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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). 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
1889 births | 1967 deaths | Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nominees | English actors | Film actors | Hollywood Walk of Fame | Londoners | Naturalized citizens of the United States | Entertainers who died in their 70s
"Claude Rains"