Cagney by Cagney

By James Cagney

Categories: Biographies & Memoirs

Cagney by Cagney is the 1976 autobiography of James Cagney, the Academy Award-winning star of Yankee Doodle Dandy and The Public Enemy. He recalls growing up poor on New York's Lower East Side and his start as a vaudeville song-and-dance man. Cagney writes about his years at Warner Bros., his fights with the studio over pay and roles, and his view of acting as a craft and a job. He also describes the quiet farm life he chose after leaving Hollywood.

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• Denzel Washington: “You know, I read a book years ago - "Cagney by Cagney," written by James Cagney. And he talked about, you know, it's his job. He's at the studio - you do your job, you know; you shut your door; and you go get in your car, and go home.”