18 October 2023
John Francis
Synopsis
He was Hollywood’s definitive leading man, ‘the best and most important actor in the history of Cinema’. Born in Bristol, Archibald Leach set out to become Cary Grant. But who was the real Cary Grant? This lecture follows his journey to fame, and explores why Maestro Director Alfred Hitchcock said that Grant was the only actor that he ever loved. Suspicion (1941), Notorious (1946) and North by Northwest (1959) show us the special relationship between Hitchcock and the multi-talented screen star.
CV
John Francis is an experienced university lecturer, consultant, researcher and visual artist. Starting his career as a painter and ivory engraver in New York, he later studied at Central St Martins School of Art; he has since held lectureship and teaching posts in the USA and Malaysia, and in Britain at the Arts Institute Bournemouth and Exeter University. In addition to receiving grants for research into film-making overseas, John has produced corporate and art videos as well as several animations. He is now a popular lecturer for museums, galleries, universities and cruise ships in the USA, Asia, Australia and the UK.