He hated method acting, studio executives, pestering fans, and he loved dancing, keeping good company, and horses. In his spare time, and especially after he retired, he chose to live as a recluse. Learning to farm, paint, and write poetry; which he wasn't especially good at: though this one about Bogie made me laugh:
In this silly town of ours,
One sees odd primps and poses;
But movie stars in fancy cars,
Shouldn't pick their famous noses.
Apparentally he fought a hell of a lot and was extremely patriotic (obviously). His life philosophy was very simple: don't take yourself too seriously and work as hard as you can. And though a lot of his personality seems contradictory, and extraordinarily self-assured, his intergrity, charity, charm, energy, strength and will are all still remarkably refreshing today.
In the end, one thing is certain about him: he was a frickin' awesome actor!!!
Interesting Stuff: Kukor and Coppola both tried to coerce him out of retirement by offering him roles in both My Fair Lady and The Godfather Part II, he was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom, he had his own production company (well kind of: the most acclaimed film being Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye), and he never cheated on his wife!!! Okay that's nothing special, but it is sort of rare for such a star.
P.S: He also thought Raoul Walsh was a great director
.So, what do you guys think of Jimmy Cagney?
I wish I could show you one of his paintings but I couldn't find a picture: there's one in the book.
EDIT: I also wish I was better at writing these things.
