He was nominated four times for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar -- but incredibly never won. According to John Gielgud, Rains' second wife Marie Hemingway joined the cast for a brief period, thereby bringing Rains' first 3 wives together in the same dressing room. Often wed secretly like to do the very things we discipline ourselves against. He was the disfigured Phantom of the Opera (1943) as well. During his early years, Rains taught at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA). The two shared the screen four times. Alex Sebastian in "Notorious" (RKO, 1946) is one of Claude Rains' best parts. [7] 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. based on information from your browser. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Claude-Rains, Claude Rains - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). He appeared in two Best Picture Academy Award winners: In his obituary, The New York Times claimed that Rains was the first British stage and film star to earn a million dollars for a single film. At the time of his death, he was -1967 years old. Claude Rains in 'Notorious': The Nazi mama's boy. Rains eventually shed his accent and speech impediment after practising every day. He also acted on television and continued to appear in films until 1965, when he played King Herod in The Greatest Story Ever Told. His haunted, suicidal writer Paul DeLambre in the mountaineering adventure The White Tower (1950), though a modest part, was perhaps the most vigorously memorable film role of his last years. His last marriage was to Rosemary Clark Schrode in 1960. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT7-hUtE98E. His acting was superb, and his eyes could say as much as his voice. Among his many other notable pictures were The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), The Sea Hawk (1940), and Caesar and Cleopatra (1945), in which Rains was reportedly personally chosen by George Bernard Shaw to portray Caesar. Because his father was an actor, the young Rains would spend time in theatres and was surrounded by actors and stagehands. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Claude Rains I found on Findagrave.com. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Sold into syndication after its first telecast, it was repeated annually by many local US TV stations. Captain Jack has been growing that strain for 40 years. 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. Official Sites, Often played sophisticated, sometimes ambiguously moral men. Deceased (18891967) For the Heroes character, see Claude (Heroes). He made a successful Broadway return in 1951, appearing in "Darkness at Noon" winning a Tony Award as Best Actor (Dramatic). Her father died attempting to climb the still unconquered mountain. At the age of ten, Rains made his stage debut in Sweet Nell of Old Drury. The effect of Rains seeming to disappear was created by making a head and body cast of the actor, from which a mask was made. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. Rains is ventriloquist John Fabian with a very lifelike female dummy. Left $25,000 to the Actors Fund of America. He eventually moved on from minor acting parts to larger, better parts. Country music singer. Sheridan was a good friend of mine. 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. He ventured into science fiction for Irwin Allen's The Lost World (1960) and Antonio Margheriti's Battle of the Worlds (1961). In an interview for Turner Classic Movies, Gielgud fondly remembered Rains: I learnt a great deal about acting from this gentleman. Generally he had no problem remembering his lines despite getting along in years. Today Claude Rains would be 133 years old. While teaching at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he met and married one of his students, Isabel Jeans. Won Broadway's 1951 Tony Award as Best Actor (Dramatic) for "Darkness at Noon". He played Dr. Jack Griffin in The Invisible Man (1933). William Claude Rains was born on 10 November 1889 in Camberwell, London. This was followed by a role in the same playwright's 1918 play Abraham Lincoln. 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 remained in England, honing his acting talents, bolstered with instruction patronized by the founder of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, Herbert Beerbohm Tree. He took a Universal Studio screen test that proved positive and his long career in motion pictures began - the greatest portion of which was spent with Warner Brothers where he became a busy actor with his smooth distinguished voice portraying a variety of roles, ranging from villains to sympathetic gentlemen. How old was Claude Rains when he played in Casablanca? Four-time Oscar nominee who starred as Captain Louis Renault in Casablanca and as the title character in the 1933 film The Invisible Man. Keith Whitley. While working for the Theatre Guild, he was offered a screen test with Universal Pictures in 1932. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. [14][15] According to Rains' daughter, this was the only film of his he ever saw. Claude Rains, who brought a silky hint of culture, wit and high birth to so many roles, was born into a London family of small means in 1889. He grew up in the world of theater and made his stage debut in Nell of Old Drury . Learn more about merges. Young and eager Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud were perhaps his best known students. He was buried in nearby Red Hill Cemetery beside his sixth wife who had died three years prior. His "breakout" role came as Julius Caesar in "Caesar and Cleopatra," where he garnered a million dollars for his performance. The character is actually the Emperor of the French Napoleon III) in rehearsal. