Editing James Cagney (section)

====''Ragtime'' (1981)====
{{quote box|quote="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."|source=''Director [[Miloš Forman]] ''<ref name="Warren, page 215"/>|width=225px|align=left}}
While at [[Coldwater Canyon]] in 1977, Cagney had a minor stroke. After he spent two weeks in the hospital, Zimmermann became his full-time caregiver, traveling with Billie Vernon and him wherever they went.<ref>Warren, page 212</ref> After the stroke, Cagney was no longer able to undertake many of his favorite pastimes, including horseback riding and dancing, and as he became more [[depression (mood)|depressed]], he even gave up painting. Encouraged by his wife and Zimmermann, Cagney accepted an offer from the director [[Miloš Forman]] to star in a small but pivotal role in the film ''[[Ragtime (film)|Ragtime]]'' (1981).<ref>Richard Schickel gives a first-person account of the filming in chapter 3 (James Cagney) of ''The Actors'' (NY: New Word City, 2016). {{ISBN|161230995X}}</ref>

This film was shot mainly at [[Shepperton Studios]] in [[Surrey]], England, and on his arrival at [[Southampton]] aboard the ''[[Queen Elizabeth 2]]'', Cagney was mobbed by hundreds of fans. [[Cunard Line]] officials, who were responsible for security at the dock, said they had never seen anything like it, although they had experienced past visits by [[Marlon Brando]] and [[Robert Redford]].{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}

Despite the fact that ''Ragtime'' was his first film in 20 years, Cagney was immediately at ease: Flubbed lines and miscues were committed by his co-stars, often simply through sheer awe. [[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 filming, and reportedly stayed on the set after completing his scenes to help the other actors with their dialogue.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}

Cagney's frequent co-star, Pat O'Brien, appeared with him on the British chat show ''[[Parkinson (TV series)|Parkinson]]'' in the early 1980s and they both made a surprise appearance at the [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother|Queen Mother]]'s command birthday performance at the [[London Palladium]] in 1980.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19801128&id=FVwxAAAAIBAJ&pg=1801,3663573|title=The Montreal Gazette – Google News Archive Search|access-date=September 15, 2020|archive-date=November 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211103190944/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19801128&id=FVwxAAAAIBAJ&pg=1801%2C3663573|url-status=live}}</ref> His appearance onstage 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.<ref name="Warren, page 215">Warren, page 215</ref>