Tributes Pour In From Film Stars

The news of Cary Grant’s death after a sudden massive stroke cast a pall over the entertainment community, where he was remembered Sunday as a man of style and wit whose innate dignity and charm represented “the very best” of his profession.

President Reagan, informed of Grant’s death as he returned to Washington from his Santa Barbara County ranch, called the actor “an old friend” and “one of the brightest stars in Hollywood.”

“His elegance, wit and charm will endure forever on film and in our hearts,” Reagan said. “Our heartfelt sympathy is with his wife, Barbara, and his daughter, Jennifer.”

Some of the brightest stars of the screen had shared billing with the sometime Bristol acrobat-turned-actor, and they recalled those times with fondness:

- “Cary Grant was one of the great people in the movie business,” said actor Jimmy Stewart, who worked with Grant and Katharine Hepburn in “The Philadelphia Story.”

“He was a consummate actor and a complete professional insofar as his work was concerned. He made many wonderful contributions to our industry . . . (and) . . . enjoyed a full life in every sense of the word. We will miss him greatly.”

- “He was the most handsome, witty, and stylish leading man both on and off the screen. I adored him and it’s a sad loss for all of us,” said actress Eva Marie Saint, who co-starred with Grant in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1959 thriller “North By Northwest.”

- “He was really a genius at what he did,” said Doris Day, who co-starred with Grant in “That Touch of Mink.”

“He had the looks, the charm . . . the classiest man I ever met.”

- Frank Sinatra, who appeared with Grant in “The Pride and the Passion” nearly 30 years ago, issued a brief statement from his home in Palm Springs. “I am saddened,” he said, “by the loss of one of the dearest friends I ever had. Nothing more to say, except that I shall miss him terribly.”

- “I think maybe he was the best movie actor that ever was,” said Alexis Smith, who played opposite Grant as Mrs. Cole Porter in the 1946 biography film “Night and Day.”

“As opposed to being this monumental star . . . he was really a very serious actor,” she said. “The problems of the actor came before that of the star. I just think . . . it’s quite wonderful to live as obviously rich and full a life as he did and to depart as easily as he apparently did and to still be at the peak of energy, health and vitality and attractiveness.”

- Tony Curtis, who starred with Grant in “Operation Petticoat,” comedically mimicked Grant’s voice and manner while wooing Marilyn Monroe in the 1959 film “Some Like It Hot.” He said Grant “represented the very best that all actors wish we could be. He was a great actor--more important, a great man--and a great human being.”