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/claude-rains-43905.php, 20th Century Film & Theater Personalities, 20th Century British Film & Theater Personalities, 20th Century American Film & Theater Personalities. Try again later. Rains left school after the third year to sell newspapers so that he could bring the pennies and halfpennies home for his mother. Claude Rains was born on the 10th of November, 1889. Bette Davis in an interview with Dick Cavett said about Rains: Well, of course he petrified me. [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. Happy birthday, Claude Rains! They Shall Not Die (Feb 21, 1934 - Apr 1934) Performer: Claude Rains [Nathan G. Rubin] Play Drama Original. His malicious, gouty Don Luis in Anthony Adverse (1936) was inspired. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. . Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Claude Rains (850)? He was the surreptitiously nervous and malignant Alexander Sebastian in Notorious (1946) and the egotistical and domineering conductor Alexander Hollenius in Deception (1946). William Claude Rains was born on November 10, 1889, in Clapham, London, to Emily Eliza and Frederick William Rains, a stage actor, as one of their twelve children. According to his daughter, Jessica Rains, he grew up with "a very serious Cockney accent and a speech impediment"[6] which took the form of a stutter, causing him to call himself "Willie Wains". 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. Contents. We have set your language to ; Fact-checked by. 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. 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. Needing emergency medical attention, he was taken to Lakes Region Hospital where he died of abdominal hemorrhage at age 77. Add to your scrapbook. October 22, 2008 He was nominated for four Academy Awards; acted alongside the likes of Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, and Jimmy Stewart; and was directed by the powerful megaphones of Alfred Hitchcock, Frank Capra, and Irwin Allen. Because his father was an actor, he would spend time in theatres as a child and made his stage debut at the age of ten in Haymarket Theatres Sweet Nell of Old Drury. Learn more about managing a memorial . Rains was almost blind in one eye because of an injury received in a gas attack during World War I. He was famous for being a Stage Actor. He was 77 years old. And that scornful right eyebrow which could freeze an adversary faster than and more effectively than any physical threat. 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 . Claude Akins was born on 25th May 1926 in Nelson, Georgia. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. 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 . He came to the United States in 1913 but returned to England during World War I, serving in the London Scottish Regiment. 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. What happens to atoms during chemical reaction? During the World War II, he served with the US Army Signal Corps in Burma as well as in the Philippines. You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial. Find where to watch Claude Rains's latest movies and tv shows Rains did return to New York in 1927 to begin what would be nearly 20 Broadway roles. Consequently, the work was especially difficult for him, and a double, who was somewhat shorter than Rains, was sometimes used. No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments. He had 11 brothers and sisters; in an era of measles, diptheria and a thousand other childhood scourges, many of the Rains children died in infancy. Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. The actor lived there from 1938 to 1957, and as soon as he completed a film in . Famous actress Bette Davis shared that Claude Rains was her favorite co-star. . Jessica Rains remembered her father's work ethic: He was interested in the process (of film). His performance in the play earned him a Tony Award. Claude was an extremely private manhe never discussed his humble beginnings, his six marriages. Rains portrayed Faulkland in Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The Rivals, presented at London's Lyric Theatre in 1925. When did Claude Rains die? After serving in World War I, he enjoyed a successful stage career in London and taught at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (one of his students was John Gielgud). John Belushi/Brothers, Dan, still a close friend of Jims (they sing in the Blues Brothers Band together) recently introduced him to the man himself; soon, a working relationship took root. These roles include Dr. Gogol in, According to "Claude Rains: An Actor's Voice", he was friends with Helen Westley from the time they were in the Theatre Guild together in New York. Rains died of an abdominal hemorrhage on May 30, 1967. He was then cast in the title role of H.G. This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. 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). 1915) Marie Hemingway (m. 1920; div. William Claude Rains was an English-born American stage and film actor whose career spanned 46 years. [3] His parents were Emily Eliza (ne Cox) and the stage actor Frederick William Rains. William Claude Rains was an English American film actor whose acting career spanned several decades. Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). Know his, Estimated Net Worth, Age, Biography Wikipedia Wiki. 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