People who worked with Grant, however, tell a different story about his thrifty nature. There was even a rumor that he removed the buttons from his old shirts before getting rid of them. Grant did not deny the rumor.
He actually told the interviewer that he thought it was a good idea to keep the extra buttons around and that he gave the shirts to the maid so that she could polish the furniture without scratches. Stating, “I think it’s a very sensible procedure and should be adopted as a household tip.”
Meticulous Father
After Cannon and Grant were divorced, he was dedicated to not missing anything in his daughter’s life. Grant then began meticulously keeping a literal fireproof vault that held photographs, audiotapes, letters and Super 8 films, all carefully labeled.
It was important for him to keep this archive because all of his records were destroyed in the bombings of WWII. He left this collection to his daughter and she believes that it has helped her understand him better as a father.
The Value of Money
Although the rumors claim that Grant was famously cheap, his daughter refutes the claim. She says, “I always found him generous to a fault but he wasn’t reckless with his money, which was rather rare in Hollywood. He’d grown up with nothing and he wasn’t about to fritter it all away".
"His attitude was he knew he could walk into any shop and buy whatever he wanted. He just didn’t have to. That taught me the proper value of money.”
Surprisingly Generous
Despite his caution with money, Grant could be surprisingly generous at times. He bought his friends gifts suddenly and unexpectedly, and even gave Cannon a sable coat after their bitter divorce.
He explained that he felt his mean image was undeserved, saying, “I’m sure I have that reputation because I don’t gamble or go to nightclubs or give huge parties, and because I don’t believe in giving gifts at Christmas. I give presents when I feel like it.”
A Tale of Two Muffins
An incident that took place at the Plaza Hotel in New York perfectly exemplifies the duality of Grant’s nature regarding money. He ordered coffee and English muffins sent to his room for breakfast. When the food arrived, there were only three half slices on the plate. Grant could not understand why the menu said muffins in plural if he only received a muffin and a half.
No one knew why, so he eventually called Conrad Hilton in Istanbul only to discover that an efficiency expert had found that most people leave the last half muffin and decided not to serve it. He summarized the experience by saying, “It cost me several hundred dollars in phone calls, but ever since, I have always gotten four slices of muffin at the Plaza.”