James Cagney - Retirement and Death (1961–1986)

Retirement and Death (1961–1986)

Cagney remained in retirement for twenty years, conjuring up images of Jack Warner every time he was tempted to return, which soon dispelled the notion. After he had turned down an offer to play Alfred Doolittle in My Fair Lady, he found it easier to rebuff others, including a part in The Godfather Part II. He made few public appearances, preferring to spend winters in Los Angeles, and summers either at his Martha's Vineyard farm or at Verney Farms in New York. When in New York, he and Billie held numerous parties at the Silver Horn restaurant, where they got to know Marge Zimmerman, the proprietress.

Cagney was diagnosed with glaucoma and began taking eye drops, but he continued to have problems with his vision. On Zimmerman's recommendation, he visited a different doctor, who determined that glaucoma had been a misdiagnosis, and that Cagney was actually diabetic. Zimmerman then took it upon herself to look after Cagney, preparing his meals to reduce his blood triglyceride level, which had reached alarming proportions. Such was her success that, by the time Cagney made a rare public appearance at his AFI Lifetime Achievement award ceremony in 1974, he had lost 20 pounds (9.1 kg) and his vision had markedly improved.

Opened by Charlton Heston and introduced by Frank Sinatra, the ceremony was attended by so many Hollywood stars—said to be more than for any event in history—that one columnist wrote at the time that a bomb in the dining room would have brought about the end of the movie industry. During his acceptance speech, Cagney lightly chastised impressionist Frank Gorshin, saying, "Oh, Frankie, just in passing, I never said 'MMMMmmmm, you dirty rat!' What I actually did say was 'Judy, Judy, Judy!'", a joking reference to a famous misquotation attributed to Cary Grant.

"I think he's some kind of genius. His instinct, it's just unbelievable. I could just stay at home. One of the qualities of a brilliant actor is that things look better on the screen than the set. Jimmy has that quality"

While at Coldwater Canyon in 1977, Cagney had a minor stroke. After two weeks in hospital, Zimmerman became his full-time caregiver, traveling with him and Billie wherever they went. After the stroke, Cagney was no longer able to undertake many of his favorite pastimes, including horse riding and dancing, and as he became more depressed, he even gave up his beloved painting. Encouraged by his wife and Zimmerman, Cagney accepted an offer from Miloš Forman to star in a small but pivotal role in the 1981 film Ragtime.

The film was shot mainly at Shepperton Studios in London, and on his arrival at Southampton aboard the Queen Elizabeth 2, Cagney was mobbed by hundreds of fans. Cunard officials, who were responsible for the security at the dock, said they had never seen anything like it, although they had experienced past visits by Marlon Brando and Robert Redford.

Despite its being his first film in twenty years, Cagney was immediately at ease. Flubbed lines and miscues were all committed by his co-stars, many of whom were in awe of Cagney. Howard Rollins, who received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his performance, said, "I was frightened to meet Mr. Cagney. I asked him how to die in front of the camera. He said 'Just die!' It worked. Who would know more about dying than him?" Cagney also repeated the advice he had given to Pamela Tiffin, Joan Leslie and Lemmon. As filming progressed, Cagney's sciatica worsened, but he finished the nine-week shoot, and reportedly stayed on the set after completing his scenes to help other actors with their dialogue.

He and co-star Pat O'Brien appeared on the Parkinson talk show, and Cagney made a surprise appearance at the Queen Mother's command birthday performance at the London Palladium. His appearance on stage prompted the Queen Mother to rise to her feet, the only time she did so during the whole show, and she later broke protocol to go backstage to speak with Cagney directly.

Cagney made a rare TV appearance in the lead role of the movie Terrible Joe Moran in 1984, his last work. He was in fragile health and confined to a wheelchair from strokes, but the producers worked his real-life disabilities into it by casting him as an 80-year old ex-boxer who needs a wheelchair to get around. The film used fight clips from Cagney's 1932 boxing movie Winner Take All, although Cagney plays a different character in the TV-movie.

Cagney died at his Dutchess County farm in Stanfordville, New York, on Easter Sunday 1986, of a heart attack. He is interred in the Cemetery of the Gate of Heaven in Hawthorne, New York. His pallbearers included boxer Floyd Patterson, Mikhail Baryshnikov (who had hoped to play Cagney on Broadway), actor Ralph Bellamy, and Miloš Forman. His close friend, President Ronald Reagan, gave the eulogy at the funeral, which was held at Manhattan's St. Francis de Sales Roman Catholic Church.