redesigns of public spaces, meeting and guest rooms. The work finished in November 2019. Welton Becket Welton David Becket (August 8, 1902 – January 16, 1969)

2508-502: The importance of the walkout for other actors in breaking the dominance of the studio system. Normally, when a star walked out, the time he or she was absent was added onto the end of an already long contract, as happened with Olivia de Havilland and Bette Davis . Cagney, however, walked out and came back to a better contract. Many in Hollywood watched the case closely for hints of how future contracts might be handled. Artistically,

2584-533: The initial rushes, the actors switched roles. Years later, Joan Blondell recalled that a few days into the filming, director William Wellman turned to Cagney and said "Now you’re the lead, kid!" "Jimmy's charisma was so outstanding," she added. The film cost only $ 151,000 to make, but it became one of the first low-budget films to gross $ 1 million. Cagney received widespread praise for his performance. The New York Herald Tribune described his interpretation as "...the most ruthless, unsentimental appraisal of

2660-421: The last time that he permitted live ammunition to be shot at him, a relatively common occurrence at the time, as blank cartridges and squibs were rare and expensive. During filming for Taxi! , he was almost hit by gunfire. In the film's opening scene, Cagney speaks fluent Yiddish , a language that he had learned during childhood in New York City. "I never said, 'Mmm, you dirty rat!' What I actually did say

2736-562: The meanness of a petty killer the cinema has yet devised." He received top billing after the film, but while he acknowledged the importance of the role to his career, he always disputed the suggestion that it changed the way heroes and leading men were portrayed. He cited Clark Gable 's slapping of Barbara Stanwyck six months earlier (in Night Nurse ) as more important. Night Nurse was actually released three months after The Public Enemy. Gable's character punched Stanwyck's, knocking

2812-443: The movies. Their train fares were paid for by a friend, the press officer of Pitter Patter , who was also desperate to act. They were not successful at first; the dance studio Cagney set up had few clients and folded; Vernon and he toured the studios, but there was no interest. Eventually, they borrowed some money and headed back to New York via Chicago and Milwaukee , enduring failure along the way when they attempted to make money on

2888-523: The musical Something to Sing About and the drama Great Guy ) for a year while the suit was being settled, then in 1942 establishing his own production company, Cagney Productions, before returning to Warner seven years later. In reference to Cagney's refusal to be pushed around, Jack L. Warner called him "the Professional Againster". Cagney also made numerous USO troop tours before and during World War II and served as president of

2964-532: The nickname "The Professional Againster". Warner Bros. was quick to team its two rising gangster stars, Edward G. Robinson and Cagney, for the 1931 film Smart Money . Eager to follow the success of Robinson's Little Caesar , the studio filmed Smart Money concurrently with The Public Enemy . With the introduction of the Motion Picture Production Code of 1930 that placed limits upon on-screen violence, Warner Bros. allowed Cagney

3040-558: The northeast end of downtown now known as the City Center District . The original two buildings, completed in 1958, consisted of the 42-story 550-foot (170 m) center tower, the Southland Life Building, and the 28 story 353-foot (108 m) south tower, the 510-room Sheraton-Dallas Hotel . Celebrities Johnny Weissmuller and June Lockhart appeared at the dedication ceremony in 1959. In early 1981,

3116-400: The nurse unconscious. Many critics view the scene in which Cagney pushes half a grapefruit into Mae Clarke 's face as one of the most famous moments in movie history. The scene itself was a late addition, and the origin of the idea is a matter of debate: producer Darryl Zanuck claimed he thought of it in a script conference, Wellman said the idea came to him when he saw the grapefruit on

Sheraton Dallas Hotel - Misplaced Pages Continue

3192-527: The period without the studio's permission, shaved on the back and sides. Cagney initially had the make-up department put prominent scars on the back of his head for a close-up but the studio demanded that he remove them. Cagney's and Davis's fast-paced scenes together were particularly energetic. In 1935 Cagney was listed as one of the Top Ten Moneymakers in Hollywood for the first time, and was cast more frequently in non-gangster roles; he played

3268-487: The period. Notable for a famous scene in which Cagney pushes half a grapefruit against Mae Clarke 's face, the film thrust him into the spotlight. He became one of Hollywood's leading stars and one of Warner Bros.' biggest contracts at the time. In 1938 he received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his subtle portrayal of the tough guy/man-child Rocky Sullivan in Angels with Dirty Faces . In 1942 Cagney won

