We Found Out Why All the Actors From Hollywood’s Golden Age Have Such a Distinct and Strange Accent
22nd January 2018
Well, I thought it was interesting.
Come to think of it, I have yet to encounter an actor whose accent wasn’t distinct and strange. That’s what makes them memorable, I guess.
January 22nd, 2018 at 10:15
Cary Grant was a native of Bristol, England, and his accent presumably reflected his origin, though he may have softened it. Katharine Hepburn was a native of Connecticut, and spoke like the Yankees who used to dominate that state before it became a bedroom community for denizens of NYC. But the writer is on to something, because I’ve watched a lot of films from Hollywood’s “Golden Age” (my favorite), and there was a pronounced tendency for actors (especially in support roles) to adopt a pseudo-aristocratic accent. But there were glaring exceptions, especially among leading men: Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, James Stewart, and Spencer Tracy, for example. Others — like Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and William Powell — acquired their Northeastern accents the old-fashioned way: by being born and raised in the Northeast.