There is only one place for Cary Grant fans to be from 16th-17th July – Bristol, the city in the south west of England. Cary Grant was born there in 1904 as Archibald Alexander Leach. Aged 16 he went with a troupe of acrobatic dancers to tour the States and stayed. In the early 1930s he began a career in Hollywood and became a classic leading man of the silver screen, adopting the name Cary Grant. He became known for his comic timing and debonair demeanour.
The Festival is called Cary Grant Comes Home for the Weekend and details of the events can be viewed at https://www.carycomeshome.co.uk/events There will be talks, an exhibition exploring his relationship to the golden age of Transatlantic travel and of course screenings of his films culminating in a red carpet gala screening on the Sunday evening of the screwball classic Bringing up Baby (1938) co-starring Katharine Hepburn.
So what has Cary Grant to do with Fabergé? After the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Fabergé family began to leave Russia. Following World War II, those who settled in continental Europe discovered, that Sam Rubin, a US citizen of Russian descent, was using their name for the fragrance business he started in the States during 1937. After a lengthy exchange between lawyers, the Fabergé family decided to settle out of court so as to avoid protracted and expensive legal proceedings. They received just US$25,000 for their name to be used solely for perfume. Samuel Rubin sold Fabergé Inc in 1964 to George Barrie’s cosmetics company Rayette for US$26 million.
Cary Grant’s final film, Walk, Don’t Run was released in 1966. In May 1968, Barrie asked him to become a director of what was then Fabergé Inc. His salary was $15,000 a year (a modest sum compared to his remuneration as an actor), but he did have the use of a New York penthouse and the company’s jets. He played an active role in the company, travelling extensively both in the US and internationally. Barrie considered he played a role in the growth of the business.
Fabergé collections are available online or in the international boutiques.
