Claude Rains

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Early life

Rains was born William Claude Rains in Camberwell, London on November 10, 1889. He grew up, according to his daughter, with "a very serious cockney accent and a speech impediment".

His acting talents were recognised by Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, founder of The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Tree paid for the elocution lessons Rains needed in order to succeed as an actor. Later, Rains taught at the institution, teaching John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, among others. multisystem lcd tv

Rains served in the First World War in the London Scottish Regiment, with fellow actors Basil Rathbone, Ronald Colman and Herbert Marshall. Rains was involved in a gas attack that left him nearly blind in one eye for the rest of his life. However, the war did aid his social advancement and, by its end, he had risen from the rank of Private to Captain. th 50px60u

Career olevia 42 lcd hdtv

Rains began his career in the London theatre, having a success in the title role of John Drinkwater's play Ulysses S. Grant, the follow-up to the playwright's major hit Abraham Lincoln, and traveled to Broadway in the late 1920s to act in leading roles in such plays as Shaw's The Apple Cart and in the dramatizations of The Constant Nymph, and Pearl S. Buck's novel The Good Earth, as a Chinese farmer.

Rains came relatively late to film acting and his first screen test was a failure, but his distinctive voice won him the title role in James Whale's The Invisible Man (1933) when someone accidentally overheard his screen test being played in the next room. Rains later credited director Michael Curtiz with teaching him the more understated requirements of film acting, or "what not to do in front of a camera".

Claude Rains in Notorious (1946)

Following The Invisible Man, Universal Studios tried to typecast him in horror films, but he broke free, starting with the role of Prince John in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), then with his Academy Award-nominated performance as the conflicted corrupt senator in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), and followed with probably his most famous role, the flexible French police Captain Renault in Casablanca (1942). In 1943, Rains played the title character in Universal's full-color remake of Phantom of the Opera. Bette Davis named him her favorite co-star, and they made four films together, including Mr. Skeffington and Now, Voyager. Rains became the first actor to receive a million dollar salary, playing Julius Caesar in Gabriel Pascal's lavish and unsuccessful version of Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra (1945), made in Britain. In 1946, he played a refugee Nazi agent opposite Cary Grant and Casablanca co-star Ingrid Bergman in Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious. In 1949, he appeared in David Lean's The Passionate Friends.

His only singing and dancing role was in a television musical version of Robert Browning's The Pied Piper of Hamelin, with Van Johnson as the Piper. This 1957 NBC color special, shown as a film rather than a live or videotaped program, was highly successful with the public. Sold into syndication after its first telecast, it was repeated annually by many local TV stations.

Rains remained a popular character actor in the 1950s and 1960s, appearing in many films. Two of his well-known later screen roles were as Dryden, a cynical British diplomat in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and King Herod in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965). The latter was his final film role.

Recordings

Rains made several audio recordings, narrating a few Bible stories for children on Capitol Records, and reciting Richard Strauss's setting for narrator and piano accompaniment of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem Enoch Arden, with the piano solos played by Glenn Gould. This recording was made by Columbia Masterworks Records.

Personal life

Rains became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1939. He married six times, the first five of which ended in divorce: Isabel Jeans (1913-1915); Marie Hemingway (1920, for less than a year); Beatriz Thomas (1924 pril 8, 1935); Frances Propper (April 9, 19351956); and to classic pianist Agi Jambor (November 4, 19591960). He married Rosemary Clark Schrode in 1960, and stayed with her until her death on December 31, 1964. His only child, Jessica Rains, was born to him and Propper on January 24, 1938.

He acquired the 380 acre Stock Grange Farm in West Bradford Township, Pennsylvania just outside West Chester in 1941, and spent much of his time between takes reading up on agricultural techniques. He eventually sold the farm when his marriage to Propper ended in 1956.

Rains died from an abdominal hemorrhage in Laconia, New Hampshire on May 30, 1967 at the age of 77. He is interred in the Red Hill Cemetery, Moultonborough, New Hampshire.

Claude Rains: An Actor's Voice, a biography by David J. Skal and Rains' daughter Jessica Rains, was published in 2008.

Awards and nominations

In 1951, Rains won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play for Darkness at Noon. He was also nominated four times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Casablanca (1942), Mr. Skeffington (1944), and Notorious (1946).

He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 6400 Hollywood Boulevard.

