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'Claude Rains' (November 10, 1889 – May 30, 1967) was an English theatre and film actor, who later held American citizenship, best known for his many roles in Hollywood films.

Contents

Biography

Personal life

Awards and nominations

Popular references

Filmography

Notes

References

External links

Biography

Rains was born 'William Claude Rains' (known as 'Willie') in Camberwell, London on November 10, 1889. He grew up with, according to his daughter, "a very serious cockney accent and a speech impediment".^[1]
His acting talents were recognized by Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, founder of The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Tree paid for the elocution lessons that Rains would need to succeed as an actor. Later, Rains taught at the institution, working with John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, among others.
Rains served in the First World War with the London Scottish Regiment,^[2] alongside fellow actors Basil Rathbone, Ronald Colman and Herbert Marshall; he was involved in a gas attack that left him almost 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.
Having made his name in the theatre, Rains came late to film acting. His first screen test was a failure, but his 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.^[1] 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".^[4]

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 role as the conflicted corrupt senator in ''Mr. Smith Goes to Washington'' (1939), and followed with probably his most famous role, the suave French police Captain Renault in ''Casablanca'' (1942). In 1945, Rains became the first actor to receive a million dollar salary for his role as Julius Caesar in ''Caesar and Cleopatra''.
He appeared in his only singing and dancing role, as the Mayor in a television musical version of Robert Browning's ''The Pied Piper of Hamelin'', opposite 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 '50s and '60s, appearing in many films. Two of his well-known later screen roles were 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.

Personal life

In 1939, Rains became a naturalized citizen of the United States. He married six times, the first five of which ended in divorce: Isabel Jeans (1913 - 1915); Marie Hemingway (1920 - 1920); Beatriz Thomas (1924 - 8 April 1935); Frances Propper (9 April 1935 - 1956); Agi Jambor (4 November 1959 - 1960); and to Rosemary Clark Schrode (1960 - 31 December 1964) (her death).
He acquired a 380-acre farm in Pennsylvania, and spent much of his time between takes reading up on agricultural techniques. He eventually sold the farm when his marriage to Frances Propper ended in 1956.
Rains died from an internal haemorrhage, in Laconia, New Hampshire at the age of 77. He is interred in the Red Hill Cemetery, Moultonborough, New Hampshire.

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'', ''Casablanca'', ''Mr. Skeffington'' and ''Notorious''. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 6400 Hollywood Boulevard.

Popular references

In 1975, both Rains, and his memorable role as the Invisible Man was referenced in the opening song to the cult film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show''.
In the 5th season M
★ A
★ S
★ H episode "Out of Sight, Out of Mind," Hawkeye, temporarily blinded by a stove explosion, makes the rounds in post-op by feeling his way from bed to bed. Upon feeling one unoccupied bed, he muses, "Hmm, Claude Rains," a reference to Rains' famous Invisible Man role.
He was also mentioned in the television show ''Heroes'', where a British character, who can make himself invisible, refers to himself as "Claude Rains, the Invisible Man."
In the 1996 film ''Sleepers'', speaking about a nonexistent witness to a murder, a character describes him as having done "a Claude Rains so far".

