We live in an age of mediocrity. Stars today are not the same stature as Bogie [Humphrey Bogart], James Cagney, Spencer Tracy, Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart [James Stewart].
The first movie I can remember ever seeing was Hard Times with Charles Bronson and James Coburn. My dad also introduced me to the likes of Jimmy Cagney... John Garfield... Robert Ryan... Steve McQueen... James Caan... Those are my fondest memories.
A James Cagney love scene is one where he lets the other guy live.
I don't think I was ever as fascinated or have had so much respect for anybody like James Cagney.
I grew up in an Irish Catholic family, and I think they force you to watch every James Cagney movie.
In the movies, Bette Davis lights two cigarettes and hands the second one to James Cagney. It was just so glamorous and romantic.
James Cagney, Steve McQueen, I loved all those guys. I grew up loving the movies but had no desire to be in them.
Follow the wisdom of the great actor, James Cagney, you hit your mark, you look the other guy in the eye, and you tell the truth.
The old movie stars like Bogart, James Cagney, Jimmy Stewart, they weren't this gorgeous, striking six-foot man who's rippled with muscles.
Doing this James Brown thing for the last couple of days has been ideal. But it's a different kind of fun.
I was raised by my aunt and we bonded over the eight-o-clock movie on TV. We'd watch everything from James Cagney in 'White Heat' to Lon Chaney in 'The Wolf Man' and every Bogart movie.
The great privilege it has been to work with some of the most talented people on the face of the earth. My first scene in a movie was with James Cagney, for goodness sakes. There I was, just out of the U.S. Navy without an acting lesson to my name.
I love James Brown, and as a baby, I was always dancing to James Brown.
A baby, a real live baby was the craziest thing a fan has sent. Someone left a baby on our front doorstep with a note that they wanted us to raise it. Of course, we contacted the authorities and they took care of the baby.
I want people to say at the end of my day, you know, like I used to say about Sidney Poitier and James Cagney and Joan Crawford and Red Skelton and those guys and Bill Cosby. They did quality and substance. You always remember them.
John loved celebrity. We attended an American Film Institute dinner honoring James Cagney, and the room was filled with famous actors like Mae West, Kirk Douglas, John Wayne and Steve McQueen. John was like a kid in a candy store.