The actor that we know as Stewart Granger was born James Lablache Stewart in Kensington, London, in 1913. His maternal grandfather was an actor named Luigi Lablache, and his great-great-grandfather was an opera singer with the same name. Born in Naples to an Irish mother and a French father, the first Luigi Lablache sang in the requiem at the funerals of Haydn (aged 14), Beethoven and Chopin. He also taught singing to Princess Victoria (who went on to become Queen Victoria).
Granger was the maiden name of Stewart Granger's paternal grandmother.
According to IMDb: Stewart Granger's first film appearance was in 1933, but his first credited role was in This Is London (1939). His "first film opportunity" (I'm not sure what they mean by that) came with The Man in Grey (1943).
James Stewart was born in 1908, in the confusingly-named 'borough' of Indiana, Pennsylvania. His first feature film role was in The Murder Man (1934), and for his second – in Rose Marie (1936) – he had third billing after Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. He received his first Oscar nomination for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) – his 20th film – and he won his first and only Oscar for The Philadelphia Story (1940) – his 25th.
He made three more films in 1941, before signing up for military service. His next film was It's a Wonderful Life, released in December 1946, for which he received his third Oscar nomination.
© Haydn Thompson 2017