Stewart Granger was born James Leblanche Stewart in London, the grandson of the actor "Luigi Lablache". He attended Epsom College but left after deciding not to pursue a medical degree. He decided to try acting and attended Webber-Douglas School of Dramatic Art, London. By 1935, he made his stage debut in "The Cardinal" at the Little Theatre Hull . He was with the Birmingham Repertory Company between 1936 and 1937 and, in 1938, he made his debut in the West End, London in "The Sun Never Sets". He joined the Old Vic company in 1939 appearing in 'Tony Draws a Horse' at the Criterion and 'A House in the Square' at the St Martins He had been gradually rising through the ranks of better stage roles when World War II began, and he joined the British Army in 1940. However, he was eventually disabled . That sort of undeclared competition for a married Hollywood couple was poison to the marriage. In 1960, they divorced. Granger did a lot of work in Germany, along with some in Italy and Spain in the 60s. Interestingly, in the same period Simmons was finding the same lack of challenging roles in the US. In the 70s and 80s, Granger was relegated to small screen subsistence with regular TV roles along with a few movies and a stint on the New York stage. And ironically, Simmons was in the same boat during that period. Granger's typecasting was nothing new, but certainly his often scathing criticism of Hollywood and its denizens that came out in his autobiography "Sparks Fly Upwards" was understandable and rang true with so many other stories dealing with illusive stardom. Though he was candid in his disgust with his whole career - and admittedly he did not have the depth for the range of roles allotted to bigger named actors - nonetheless he always turned in solid performances in the roles that became his legacy.
Has made more than 60 movies and once grumbled that he couldnt stand any of them.
Best friend was Michael Wilding
Had an extramarital affair with Deborah Kerr
Stewart proposed to Jean Simmons after seeing her as Kanchi in Black Narcissus .
Stewart was a friend of Michael Powell s and when he heard Powell wanted a dancer for The Red Shoes he suggested that Powell take a look at Moira Shearer.
Stewart did his own stunt work
Stewart became an overnight star in England after appearing the movie, The Man in Grey .
Stewart became Englands top box office star in the 1940s which attracted Hollywoods attention.
Became a naturalized US citizen together with Jean Simmons in 1956.
Even though he was quoted as saying he didnt like any of his movies, he does say in his autobiography, "Sparks Fly Upwards", that Saraband for Dead Lovers was one of the movies he starred in that he did like.
Adopted his professional name not to be confused with James Stewart.
Father of Tracy Granger (with Jean Simmons ) and Lindsey Granger and Jamie Granger (with Elspeth March ).
Took sword fencing very seriously for his dashing roles in The Prisoner of Zenda (1952) and Scaramouche (1952) . He was so earnest in mastering the skill of fencing that he took lessons from a retired Olympic fencing champion. During his preparation for Scaramouche (1952) , his fencing lessons and practice made him wear out a dozen or so pairs of fencing shoes. He adorned the cover of Life Magazine when the film was released and the title was "Stewart Granger: Swashbuckler". Perhaps the only actor superior to him in fencing at that time was Basil Rathbone.
In Scaramouche (1952) , Granger had to wear lifts to appear the same height as his slightly taller co-stars Mel Ferrer , Henry Wilcoxon , Richard Anderson , and John Dehner. It is believed Granger wore lifts in other Hollywood films as well.
His great grandfather was Italian opera singer Luigi LaBlanche who came to England and became Queen Victorias singing master.
His niece is antiques expert Bunny Campione who is often on BBC TVs Antiques Roadshow.
Has a daughter, Samantha, with Caroline Lecerf.
He was mistakenly diagnosed with lung cancer in 1980 and had part of his lung and a rib removed, only to find he really had tuberculosis. Granger had smoked 60 cigarettes a day for the past 40 years.
I was a good costume actor, but I shortened my career because I made the,wrong choices.