3344-507: The play did. Vernon was in the chorus line of the show, and with help from the Actors' Equity Association , Cagney understudied Tracy on the Broadway show, providing them with a desperately needed steady income. Cagney also established a dance school for professionals, and then landed a part in the play Women Go On Forever , directed by John Cromwell , which ran for four months. By the end of

3420-599: The poverty his family endured. The family moved twice while he was still young, first to East 79th Street , and then to East 96th Street . He was confirmed at St. Francis de Sales Roman Catholic Church in Manhattan; his funeral service would eventually be held in the same church. The red-haired, blue-eyed Cagney graduated from Stuyvesant High School in New York City in 1918, and attended Columbia College , where he intended to major in Art. He also took German and joined

3496-638: The production quality was not up to Warner Bros. standards, and the films did not do well. A third film, Dynamite , was planned, but Grand National ran out of money. Cagney also became involved in political causes, and in 1936, agreed to sponsor the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League . Unknown to Cagney, the League was in fact a front organization for the Communist International ( Comintern ), which sought to enlist support for

3572-404: The proviso that James Cagney and Joan Blondell be able to reprise their stage roles in the movie. After rave reviews, Warner Bros. signed him for an initial $ 400-a-week, three-week contract; when the executives at the studio saw the first dailies for the film, Cagney's contract was immediately extended. Cagney's fifth film, The Public Enemy , became one of the most influential gangster movies of

3648-438: The rights for $ 20,000. He then sold the play to Warner Bros., with the stipulation that they cast Cagney and Blondell in the film version. Retitled Sinners' Holiday , the film was released in 1930, starring Grant Withers and Evalyn Knapp . Joan Blondell recalled that when they were casting the film, studio head Jack Warner believed that she and Cagney had no future, and that Withers and Knapp were destined for stardom. Cagney

3724-517: The role of Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne in Knute Rockne, All American to his friend Pat O'Brien for the same reason. ) Cagney did, however, win that year's New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor . His earlier insistence on not filming with live ammunition proved to be a good decision. Having been told while filming Angels with Dirty Faces that he would be doing a scene with real machine gun bullets (a common practice in

3800-722: The run, Cagney was exhausted from acting and running the dance school. Cagney had built a reputation as an innovative teacher; when he was cast as the lead in Grand Street Follies of 1928 , he was also appointed choreographer. The show received rave reviews and was followed by Grand Street Follies of 1929 . These roles led to a part in George Kelly 's Maggie the Magnificent , a play the critics disliked, though they liked Cagney's performance. Cagney saw this role (and Women Go on Forever ) as significant because of

3876-489: The scene made Clarke's ex-husband, Lew Brice , very happy. "He saw the film repeatedly just to see that scene, and was often shushed by angry patrons when his delighted laughter got too loud." Cagney's stubbornness became well known behind the scenes, especially after he refused to join in a 100% participation-free charity drive pushed by Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Cagney did not object to donating money to charity, but he did object to being forced to give. Already he had acquired

SECTION 50

#1732784040218

3952-399: The stage. Cagney secured his first significant nondancing role in 1925. He played a young tough guy in the three-act play Outside Looking In by Maxwell Anderson , earning $ 200 a week. As with Pitter Patter , Cagney went to the audition with little confidence he would get the part. At this point, he had had no experience with drama. Cagney felt that he only got the role because his hair

4028-646: The studio liked him, and before his three-week contract was up—while the film was still shooting —they gave Cagney a three-week extension, which was followed by a full seven-year contract at $ 400 a week. However, the contract allowed Warners to drop him at the end of any 40-week period, effectively guaranteeing him only 40 weeks’ income at a time. As he did when he was growing up, Cagney shared his income with his family. Cagney received good reviews, and immediately played another colorful gangster supporting role in The Doorway to Hell (1930) starring Lew Ayres . The film

4104-427: The table during the shoot, and writers Glasmon and Bright claimed it was based on the real life of gangster Hymie Weiss , who threw an omelette into his girlfriend's face. Joan Blondell recalled that the change was made when Cagney decided the omelette wouldn't work. Cagney himself usually cited the writers' version, but the fruit's victim, Clarke, agreed that it was Wellman's idea, saying, "I'm sorry I ever agreed to do

