Claude Rains
Claude Rains | |
---|---|
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art | |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1900–1965 |
Spouses | Marie Hemingway
(m. 1920; div. 1920)Frances Propper
(m. 1935; div. 1956)Rosemary Clark Schrode
(m. 1960; died 1964) |
Children | 1 |
Parent |
|
William Claude Rains (10 November 1889 – 30 May 1967) was a British and American actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. After his American film debut as Dr. Jack Griffin in The Invisible Man (1933), he appeared in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), The Wolf Man (1941), Casablanca (1942), Kings Row (1942), Notorious (1946), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), and The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965).
He was a
Early life
William Claude Rains was born on 10 November 1889 at 26 Tregothnan Road in
Because his father was an actor, the young Rains would spend time in theatres and was surrounded by actors and stagehands. There he observed actors as well as the day-to-day running of a theatre. Rains made his stage debut at age 10 in the play Sweet Nell of Old Drury at the
Early career and military service
Rains moved to the United States in 1912 owing to the opportunities that were being offered in the New York theatres. However, at the outbreak of World War I in 1914, he returned to England to serve in the
After the war ended, Rains remained in England and continued to develop his acting talents. These talents were recognised by Sir
During his early years, Rains taught at the
I learnt a great deal about acting from this gentleman. Claude Rains was one of my teachers at RADA. In fact he was one of the best and most popular teachers there. He was extremely attractive and needless to say, all the girls in my class were hopelessly in love with him. He had piercing dark eyes and a beautifully throaty voice, although he had, like Marlene Dietrich, some trouble with the letter 'R'. He lacked inches and wore lifts to his shoes to increase his height. Stocky but handsome, Rains had broad shoulders and a mop of thick brown hair which he brushed over one eye. But by the time I first met him in the 1920s he was already much in demand as a character actor in London. I found him enormously helpful and encouraging to work with. I was always trying to copy him in my first years as an actor, until I decided to imitate Noël Coward instead.
Career
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. Rains portrayed Faulkland in Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The Rivals, presented at London's Lyric Theatre in 1925. He returned to New York City in 1927 and appeared in nearly 20 Broadway roles, in plays which included George Bernard Shaw's The Apple Cart and dramatisations of The Constant Nymph and Pearl S. Buck's novel The Good Earth (as a Chinese farmer).
Although he had played the single supporting role in the silent, Build Thy House (1920),[2] Rains came relatively late to film acting. While working for the Theatre Guild, he was offered a screen test with Universal Pictures in 1932. 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.[6][11] 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.[12][13] According to Rains' daughter, this was the only film of his he ever saw. 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."
Rains signed a long-term contract with
In her 1987 memoir, This 'N That, Bette Davis revealed that Rains (with whom she shared the screen four times in
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. The NBC colour special, broadcast as a film rather than a live or videotaped programme, was highly successful with the public. Sold into syndication after its first telecast, it was repeated annually by many local US TV stations.
Rains remained active as a character actor in the 1950s and 1960s, appearing in films and as a guest in television series. He played the ventriloquist Fabian on Alfred Hitchcock Presents Season 1 Episode 20 "And So Died Riabouchinska" which aired 2/10/1956. He ventured into science fiction for
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. 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.[18]
Reception
Jessica Rains remembered her father's work ethic:
He was interested in the process (of film). He loved acting. 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 [16 km]. He knew everybody's part. He knew the whole script before he came out (to film). I don't think many people did that.
Bette Davis in an interview with Dick Cavett said about Rains:
Well, of course he petrified me. The first time I played with him was in
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 (N.B. The character is actually the Emperor of the French Napoleon III) in rehearsal. 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. Rains, so I thought he hated me. I didn't know he was playing the character. I thought, he thinks I just stink! What am I going to do? Eventually we worked together quite a lot and became really great friends, really great friends.
Davis later went on to describe him: "Claude was witty, amusing and beautiful, really beautiful, thoroughly enchanting to be with and brilliant." She also praised his performances: "He was marvelous in
Richard Chamberlain worked with Rains in what would be his second-to-last film, Twilight of Honor. In 2009, Chamberlain recorded a tribute to the actor when Rains was featured as Turner Classic Movies' Star of the Month: [19]
Claude Rains has to be considered one of the finest actors of the 20th century. As soon as you hear that marvelous, unmistakable voice of honey mixed with gravel, he becomes instantly recognizable. And that scornful right eyebrow which could freeze an adversary faster than and more effectively than any physical threat. He stood at a mere 5′6″, yet his enormous talent and immense stage presence made him a giant among his colleagues. 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. 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.
In Twilight of Honor Rains played a retired lawyer acting as a mentor to Chamberlain's character. 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. It was clear to us that he loved practicing his craft; he dazzled us all. Claude was an extremely private man—he never discussed his humble beginnings, his six marriages. But get him into a conversation about acting, and he opened up with delightful anecdotes and fascinating stories about his long life as a thespian.