Filmography

Year

Title

Role

Director

Other cast members

Notes

1920

Build Thy House

Clarkis

Fred Goodwins

Henry Ainley

1933

The Invisible Man

Dr. Jack Griffin/The Invisible Man

James Whale

Gloria Stuart, Henry Travers, Una O'Connor

1934

The Clairvoyant

Maximus

Maurice Elvey

Fay Wray

Crime Without Passion

Lee Gentry

Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur

Margo, Whitney Bourne

The Man Who Reclaimed His Head

Paul Verin

Edward Ludwig

Lionel Atwill, Joan Bennett

1935

The Last Outpost

John Stevenson

Louis Gasnier, Charles Barton

Cary Grant

The Mystery of Edwin Drood

John Jasper

Stuart Walker

Douglass Montgomery, Heather Angel, David Manners

1936

Hearts Divided

Napoleon Bonaparte

Frank Borzage

Marion Davies, Dick Powell, Charlie Ruggles, Edward Everett Horton

Anthony Adverse

Marquis Don Luis

Mervyn LeRoy

Fredric March, Olivia de Havilland, Gale Sondergaard

1937

Stolen Holiday

Stefan Orloff

Michael Curtiz

Kay Francis, Ian Hunter

The Prince and the Pauper

Earl of Hertford

William Keighley

Errol Flynn, Billy and Bobby Mauch

They Won't Forget

Dist. Atty. Andrew J. "Andy" Griffin

Mervyn LeRoy

Gloria Dickson, Lana Turner

1938

White Banners

Paul Ward

Edmund Goulding

Fay Bainter, Jackie Cooper, Bonita Granville, Henry O'Neill, Kay Johnson

Gold is Where You Find It

Colonel Christopher "Chris" Ferris

Michael Curtiz

George Brent, Olivia de Havilland, Tim Holt

Technicolor

The Adventures of Robin Hood

Prince John

Michael Curtiz, William Keighley

Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone

Technicolor

Four Daughters

Adam Lemp

Michael Curtiz

Rosemary, Lola, and Priscilla Lane, Gale Page, John Garfield

1939

They Made Me a Criminal

Det. Monty Phelan

Busby Berkeley

John Garfield, Gloria Dickson, May Robson

Juarez

Emperor Louis Napoleon III

William Dieterle

Paul Muni, Bette Davis, Brian Aherne, John Garfield

Sons of Liberty

(Two-reel short)

Haym Salomon

Michael Curtiz

Gale Sondergaard

Technicolor

Daughters Courageous

Jim Masters

Michael Curtiz

Rosemary, Lola, and Priscilla Lane, Gale Page, John Garfield

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Sen. Joseph Harrison Paine

Frank Capra

Jean Arthur, James Stewart, Thomas Mitchell

Nomination Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor

Four Wives

Adam Lemp

Michael Curtiz

Eddie Albert, Rosemary, Lola, and Priscilla Lane, Gale Page, John Garfield

1940

Saturday's Children

Mr. Henry Halevy

Vincent Sherman

John Garfield, Anne Shirley

The Sea Hawk

Don Jos Alvarez de Cordoba

Michael Curtiz

Errol Flynn, Brenda Marshall, Henry Daniell, Flora Robson, Alan Hale

Sepiatone (sequence)

Lady with Red Hair

David Belasco

Curtis Bernhardt

Miriam Hopkins, Laura Hope Crews

1941

Four Mothers

Adam Lemp

William Keighley

Rosemary, Lola, and Priscilla Lane, Gale Page

Here Comes Mr. Jordan

Mr. Jordan

Alexander Hall

Robert Montgomery, Evelyn Keyes, Edward Everett Horton

The Wolf Man

Sir John Talbot

George Waggner

Lon Chaney, Jr., Evelyn Ankers, Patric Knowles, Ralph Bellamy, Warren William, Bela Lugosi, Maria Ouspenskaya

1942

Kings Row

Dr. Alexander Tower

Sam Wood

Ann Sheridan, Robert Cummings, Ronald Reagan, Betty Field, Charles Coburn

Moontide

Nutsy

Archie Mayo

Jean Gabin, Ida Lupino, Thomas Mitchell

Now, Voyager

Dr. Jaquith

Irving Rapper

Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, Gladys Cooper

Casablanca

Capt. Louis Renault

Michael Curtiz

Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Conrad Veidt, S.Z. Sakall, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Dooley Wilson

Nomination Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor

1943

Forever and a Day

Ambrose Pomfret

Herbert Wilcox

(sequence with Rains)

Anna Neagle, Ray Milland, C. Aubrey Smith

Phantom of the Opera

Erique Claudin/The Phantom of the Opera

Arthur Lubin

Nelson Eddy, Susanna Foster

Technicolor

1944

Passage to Marseille

Captain Freycinet

Michael Curtiz

Humphrey Bogart, Michle Morgan, Philip Dorn, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Helmut Dantine