4180-598: The talented directors he met. He learned "...what a director was for and what a director could do. They were directors who could play all the parts in the play better than the actors cast for them." Playing opposite Cagney in Maggie the Magnificent was Joan Blondell , who starred again with him a few months later in Marie Baumer's new play, Penny Arcade . While the critics panned Penny Arcade , they praised Cagney and Blondell. Al Jolson , sensing film potential, bought

4256-575: The tallest in the city and the tallest building west of the Mississippi River . Its height was later surpassed in the city by Republic Center Tower II . For many years after the building's opening, the most exclusive restaurant in downtown Dallas was the Chaparral Club on the 37th floor, and an observation deck occupied the top of the tower. Southland Life vacated the complex when Cityplace Center opened in 1988. The hotel tower left

4332-414: The work. He later recalled an argument he had with director John Adolfi about a line: "There was a line in the show where I was supposed to be crying on my mother's breast... [The line] was 'I'm your baby, ain't I?' I refused to say it. Adolfi said 'I'm going to tell Zanuck .' I said 'I don't give a shit what you tell him, I'm not going to say that line. ' " They took the line out. Despite this outburst,

4408-635: Was 'Judy, Judy, Judy.'" Cagney, in his acceptance speech for the AFI Life Achievement Award , 1974 Blonde Crazy and Taxi! contain lines that became the basis of many misquoted celebrity impersonations of Cagney. He never said "Mmm, you dirty rat!" on film; in Blonde Crazy , he says: "That dirty, double-crossin' rat!" and in Taxi! , he says: "Come out and take it, you dirty, yellow-bellied rat, or I'll give it to you through

4484-452: Was a financial hit, and helped to cement Cagney's growing reputation. He made four more movies before his breakthrough role. Warner Brothers' succession of gangster movie hits, in particular Little Caesar with Edward G. Robinson , culminated in the 1931 film The Public Enemy . Due to the strong reviews he had received in his short film career, Cagney was cast as nice-guy Matt Doyle, opposite Edward Woods as Tom Powers. However, after

4560-467: Was a rearrangement of the last syllable of Cagney's surname. One of the troupes Cagney joined was Parker, Rand, and Leach, taking over the spot vacated when Archie Leach—who later changed his name to Cary Grant —left. In 1924, after years of touring and struggling to make money, Cagney and Vernon moved to Hawthorne, California , partly for Cagney to meet his new mother-in-law, who had just moved there from Chicago, and partly to investigate breaking into

4636-566: Was able to negotiate dancing opportunities in his films and ended up winning the Academy Award for his role in the musical Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942). In 1999 the American Film Institute ranked him eighth on its list of greatest male stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Orson Welles described him as "maybe the greatest actor who ever appeared in front of a camera". In his first professional acting performance in 1919, Cagney

SECTION 60

#1732784040218

4712-565: Was an American actor and dancer. On stage and in film, he was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances. Cagney is remembered for playing multifaceted tough guys in films such as The Public Enemy (1931), Taxi! (1932), Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), The Roaring Twenties (1939), City for Conquest (1940) and White Heat (1949), finding himself typecast or limited by this reputation earlier in his career. He

4788-698: Was an American modern architect who designed many buildings in Los Angeles, California . Becket was born in Seattle, Washington and graduated from the University of Washington program in Architecture in 1927 with a Bachelor of Architecture degree ( B.Arch. ). He moved to Los Angeles in 1933 and formed a partnership with his University of Washington classmate Walter Wurdeman and Angeleno architect Charles F. Plummer . Their first major commission

4864-420: Was costumed as a woman when he danced in the chorus line of the revue Every Sailor . He spent several years in vaudeville as a dancer and comedian, until he got his first major acting part in 1925. He secured several other roles, receiving good notices, before landing the lead in the 1929 play Penny Arcade . Al Jolson saw him in the play and bought the movie rights, before selling them to Warner Bros. with

4940-805: Was designed as a 14-story steel A-frame with a monorail running through the building. Modular guest rooms were assembled, finished, furnished, fully equipped and their doors locked, on the ground, then lifted by crane and inserted into the frame; however, this sometimes took multiple tries. Welton Becket was elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 1952. Becket's sons, Welton MacDonald Becket & Bruce Becket, are also practicing architects, as well as his nephew MacDonald G. Becket and granddaughter Alexandra Becket. Becket's extensive list of credits includes: James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. ( / ˈ k æ ɡ n i / ; July 17, 1899 – March 30, 1986)

