He was known for many roles in Hollywood films, among them the title role in The Invisible Man (1933), a corrupt senator in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), and, … Rains became a United States citizen in 1938. Dad was Frederick Rains, a great stage actor. Rains later credited the film's co-director Michael Curtiz with teaching him the more understated requirements of film acting, or "what not to do in front of a camera. The first time I played with him was in Carlotta (Juarez), and I had to make an entrance [into] the King of France's domain for a rehearsal, and he's playing the King of France ([actually the Emperor of the French] Napoleon III) in rehearsal. Top Answer. [2] During his lengthy career, he was greatly admired by many of his acting colleagues, such as Bette Davis, Vincent Sherman, Ronald Neame, Albert Dekker, Peter O'Toole, John Gielgud, Charles Laughton and Richard Chamberlain. I don't know what happened to him. This was Rains' last appearance on the London Stage. Cops and Robbers. These talents were recognised by Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, the founder of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Born William Claude Rains in London, England, the son of British stage actor Frederick Rains, he made his stage debut at the age of eleven, and learned the technical end of the business working first as a page, then working up to stage manager. There he observed actors as well as the day-to-day running of a theatre. As all of us "other era people," we don't just run through lines and say "turn the camera", we rehearse beforehand...Anyway Claude and I couldn't, and he was the King of France who loathed Carlotta, and I was a kid and petrified of Mr. He sang in the Palm Street Church choir, which also brought him a few pence to take home. However, at the outbreak of World War I the following year, he returned to England to serve in the London Scottish Regiment,[8] alongside fellow actors Basil Rathbone, Ronald Colman, Herbert Marshall and Cedric Hardwicke. ", Rains' debut speaking role in the theatre, This supporting role marked Rains' return to the stage after being wounded in WWI. A seemingly corrupt man, Alex finally discovers, like so many Rains … The majority of the items were used to help David J. Skal write his book on Rains, An Actor's Voice. While working for the Theatre Guild, he was offered a screen test with Universal Pictures in 1932. Bette Davis often cited Rains as one of her favorite actors and colleagues. I think he failed and went to America. He spent much of his time between film takes reading up on agricultural techniques to try when he got home. He sold the farm when his marriage to Propper ended in 1956; the building now, as then, is still referred to by locals as "Rains' Place". With this in mind, Tree paid for the elocution books and lessons that Rains needed to help him change his voice. “Often we’d secretly like to do the very things we discipline ourselves against. Eventually we worked together quite a lot and became really great friends, really great friends. He additionally made several audio recordings, narrating some Bible stories for children on Capitol Records, and reciting Richard Strauss's setting for narrator and piano of Tennyson's poem Enoch Arden, with the piano solos performed by Glenn Gould. [5][12] His agent, Harold Freedman, was a family friend of Carl Laemmle, who controlled Universal Pictures at the time, and had been acquainted with Rains in London and was keen to cast him in the role. William Claude Rains is part of G.I. He lacked inches and wore lifts to his shoes to increase his height. When interviewed for Turner Classic Movies, Chamberlain said. He knew the whole script before he came out (to film). Today Claude Rains would … His daughter Jessica, when describing her father's voice, said, "The interesting thing to me was that he became a different person. [4] Rains was one of twelve children, all but three dying of malnutrition when still infants. Rains remained active as a character actor in the 1950s and 1960s, appearing in films and as a guest in television series. The nanny informed Catherine that Claude looked at the twins with such hatred and pinched them. And the striking virtuosity that I witnessed as a young actor is now there for audiences everywhere to see for all time. / Died: 30 May 1967: How many years did Claude Rains live? Rains made his stage debut at age ten in the play Sweet Nell of Old Drury[7] at the Haymarket Theatre, so that he could run around onstage as part of the production. Claude Rains est un acteur britannique, né le 10 novembre 1889 à Camberwell, Londres (Royaume-Uni), et mort le 30 mai 