A blue plaque to Hollywood superstar Cary Grant is to be unveiled at his childhood home in Bristol.
Born Archibald Alexander Leach in Bristol in 1904, Grant escaped an impoverished childhood and alcoholic father to become a 20th century icon.
At the age of just 14, he joined an acrobatic troupe and travelled to America, where he re-invented himself and become a style icon during a four-decade film career.
But the star of hits including North by Northwest, To Catch a Thief and an Affair to Remember, never forgot his British roots.
The new plaque will be unveiled today at 50 Berkeley Road in Bishopston, where he lived with his parents during the earlier, happier time in his childhood.
The star would later describe his time there as the ‘happiest days for the three of us’ and he had fond memories of a swing that his father installed on an apple tree in the garden.
Grant went on to be deeply troubled by his early life, even taking the psychedelic drug LSD to try to cure his inner demons.
The actor’s mother was left traumatised by the death of his brother John from meningitis.
A blue plaque to Hollywood superstar Cary Grant is to be unveiled at his childhood home in Bristol. Above: Grant on the street in Bristol where he was born
The new plaque will be unveiled today at 50 Berkeley Road in Bishopston, where he lived with his parents during the earlier, happier time in his childhood
She was committed to an asylum by his father so he could start a relationship with another woman.
Grant’s father later lied to him, telling him that his mother had died.
The notorious lothario, who went on to turn down the role of James Bond in Dr No, married five times and lived with fellow star Randolph Scott for 12 years.
He had daughter Jennifer, now 58, with his fourth wife Dyan Cannon.
While living in Berkeley Road, Grant went to the nearby Bishop Road Primary School and took piano lessons.
His mother, Elsie, instilled in him good manners and politeness that would later shape his suave screen persona.
But the family lived at six different addresses in Bristol, likely due to precarious family finances.
The actor was born
Grant’s mother was sent away when the actor was just 11. He returned from a school holiday to be told that she had died.
The star of hits including North by Northwest, To Catch a Thief and an Affair to Remember never forgot his British roots. Above: Grant in later life at Bristol Harbour
The blue plaque that is going to be unveiled at the home where Grant lived from the age of four until he was around ten
Cary Grant in the classic 1959 film North by Northwest, one of four films he made with acclaimed director Alfred Hitchcock
Cary Grant, then Archie Leach, seen centre in a bow tie with his fellow performers
Penders Acrobatic Troupe, date unknown. Cary Grant thought to be labelled with ‘1’ on chest. Middle left, wearing bow-tie
Cary Grant (back row, fourth from right) is seen in a school photograph in Bristol
He was not re-united with her until 1934.
Grant starred alongside some of Hollywood’s most glamorous leading women, including Katharine Hepburn, Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly, Deborah Kerr and Sophia Loreen.
Natalie Moore, Bristol UNESCO City of Film manager, said: ‘Cary Grant is one of Bristol’s original and most iconic screen exports.
‘His ambition drove him from poverty in Horfield all the way to Hollywood stardom, yet he never forgot the home city where he first discovered the bright lights of cinema and theatre.
‘Today, as an internationally recognised UNESCO City of Film that harnesses film to drive cultural, economic and social development, Archie Leach is an inspiring, enduring symbol of how creativity, talent and resilience can lead to success, whatever your background.
‘We are extremely proud to see his Bristol beginnings recognised with this national Blue Plaque.’
Dr Charlotte Crofts, of Bristol’s biennial Cary Comes Home Film Festival, said: ‘I am thrilled that Bristol, a UNESCO City of Film, has been honoured with a national plaque to one of its brightest stars, Cary Grant.’