Filmography

★ ''Build Thy House'' (1920) as Clarkis ★ ''The Invisible Man'' (1933) as Jack Griffin/The Invisible Man ★ ''The Clairvoyant'' (1934) as Maximus ★ ''Crime Without Passion'' (1934) as Lee Gentry ★ ''The Man Who Reclaimed His Head'' (1934) as Paul Verin ★ ''The Last Outpost'' (1935) as John Stevenson ★ ''Mystery of Edwin Drood'' (1935) as John Jasper ★ ''Hearts Divided'' (1936) as Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte ★ ''Anthony Adverse'' (1936) as Marquis Don Luis ★ ''Stolen Holiday'' (1937) as Stefan Orloff ★ ''The Prince and the Pauper'' (1937) as Earl of Hertford ★ ''They Won't Forget'' (1937) as Dist. Atty. Andrew J. 'Andy' Griffin ★ ''White Banners'' (1938) as Paul Ward ★ ''Gold Is Where You Find It'' (1938) as Colonel Christopher 'Chris' Ferris ★ ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938) as Prince John ★ ''Four Daughters'' (1938) as Adam Lemp ★ ''They Made Me a Criminal'' (1939) as Det. Monty Phelan ★ ''Juarez'' (1939) as Emperor Louis Napoleon III ★ ''Sons of Liberty'' (1939) as Haym Salomon ★ ''Daughters Courageous'' (1939) as Jim Masters ★ ''Mr. Smith Goes to Washington'' (1939) as Sen. Joseph Harrison Paine ★ ''Four Wives'' (1939) as Adam Lemp ★ ''Saturday's Children'' (1940) as Mr. Henry Halevy ★ ''The Sea Hawk'' (1940) as Don José Alvarez de Cordoba ★ ''Lady with Red Hair'' (1940) as David Belasco ★ ''Four Mothers'' (1941) as Adam Lemp ★ ''Here Comes Mr. Jordan'' (1941) as Mr. Jordan ★ ''The Wolf Man'' (1941) as Sir John Talbot ★ ''Kings Row'' (1942) as Dr. Alexander Q. Tower ★ ''Moontide'' (1942) as Nutsy

★ ''Now, Voyager'' (1942) as Dr. Jaquith ★ ''Casablanca'' (1942) as Capt. Louis Renault ★ ''Forever and a Day'' (1943) as Ambrose Pomfret ★ ''Phantom of the Opera'' (1943) as Erique Claudin/The Phantom of the Opera ★ ''Passage to Marseille'' (1944) as Captain Freycinet ★ ''Mr. Skeffington'' (1944) as Job Skeffington ★ ''Strange Holiday'' (1945) as John Stevenson ★ ''This Love of Ours'' (1945) as Joseph Targel ★ ''Caesar and Cleopatra'' (1945) as Julius Caesar ★ ''Notorious'' (1946) as Alexander 'Alex' Sebastian ★ ''Angel on My Shoulder'' (1946) as Nick ★ ''Deception'' (1946) as Alexander Hollenius ★ ''The Unsuspected'' (1947) as Victor Grandison ★ ''The Passionate Friends'' (1949) as Howard Justin ★ ''Rope of Sand'' (1949) as Arthur 'Fred' Martingale ★ ''Song of Surrender'' (1949) as Elisha Hunt ★ ''The White Tower (film)'' (1950) as Paul DeLambre ★ ''Where Danger Lives'' (1950) as Frederick Lannington ★ ''Sealed Cargo'' (1951) as Captain Skalder ★ ''The Man Who Watched the Trains Go By'' (1953) as Kees Popinga ★ ''Lisbon'' (1956) as Aristides Mavros ★ ''The Pied Piper of Hamelin'' (1957) (TV) as Mayor of Hamelin ★ ''This Earth Is Mine'' (1959) as Philippe Rambeau ★ ''Shangri-La'' (1960) (TV) as High Lama ★ ''The Lost World'' (1960) as Professor George Edward Challenger ★ ''Battle of the Worlds (Il Pianeta degli uomini spent)'' (1961) as Professor Benson ★ ''Lawrence of Arabia'' (1962) as Mr. Dryden ★ ''Twilight of Honor'' (1963) as Art Harper ★ ''The Greatest Story Ever Told'' (1965) as Herod the Great

Notes

1. Harmetz p. 147.
2. londonscottishregt.org
3. Harmetz p. 147.
4. Harmetz p. 190.

References

★ Harmetz, Aljean. ''Round Up the Usual Suspects: The Making of "Casablanca"''. Orion Publishing Co, 1993.

External links

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★ Find A Grave profile for Claude Rains