1967 à Laconia, dans le New Hampshire (États-Unis). Claude Rains, British motion picture and stage character actor noted for his smooth distinguished voice, polished ironic style, and intelligent portrayal of a variety of roles, ranging from villains to sympathetic gentlemen. The farm became one of the "great prides" of his life. Claude found this ramp business a bit embarrassing and very funny. Claude was an extremely private manâhe never discussed his humble beginnings, his six marriages. Actor 74 Credits. Roddy McDowall once asked Rains if he had intentionally lampooned Bette Davis in his performance as Prince John, and Rains' only smiled "an enigmatic smile." Tree told Rains that in order to succeed as an actor, he would have to get rid of his Cockney accent and speech impediment. "[27] He was buried at the Red Hill Cemetery in Moultonborough, New Hampshire. [23] Rains spent his final years in Sandwich, New Hampshire.[24]. However, with the outbreak of World War 1. His screen test for A Bill of Divorcement (1932) for a New York representative of RKO was a failure but, according to some accounts, led to his being cast in the title role of James Whale's The Invisible Man (1933) after his screen test and unique voice were inadvertently overheard from the next room. He married six times; his only child, Jessica Rains, was the product of his marriage to fourth wife Frances Propper. Claude Rains died on May 30, 1967 at the age of 77. Broad-shouldered and beefy Claude Akins had wavy black hair, a deep booming voice and was equally adept at playing sneering cowardly villains as he was at portraying hard-nosed cops. He married six times and was divorced from the first five of his wives: Isabel Jeans (married 1913â1915); Marie Hemingway (to whom Rains was married for less than a year in 1920); Beatrix Thomson (1924â8 April 1935); Frances Propper (9 April 1935 â 1956); and the classical pianist Agi Jambor (4 November 1959 â 1960). Although he had played the single supporting role in the silent, Build Thy House (1920),[1] Rains came relatively late to film acting. Rains signed a long-term contract with Warner Bros. on 27 November 1935 with Warner able to exercise the right to loan him to other studios and Rains having a potential income of up to $750,000 over seven years. After the war ended, Rains remained in England and continued to develop his acting talents. Reminiscing about his work with Rains, Chamberlain said: He was in his seventies then and in failing health, yet he was charming and totally professional on the set. Born in London, England on November 10, 1889, he was doomed to follow in his father’s footsteps. Here is all you want to know, and more! He also did not go to see the rushes of the day's filming "because he told me, every time he went he was horrified by his huge face on the huge screen, that he just never went back again.". He is 131 years old and is a Scorpio. -- Claude Akins, who played genial, rough-and-tumble characters in movies and on television, including Sheriff Lobo of "B.J. After his American film debut as Dr. Jack Griffin in The Invisible Man (1933) he appeared in classic films such as The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), … By the end of the war, he had risen to the rank of captain.[10]. Stocky but handsome, Rains had broad shoulders and a mop of thick brown hair which he brushed over one eye. Rains left school after the second grade to sell newspapers so that he could bring the pennies and halfpennies home for his mother. The stage actor Claude Rains died at the age of 77. Quotes . 25 th. [3] He lived in the slums of London, and, in his own words, on "the wrong side of the river Thames". Claude Rains. Tout sur CLAUDE RAINS : sa tombe, des infos sur sa vie, des photos de Claude Rains, des vidéos, des citations, la biographie de Claude Rains... Participez à l'amélioration des infos sur Claude Rains et discutez avec d'autres passionnés et contributeurs autours de + de 10 000 célébrités disparues, aimées ou detestées, … Bette Davis in an interview with Dick Cavett said about Rains: Well, of course he petrified me. During her childhood, Claude had an intense jealously toward her twin sisters, Emone and Henrietta. Claude Rains has to be considered one of the finest actors of the 20th century. Red Hill Cemetery, Moultonborough, New Hampshire, United States. Rains starred in multiple plays and productions over the course of his career, playing a variety of leading and supporting parts. [6] His accent was so strong that his daughter could not understand a word he said when he used it to sing old Cockney songs to her or purposely used it to playfully annoy her. William Claude Rains (10 November 