After spending decades as one of the biggest movie stars in the world, Cary Grant lived a quiet life in retirement. However, RadarOnline.com has learned the Oscar nominee kept plenty of secrets from the world, including his attraction to other men.
Grant, who died of a stroke in 1986 at age 82, left the spotlight to spend more time with his daughter Jennifer, who was born when he was 62. “I live pretty quietly,” he said in a 1987 interview. “But what does one expect a man of my age to do?”
Now, a close friend of the North-by-Northwest star has released a new book sharing never-before-told stories of the actor’s later years.
Bill Royce, author of Cary Grant: The Wizard of Beverly Grove, shared the star loved magic and card games and had a juvenile sense of humor.
“He created a game called Doubtful Duos,” Royce recalled, explaining the goal of the game was to match up unlikely celebrity couples with the same last name – like Betty White and Barry White. “It was childlike fun, and that’s what he absolutely loved.
“It was a constant effort to keep things light, because there were shadows.”
Among them were questions about Grant’s sexuality. Royce said he is often asked about his friend’s sexual preference, which Grant told him was fluid.
“He compared it to acting,” Royce explained. “Why would you want to play only one role your whole life? Why not explore all the roles that are out there?”
Grant was married – several times over with different female lovers. But Royce did finally confirm Grant had relationships with other men as well.
“The biggest rumors were about Randolph Scott,” he said, referring to Grant’s old roommate before he was a star. “Cary became what he called ‘besotted’ with him. (But) Scott was not gay.”
They met while making Hot Saturday in 1932. The two men could not have been more different, with Scott hailing from a wealthy family in North Carolina, where he attended private schools, participating in swimming and horseback riding.
“Cary didn’t want to lose a friend, so he stopped (pursuing him). They stayed friends for the rest of their lives and used to go to Dodgers baseball games together.”
The star was married a total of five times. However, he welcomed just one child, a daughter named Jennifer, with his fourth wife, Dyan Cannon.
He also tied the knot with Virginia Cherrill, Barbara Hutton, Betsy Drake and Barbara Harris.
Grant’s widow, Harris shared: “I think the birth of Jennifer brought him great love, and I think the relationship we had brought him peace.”
She added: “Most of the people that truly knew him commented that he was a much happier person in the later part of his life.”
Like her famous father, Jennifer grew up to be an actor best known for appearances in shows like Beverly Hills, 90210 and Movie Stars.
