Claude Rains

Claude Rains (November 10, 1889 - May 30, 1967) was a British, and later American, theatre and film actor, best known for his many roles in Hollywood films.

Life

Rains was born in Camberwell, London and fought in World War I; he was involved in a gas attack that left him almost blind in one eye for the rest of his life.

Rains' acting talents were recognized by Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, founder of The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Tree paid for the elocution lessons that he needed to succeed as an actor. Later, Rains taught at the institution, working with John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, among others.

Rains' first Hollywood role was the title character in James Whale's The Invisible Man (1933). His distinctive voice won him the role: his face was not seen until the very end of the film.

In 1939, Rains became a naturalized citizen of the United States.

Following The Invisible Man, Universal Studios tried to typecast him in horror films, but he broke free with his Academy Award-nominated role as the conflicted corrupt senator in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), and followed that with probably his most famous role, the French policeman Captain Renault in Casablanca (1942).

Claude Rains in Phantom of the Opera.

In 1946, Rains became the first actor to receive a million dollar salary for his role as Julius Caesar in Caesar and Cleopatra.

In 1951, Rains won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play for Darkness at Noon.

Onscreen, Rains remained a popular character actor in the '50s and '60s, continuing to appear in many films. Two of his more well-known later screen roles were in Lawrence of Arabia (1962), where he played Dryden, a cynical British diplomat, and The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), where he was King Herod. The latter was his final film role.

Rains was married six times and died from an internal haemorrhage, in Laconia, New Hampshire. He was 77 and is interred in the Red Hill Cemetery, Moultonborough, New Hampshire.

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

Academy Award nominations

*1939 Nominated Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
*1944 Nominated Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Casablanca
*1945 Nominated Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Mr. Skeffington
*1947 Nominated Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Notorious

Filmography

Build Thy House (1920) as Clarkis
The Invisible Man (1933) as The Invisible One
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
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 (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
Il Pianeta degli uomini spenti (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 King Herod

External links

*Claude Rains at the Internet Movie Database
*Find A Grave profile for Claude Rains

Rate this Article

Was this article helpful?

Not at all Definitely                  1 2 3 4 5