1889 – 30 May 1967) was a British-American film and stage actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. Rains was considered to be "one of the screen's great character stars"[1] who was, according to the All-Movie Guide, "at his best when playing cultured villains". He loved acting. Home is Chester County.” (Claude Rains), Copyright © 2021 /  The Celebrity Deaths.com  /  All Rights Reserved. Also included in the auction were many volumes of his private leather-bound scrapbooks which contained many of his press cuttings and reviews from the beginning of his career. [18] Rains followed it with Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious (1946) as a refugee Nazi agent opposite Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman. [22] Here, he became a "gentleman farmer" and could relax and enjoy farming life with his then wife (Frances) churning the butter, their daughter collecting the eggs, with Rains himself ploughing the fields and cultivating the vegetable garden. Shaw apparently chose him for the part, although Rains intensely disliked Gabriel Pascal, the film's director and producer. [26] Rains died from an abdominal hemorrhage in Laconia on 30 May 1967, aged 77. Here is all you want to know, and more! But by the time I first met him in the 1920s he was already much in demand as a character actor in London. Died from an intestinal hemorrhage at Lakes Region Hospital near his home in Sandwich, New Hampshire at age 77. When he came to California to do a film, I had to "hear him his lines" as he drove me to school every morning, 10 miles. The stage actor Claude Rains died at the age of 77. His films included The Invisible Man (1933), Casablanca (1942), and Notorious (1946). He came to the United States in 1913 but returned to England during … And finally he paused and said with a sheepish look "Alibi Ike, good old Alibi Ike" ("Alibi Ike" being an expression based on a 1935 film of the same name, in which the lead character has a penchant for making up excuses). In 1960, he married Rosemary Clark Schrode, to whom he was married until her death on 31 December 1964. He had piercing dark eyes and a beautifully throaty voice, although he had, like Marlene Dietrich, some trouble with the letter 'R'. Villains were a Rains specialty, particularly those of a suave and sarcastic nature; and yet when the role called for it, Rains could be remarkably moving and even add a touch of pathos without losing any of his effectiveness. The NBC colour special, broadcast as a film rather than a live or videotaped programme, was highly successful with the public. In an interview for Turner Classic Movies, Gielgud fondly remembered Rains: I learnt a great deal about acting from this gentleman. His daughter said, "And, just like most actors, he died waiting for his agent to call. The England and Wales Census of 1891 shows infant William C Rains living with parents Frederick Wm Rains and Emily E Rains at 26 Tregothnan Rd, … Generally he had no problem remembering his lines despite getting along in years. This page was last edited on 17 February 2021, at 05:12. When did Claude Rains die? He designed his own tombstone which reads "All things once, Are things forever, Soul, once living, lives forever". However, there was one particularly long scene shot late at night where he was having a lot of trouble with the dialogue, and kept making excuses. On 30 May 1967, he died due to an abdominal hemorrhage, at the age of 77. Four-time Oscar nominee who starred as Captain Louis Renault in Casablanca and as the title character in the 1933 film The Invisible Man. Claude Rains and Merle Oberon in Die Liebe unseres Lebens (1945) Following his death, he was interred at Red Hill Cemetery in Moultonborough, New Hampshire. and the Bear," died Jan. 27 of cancer. Rains was a very small man and Bergman was quite tall, so in order to shoot them in close-up together (in the key scene) the resourceful Alfred Hitchcock had a ramp installed, so as Rains approaches Bergman on camera he appears taller than his co-star. In 2011, the ivory military uniform (complete with medals) he wore as Captain Renault in Casablanca was put up for auction when noted actress and film historian Debbie Reynolds sold her collection of Hollywood costumes and memorabilia which she had amassed as a result of the 1970 MGM auction.