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. 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. Claude found this ramp business a bit embarrassing and very funny.
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. Generally he had no problem remembering his lines despite getting along in years. 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. 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). Of course in the finished film he played the scene flawlessly, as he always did. Claude Rains: truly a class act, on and off screen.
Many years after Rains had gone to Hollywood and become a well-known film actor, John Gielgud commented, tongue-in-cheek, "There was somebody who taught me a very great deal at drama school, and I am certainly grateful to him for his kindness and consideration. His name was Claude Rains. I don't know whatever happened to him. I think he failed, and had to go to America."[20] Gielgud later went on to recollect a time when he was in New York and in the audience during an event that included a focus on Bette Davis.
A number of clips from many of her most successful films were shown and I was particularly delighted, when, as soon as Claude Rains appeared in the close-up of one of the clips, the whole audience burst into a great wave of applause.
Bette Davis often cited Rains as one of her favorite actors and colleagues. Gielgud said that he once wrote that "The London stage suffered a great loss when Claude Rains deserted it for motion pictures," and that he later added, "but when I see him now on the screen and remember him, I must admit that the London stage's loss was the cinema's gain. And the striking virtuosity that I witnessed as a young actor is now there for audiences everywhere to see for all time. I'm so glad of that."
Personal life and death
Rains became a
He acquired the 380-acre (1.5 km2) Stock Grange Farm, built in 1747 in West Bradford Township, Pennsylvania (just outside Coatesville), in 1941. The farm became one of the "great prides" of his life.[23] 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. 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".[24] Rains spent his final years in Sandwich, New Hampshire.[25]
In his final years, he decided to write his memoirs and engaged the help of journalist Jonathan Root to assist him. Rains' declining health delayed their completion and with Root's death in March 1967 the project was never completed. A
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. 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. The majority of the items were used to help David J. Skal write his book on Rains, An Actor's Voice. 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.[21]
Acting credits
Filmography
Theatre
Rains starred in multiple plays and productions over the course of his career, playing a variety of leading and supporting parts. As his film career began to flourish, he found less time to perform in the theatre in both England and America.
Year | Play title | Role | Theatre | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1900 | Sweet Nell of Old Drury | Child | Haymarket Theatre | Stage debut, aged 10 as an "unbilled child extra "running around a fountain." |
1901 | Herod | Child | His Majesty's Theatre |
Unbilled |
1904 | Last of the Dandies | Winkles | Rains' debut speaking role in the theatre | |
1911 | The Gods of the Mountain | Thahn | Haymarket Theatre |
Shared role with Reginald Owen |
1913 | The Green Cockatoo | Grasset | Aldwych Theatre | Stage Manager as well |
Typhoon | Omayi | Haymarket Theatre |
First heavy character role | |
1919 | Reparation | Ivan Petrovitch | St. James's Theatre |
Stage Manager as well |
Uncle Ned | Mears | Lyceum Theatre | Marked Rains' return to the stage after being wounded in WWI | |
1920 | Julius Caesar | Casca | St. James's Theatre |
Ernest Milton played Brutus |
1925 | The Rivals | Faulkland | Lyric Hammersmith | |
1926 | The Government Inspector | The Inspector | Gaiety Theatre | Professional debut of his RADA student, Charles Laughton |
1926 | Made in Heaven | Martin Walmer | Everyman Theatre, London | This was Rains' last appearance on the London Stage. |
1951 | Darkness at Noon | Rubashov | Royale Theatre |
|
1954 | The Confidential Clerk | Sir Claude Mulhammer | Morosco Theatre | |
1956 | Night of the Auk | Doctor Bruner | Playhouse Theatre | Featuring Christopher Plummer |
Radio
1949. Ford Theatre. The horn blows at midnight with Jack Benny.
Year | Programme | Episode/source |
---|---|---|
1952 | Cavalcade of America | Three Words[28] |
1959 | Playhouse 90 | Judgement At Nuremberg |
Discography
Year | Title | Recording Company |
---|---|---|
1946 | The Christmas Tree | Mercury Childcraft Records |
1948 | Bible Stories for Children | Capitol Records |
1950 | Builders of America | Columbia Masterworks |
1952[29] | David and Goliath | Capitol Records |
1957[30] | The Song of Songs and Heloise and Abelard | Caedmon Records |
1960 | Remember The Alamo | Noble Records |
1962 | Enoch Arden | Columbia Masterworks |
Awards and nominations
Academy Awards
Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1939 | Best Supporting Actor | Mr. Smith Goes to Washington | Nominated | [31] |
1943 | Casablanca | Nominated | [32] | |
1944 | Mr. Skeffington | Nominated | [33] | |
1946 | Notorious | Nominated | [34] |
Drama League Awards
Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1951 | Distinguished Performance Award | Darkness at Noon | Won | [35] |
Grammy Awards
Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1962 | Best Documentary or Spoken Word Recording (Other Than Comedy) | Enoch Arden | Nominated | [36] |
Online Film & Television Association Awards
Year | Honor | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
2023 | Film Hall of Fame: Actors | Inducted | [37] |
Tony Awards
Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1951 | Best Actor in a Play
|
Darkness at Noon | Won | [38] |
See also
References
- ^ Erickson, Hal (5 March 2016). "Claude Rains". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
- ^ a b McFarlane, Brian. "Rains, Claude (1889-1967)". British Film Institute. Retrieved 30 December 2015. From McFarlane's Encyclopedia of British Film. London: Methuen/BFI, 2003, p.545
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/55624. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ISBN 978-1-5575-0965-9.