5016-629: Was enough to convince the producers that he could dance, and he copied the other dancers' moves and added them to his repertoire while waiting to go on. He did not find it odd to play a woman, nor was he embarrassed. He later recalled how he was able to shed his own naturally shy persona when he stepped onto the stage: "For there I am not myself. I am not that fellow, Jim Cagney, at all. I certainly lost all consciousness of him when I put on skirts, wig, paint, powder, feathers and spangles." Had Cagney's mother had her way, his stage career would have ended when he quit Every Sailor after two months; proud as she

5092-430: Was given a $ 500-a-week, three-week contract with Warner Bros. In the film, he portrayed Harry Delano, a tough guy who becomes a killer but generates sympathy because of his unfortunate upbringing. This role of the sympathetic "bad" guy was to become a recurring character type for Cagney throughout his career. During filming of Sinners' Holiday , he also demonstrated the stubbornness that characterized his attitude toward

5168-446: Was guaranteed the position of assistant producer for the movies in which his brother starred. Cagney had demonstrated the power of the walkout in keeping the studios to their word. He later explained his reasons, saying, "I walked out because I depended on the studio heads to keep their word on this, that or other promise, and when the promise was not kept, my only recourse was to deprive them of my services." Cagney himself acknowledged

5244-472: Was in New York, his brother, who had effectively become his agent, sought a substantial pay raise and more personal freedom for him. Following the success of The Public Enemy and Blonde Crazy , Warner Bros. offered Cagney a contract for $ 1,000 per week. Cagney's first film upon returning from New York was Taxi! (1932), a critical success in which Cagney danced for the first time on screen. It also marked

5320-414: Was nicknamed "Cellar-Door Cagney" after his habit of dancing on slanted cellar doors. He was a good street fighter , defending his older brother Harry, a medical student, when necessary. He engaged in amateur boxing, and was a runner-up for the New York state lightweight title. His coaches encouraged him to turn professional, but his mother would not allow it. He also played semi-professional baseball for

5396-537: Was of Irish descent. At the time of his son's birth, he was a bartender and amateur boxer , although on Cagney's birth certificate, he is listed as a telegraphist . His mother was Carolyn Elizabeth ( née Nelson; 1877–1945); her father was a Norwegian ship's captain, and her mother was Irish. Cagney was the second of seven children, two of whom died within months of their births. He was sickly as an infant—so much so that his mother feared he would die before he could be baptized . He later attributed his sickly health to

5472-406: Was of his performance, she preferred that he get an education. Cagney appreciated the $ 35 a week he was paid, which he later remembered as "a mountain of money for me in those worrisome days." In deference to his mother's concerns, he got a job as a brokerage house runner. This did not stop him from looking for more stage work, however, and he went on to audition successfully for a chorus part in

5548-453: Was redder than that of Alan Bunce, the only other red-headed performer in New York. Both the play and Cagney received good reviews; Life magazine wrote, "Mr. Cagney, in a less spectacular role [than his co-star] makes a few minutes silence during his mock-trial scene something that many a more established actor might watch with profit." Burns Mantle wrote that it "...contained the most honest acting now to be seen in New York." Following

5624-570: Was the Pan-Pacific Auditorium in 1935, which won them residential jobs from James Cagney , Robert Montgomery , and other film celebrities. Plummer died in 1939. The successor firm Wurdeman and Becket went on to design Bullock's Pasadena (1944) and a couple of corporate headquarters. Wurdeman and Becket developed the concept of "total design," whereby their firm would be responsible for master planning, engineering, interiors, furniture, fixtures, landscaping, signage, and even (in

5700-441: Was working at Wanamaker's Department Store , a colleague saw him dance and informed him about a role in the upcoming production, Every Sailor . It was a wartime play in which the chorus was made up of servicemen dressed as women that was originally titled Ever Sailor . Cagney auditioned for the chorus, although considering it a waste of time, as he knew only one dance step , the complicated Peabody , but he knew it perfectly. This

5776-523: Was working for the New York Public Library, he met Florence James , who helped him into an acting career. Cagney believed in hard work, later stating, "It was good for me. I feel sorry for the kid who has too cushy a time of it. Suddenly he has to come face-to-face with the realities of life without any mama or papa to do his thinking for him." He started tap dance as a boy (a skill that eventually contributed to his Academy Award) and

#217782