Mr. Skeffington

Job Skeffington

Vincent Sherman

Bette Davis, Walter Abel, George Coulouris, Richard Waring

Nomination Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor

1945

Strange Holiday

John Stevenson

Julien Duvivier

Jean Gabin, Richard Whorf, Allyn Joslyn, Ellen Drew

This Love of Ours

Joseph Targel

William Dieterle

Merle Oberon

Caesar and Cleopatra

Julius Caesar

Gabriel Pascal

Vivien Leigh, Stewart Granger, Flora Robson

Technicolor

1946

Notorious

Alex Sebastian

Alfred Hitchcock

Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Louis Calhern

Nomination Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor

Angel on My Shoulder

Nick

Archie Mayo

Paul Muni, Anne Baxter

Deception

Alexander Hollenius

Irving Rapper

Bette Davis, Paul Henreid

1947

The Unsuspected

Victor Grandison

Michael Curtiz

Joan Caulfield, Audrey Totter, Constance Bennett, Hurd Hatfield

1949

The Passionate Friends

Howard Justin

David Lean

Ann Todd, Trevor Howard

Rope of Sand

Arthur "Fred" Martingale

William Dieterle

Burt Lancaster, Paul Henreid, Peter Lorre

Song of Surrender

Elisha Hunt

Mitchell Leisen

Wanda Hendrix, Macdonald Carey

1950

The White Tower

Paul DeLambre

Ted Tetzlaff

Glenn Ford, Alida Valli, Oskar Homolka, Cedric Hardwicke, Lloyd Bridges

Technicolor

Where Danger Lives

Frederick Lannington

John Farrow

Robert Mitchum, Faith Domergue, Maureen O'Sullivan

1951

Sealed Cargo

Captain Skalder

Alfred L. Werker

Dana Andrews, Lloyd Bridges

1953

The Man Who Watched the Trains Go By

Kees Popinga

Harold French

Marta Toren, Marius Goring

Technicolor

1956

Lisbon

Aristides Mavros

Ray Milland

Ray Milland, Maureen O'Hara

Trucolor

Naturama

1959

This Earth Is Mine

Philippe Rambeau

Henry King

Rock Hudson, Jean Simmons, Dorothy McGuire

Technicolor

CinemaScope

1960

The Lost World

Professor George Edward Challenger

Irwin Allen

Michael Rennie, Jill St. John, David Hedison, Fernando Lamas, Richard Haydn

Deluxe color

CinemaScope

1961

Battle of the Worlds

Professor Benson

Antonio Margheriti

Bill Carter

Color

1962

Lawrence of Arabia

Mr. Dryden

David Lean

Peter O'Toole, Alec Guiness, Jack Hawkins, Omar Sharif, Anthony Quinn, Anthony Quayle, Arthur Kennedy, Jose Ferrer

Technicolor

Super Panavision 70

1963

Twilight of Honor

Art Harper

Boris Sagal

Richard Chamberlain, Nick Adams, Joey Heatherton, Linda Evans

1965

The Greatest Story Ever Told

Herod the Great

George Stevens

Max von Sydow, plus many cameos

Technicolor

Ultra Panavision 70

References

^ a b Harmetz p. 147.

^ londonscottishregt.org

^ Harmetz p. 190.

Bibliography

Aljean Harmetz, Round Up the Usual Suspects: The Making of "Casablanca" (New York: Hyperion, 1992)

David J. Skal and Jessica Rains, Claude Rains: An Actor's Voice (University Press of Kentucky, 2008)

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Claude Rains

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Claude Rains

Claude Rains at the Internet Broadway Database

Performances listed in Theatre Archive University of Bristol

Claude Rains at the Internet Movie Database

Claude Rains at Allmovie

Claude Rains at the TCM Movie Database

Claude Rains at the British Film Institute's Screenonline

Stock Grange Farm

Claude Rains at Find a Grave

v  d  e

Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play

Jos Ferrer / Fredric March (1947)  Henry Fonda / Paul Kelly / Basil Rathbone (1948)  Rex Harrison (1949)  Sidney Blackmer (1950)  Claude Rains (1951)  Jos Ferrer (1952)  Tom Ewell (1953)  David Wayne (1954)  Alfred Lunt (1955)  Paul Muni (1956)  Fredric March (1957)  Ralph Bellamy (1958)  Jason Robards, Jr. (1959)  Melvyn Douglas (1960)  Zero Mostel (1961)  Paul Scofield (1962)  Arthur Hill (1963)  Alec Guinness (1964)  Walter Matthau (1965)  Hal Holbrook (1966)  Paul Rogers (1967)  Martin Balsam (1968)  James Earl Jones (1969)  Fritz Weaver (1970)  Brian Bedford (1971)  Cliff Gorman (1972)  Alan Bates (1973)  Michael Moriarty (1974)  John Kani / Winston Ntshona (1975)

Complete list: (19471975)  (19762000)  (2001resent)

Persondata

NAME

Rains, Claude

ALTERNATIVE NAMES

Rains, William Claude

SHORT DESCRIPTION

English actor

DATE OF BIRTH

November 10, 1889

PLACE OF BIRTH

Camberwell, London, England

DATE OF DEATH

May 30, 1967

PLACE OF DEATH

Laconia, New Hampshire

Categories: 1889 births | 1967 deaths | British Army personnel of World War I | English film actors | English stage actors | Naturalized citizens of the United States | People from Camberwell | Tony Award winners | Deaths from bleeding