- ^ Soister p. 1.
- ^ a b Harmetz p. 147.
- ^ "Welcome to The London Scottish Regiment Website". London Scottish Regt. Archived from the original on 12 April 2007.
- ISBN 978-0-007-51974-3.
- ^ a b Parkinson, David (7 November 2018). "Roll of honour: 15 movie legends who served in the First World War". British Film Institute. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
- ^ Rains, Jessica (2000). "Extras". Phantom of the Opera (Interview) (2004 DVD ed.). Universal Pictures.
- ^ Weaver, Tom; Brunas, Michael; Brunas, John (2007). Universal Horrors: The Studio's Classic Films, 1931-1946. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. p. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Wut4jYBtUdsC&pg=PA102 102].
- ^ Skal and Rains Claude Rains: An Actor's Voice, p.48-9
- ^ Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 79.
- ^ David J. Skal, with Jessica Rains Claude Rains: An Actor's Voice, Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2008, p.61-62.
- ^ Harmetz p. 190.
- ^ Davis and Herskowitz 1987, p. 26.
- ISBN 978-0600338178.
- ^ "The Jeffersonian Heritage," Broadcasting-Telecasting, 8 September 1952, 36 (trade advertisement).
- ^ "Richard Chamberlain on Claude Rains -- (TCM Original) September, 2009". www.tcm.com. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
- ISBN 978-1-4391-1617-3.
- ^ a b "Claude Rains "Captain Louis Renault" ivory military suit from Casablanca". iCollector.com Online Auctions. Archived from the original on 12 August 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
- ^ Skal and Rains, p.104
- ^ "Claude Rains' Scrapbook Devoted to His Farm, Stock - Lot #49362 - Heritage Auctions". Heritage Auctions.
- ^ "Thinking about Claude Rains and the pastoral Stock Grange Farm". 8 March 2020.
- ^ Duckler, Ray (31 March 2012). "A Star's Last Act: The great Claude Rains spent his final years in New Hampshire". Concord Monitor. Archived from the original on 13 September 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
- ^ "Rains was never a minor character". Los Angeles Times. 20 November 2008.
- ISBN 978-1-4766-1278-2.
- ^ "Claude Rains - David And Goliath" – via www.45cat.com.
- ^ Discogs https://www.discogs.com/release/10506951-Claire-Bloom-Claude-Rains-The-Song-Of-Songs-And-Heloise-And-Abelard.
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(help) - ^ "The 12th Academy Awards (1940) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
- ^ "The 16th Academy Awards (1944) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
- ^ "The 17th Academy Awards (1945) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
- ^ "The 19th Academy Awards (1947) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
- ^ "Awards History – The Drama League". Drama League Awards. 25 March 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
- ^ "Claude Rains". Grammy Awards. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
- ^ "Film Hall of Fame: Actors". Online Film & Television Association. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
- ^ "The Tony Award Nominations – 1951 Actor (Play)". Tony Awards. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
General sources
- Harmetz, Aljean (1992). Round Up the Usual Suspects: The Making of "Casablanca" (hardcover) (First ed.). Westport, CT: Hyperion. ISBN 978-1-56282-941-4.
- Soister, John T.; Wioskowski, JoAnna (2006). Claude Rains: A Comprehensive Illustrated Reference to His Work in Film, Stage, Radio, Television and Recordings (softcover) (Reprint ed.). Jefferson, NC: McFarland. OCLC 41580407.
- Skal, David J. (2008). Claude Rains: An Actor's Voice (hardcover) (First ed.). Lexington, KY: The University Press of Kentucky. JSTOR j.ctt2jcg4f.
Further reading
- Alistair, Rupert (2018). "Claude Rains". The Name Below the Title : 65 Classic Movie Character Actors from Hollywood's Golden Age (softcover) (First ed.). Great Britain: Independently published. pp. 215–217. ISBN 978-1-7200-3837-5.
- Felice, Carmella (2006). The Life and Times of Claude Rains (softcover) (First ed.). Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-4259-5301-0.
External links
- Claude Rains at IMDb
- Claude Rains at AllMovie
- Claude Rains at Turner Classic Movies
- Claude Rains at the better source needed]
- Claude Rains at the BFI's Screenonline
- Claude Rains at the Internet Broadway Database
- Performances listed in Theatre Archive of the University of Bristol