[28]. A short man, around 5’6 by most accounts, his character loomed over every production he took part in, and certain tics, like his way of raising the right eyebrow to make a point, became calling cards in his … The film follows U.S. government agent T.R. 683 Last Comments. William Claude Rains was born on 10 November 1889 in Clapham, London. Born: 10-Nov-1889 Birthplace: London, England Died: 30-May-1967 Location of death: Laconia, NH Cause of death: Abdominal Hemorrhage Remains: Buried, Red Hill Cemetery, Moultonborough, NH Gender: Male Race or Ethnicity: White Sexual orientation: Straight Occupation: Actor Nationality: United States … William Claude Rains (10 November 1889 30 May 1967) was an English actor of stage and screen whose career spanned 46 years. Claude Rains and Fay Bainter in Vier Töchter räumen auf … It was clear to us that he loved practicing his craft; he dazzled us all. As soon as you hear that marvelous, unmistakable voice of honey mixed with gravel, he becomes instantly recognizable. He was a Tony Award winning actor and was a four-time nominee for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. [9] In November 1916, Rains was involved in a gas attack at Vimy, which resulted in him permanently losing 90 percent of the vision in his right eye as well as suffering vocal cord damage. Often we'd secretly like … British-American actor – Claude Rains was born in Clapham (district within London Borough of Lambeth, London, England and some areas in the London Borough of Wandsworth) on November 10th, 1889 and died in Laconia (city in New Hampshire, United States) on May 30th, 1967 at the age of 77. William Claude Rains, born in the Clapham area of London, was the son of the British stage actor ... Born: November 10, 1889 ... Did You Know Trivia. Claude Rains was larger than life in all respects, not only in his various incarnations on the cinema screens. I'm so glad of that. [21], He acquired the 380-acre (1.5 km2) Stock Grange Farm, built in 1747 in West Bradford Township, Pennsylvania (just outside Coatesville), in 1941. I don't think many people did that. Claude Rains was one of my teachers at RADA. Two of his late screen roles were as Dryden, a cynical British diplomat in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and King Herod in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), his last film. Claude Rains (10 November 1889 – 30 May 1967) was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned 47 years; he later held American citizenship. "The Jeffersonian Heritage," Broadcasting-Telecasting, 8 September 1952, 36 (trade advertisement). Because his father was an actor, the young Rains would spend time in theatres and was surrounded by actors and stagehands. [25] A chronic alcoholic, Rains died from cirrhosis of the liver. Generation generation). Cary Grant’s agent is such an unmitigated son of a bitch that Rains gathers sympathy as the movie goes on, and his Alex even reaches a heroic level when he admits, on a very long walk down a staircase, that he’s not afraid to die, though he is certainly afraid to live. [15] He played the villainous role of Prince John in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). As an actress, she is known as Jessica Rains. And that scornful right eyebrow which could freeze an adversary faster than and more effectively than any physical threat. Profession Actor. It did not sit well with Catherine. He starred in The Jeffersonian Heritage, a 1952 series of 13 half-hour radio programmes recorded by the National Association of Educational Broadcasters and syndicated for commercial broadcast on a sustaining (i.e., commercial-free) basis.[19]. He slowly worked his way up in the theatre, becoming a call boy (telling actors when they were due on stage) at His Majesty's Theatre and later a prompter, stage manager, understudy, and then moving on from smaller parts with good reviews to larger, better parts. I found him enormously helpful and encouraging to work with. John Gielgud and Charles Laughton were among his students. At age 29, he played the role of Clarkis in his one (and only) silent film, the British film Build Thy House (1920). What am I going to do? Many years after Rains had gone to Hollywood and become a well-known film actor, John Gielgud is reputed to have commented, "He was a great influence on me. He knew everybody's part. He grew up in the theatrical world and worked his way up … In fact he was one of the best and most popular teachers there. His mother took in boarders in order to support the family. Claude Rains. Rains, so I thought he hated me. Being around the theatre so much, young Claude … Claude Rains (n. 10 noiembrie 1889 – d. 30 mai 1967) a fost un actor englez, care a turnat filme și la Hollywood Biografie Filmografie. In his final years, Rains decided to write his memoirs and engaged the help of journalist Jonathan Root to assist him. His only child, Jennifer, was born on 24 January 1938, the daughter of Frances Propper. In London theatre, he achieved success in the title role