Born in 1899, James Cagney managed to become one of America's greatest and most imitated actors. Some of his best-known films are also ones in which his sister Jeanne played a role: Yankee Doodle Dandy, The Time of Your Life, A Lion Is in the Streets, and Man of a Thousand Faces. He received an Oscar for his performance in Yankee Doodle Dandy, a film based on the life of George M. Cohan, who hand-picked Cagney for the role. Cagney's last film appearance was in Ragtime. Throughout his life, Cagney was deeply affected by his father's early death, helping his mother support the family from the time he was in his early teens. Despite this light shed on Cagney's personal life, this video concentrates more on detailing his notable screen performances.
~ Elizabeth Smith, Rovi