of John Drinkwater's play Ulysses S. Grant, the follow-up to the same playwright's Abraham Lincoln. As his film career began to flourish, he found less time to perform in the theatre in both England and America. In 2010, many of Rains' personal effects were put into an auction at Heritage Auctions, including his 1951 Tony award, rare posters, letters and photographs. Notorious is a 1946 American spy film noir directed and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, and Claude Rains as three people whose lives become intimately entangled during an espionage operation.. William Claude Rains (10 November 1889 – 30 May 1967) was a … During a stage and film career that spanned six decades, Rains encompassed some of the most memorable and exciting characters ever created by an actor. See more ideas about claude rains, rains, claude. I got another taste of Claude's witty nature shooting a scene in his [next-to-last] film, in which he had a long piece of dialogue. His only singing and dancing role was in a 1957 television musical version of Robert Browning's The Pied Piper of Hamelin, with Van Johnson as the Piper. Claude Rains was born William Claude Rains on 10 November, 1889, in Camberwell, London, the son of British stage actor Frederick Rains. One day on the set I mentioned to him that Notorious was one of my favorite films, and Claude related with amusement the filming of a particular scene with Ingrid Bergman. / Lived: 77 years: Zodiac sign: Scorpio: Claude Rains facts. See Answer. After his American film debut as Dr. Jack Griffin in The Invisible Man (1933) he appeared in such highly regarded films as The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), The Wolf Man (1941), Casablanca and Kings Row (both 1942), Notorious (1946), Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965). This generation experienced much of their youth during the Great His parents were Emily Eliza (née Cox) and the stage actor Frederick William Rains. Rains’ only child, Jennifer Rains, an actress, was born in January 1938 to Frances Propper. Davis later went on to describe him: "Claude was witty, amusing and beautiful, really beautiful, thoroughly enchanting to be with and brilliant." ( trade advertisement ) winning actor and was a Tony Award winning actor and was a four-time for... At London 's Lyric theatre in 1925 by many local us TV.. Sheridan 's the Rivals, presented at London 's Lyric theatre in England... The project was never completed the age of 77 ( née Cox ) the..., Claude that Claude looked at the age of 77 recognised by herbert... And speech impediment after practicing every day 131 years Old and is a.... When he got home moved to America in 1913, to whom he was a nominee! ( RADA ) develop his acting father recognised by Sir herbert Beerbohm Tree recognized '... His memoirs and engaged the help of journalist Jonathan Root to assist him him in finished. ] [ 14 ] According to Rains ' acting talent and immense stage presence made him giant. 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Twelve children, all but three dying of malnutrition when still infants Jan. of. He knew the whole script before he came out ( to film ) Rains was born on 10... To know, and more effectively than any physical threat sold into after... By actors and colleagues, and more the liver Robin Hood ( 1938 ) Soon after changing his,! [ 13 ] [ 14 ] According to Rains ' first wife, Isabel Jeans played role. The help of Alicia … Red Hill Cemetery in Moultonborough, New Hampshire, United States, in 1913 to!  /  all Rights Reserved the Opera ( 1943 ) winning actor and was a nominee. Popular teachers there was doomed to follow in the finished film he played villainous. As Captain Louis Renault in Casablanca and as a guest in television series, an,. Day-To-Day running of a theatre increase his height in his father ’ s footsteps Rains in would. [ 15 ] he never returned to England and continued to serve with the outbreak of world 1. Isabel Jeans played the villainous role of Prince john in the theatrical world and worked his way up Claude... Finest actors of the leading stage actors in London citizen of the leading stage in... American, half English and a little Cockney thrown in, lives forever '' who starred as Captain Louis in! Stage actors in London daughter of Frances Propper Broadcasting-Telecasting, 8 September 1952, (... To an abdominal hemorrhage, at 05:12 and needless to say, all the girls in my class hopelessly! Skal write his book on Rains, an actress, she is known as Jessica Rains remembered father... Class act, believing that there was more opportunity for him mop of thick brown hair he.
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