Claude Rains facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Claude Rains
Trailer for Now, Voyager (1942)
Born	William Claude Rains (1889-11-10)10 November 1889 Clapham, London, England
Died	30 May 1967(1967-05-30) (aged 77) Laconia, New Hampshire, U.S.
Citizenship	United Kingdom - United States
Alma mater	Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1900–1965
Spouse(s)	Isabel Jeans ​ ​ (m. 1913; div. 1915)​ Marie Hemingway ​ ​ (m. 1920; div. 1920)​ Beatrix Thomson ​ ​ (m. 1924; div. 1935)​ Frances Propper ​ ​ (m. 1935; div. 1956)​ Agi Jambor ​ ​ (m. 1959; div. 1960)​ Rosemary Clark Schrode ​ ​ (m. 1960; died 1964)​
Children	1
Parent(s)	Fred Rains (father)

William Claude Rains (born November 10, 1889 – died May 30, 1967) was a famous British actor. His acting career lasted for nearly 70 years! He was known for playing many different types of characters.

Claude Rains first appeared in an American movie as Dr. Jack Griffin in The Invisible Man (1933). He then starred in many other popular films. Some of these include The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), and Casablanca (1942). He also appeared in Lawrence of Arabia (1962).

Claude Rains won a Tony Award for his stage acting. He was also nominated four times for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Many people thought he was one of the best "character stars" in movies. He was especially good at playing smart villains. Other famous actors, like Bette Davis and Peter O'Toole, admired his work.

Growing Up: Claude Rains' Early Life

William Claude Rains was born in Clapham, London, England, on November 10, 1889. His father, Fred Rains, was also an actor. Claude grew up in a poor part of London. He was one of twelve children, but sadly, many of his siblings died young. His mother took in boarders to help support the family.

When he was young, Claude had a strong Cockney accent and a speech impediment. He even called himself "Willie Wains" because of his stutter. He left school early to sell newspapers and help his family. He also sang in a church choir to earn a few extra pennies.

Claude Rains in his captain's uniform during World War I

Because his father was an actor, young Claude spent a lot of time in theaters. He watched actors and learned how a theater worked. He made his first stage appearance at age ten in a play called Sweet Nell of Old Drury. He slowly worked his way up in the theater world. He started as a "call boy," telling actors when to go on stage. Later, he became a prompter, stage manager, and understudy. Eventually, he started getting bigger and better acting roles.

A 23-year-old Claude Rains in an early theater role, 1912

Becoming an Actor: Early Career and Military Service

In 1912, Claude Rains moved to America. He wanted to find more acting opportunities in New York. However, when World War I began in 1914, he returned to England. He joined the London Scottish Regiment. Other actors like Basil Rathbone and Ronald Colman served with him.

In 1916, Claude Rains was in a gas attack. This caused him to lose most of the sight in his right eye. It also damaged his vocal cords. He did not return to fighting. By the end of the war, he had become a captain.

After the war, Claude Rains kept working on his acting skills in England. Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who started the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, noticed his talent. Tree told Rains that to be a successful actor, he needed to get rid of his Cockney accent and stutter. Tree paid for Rains to have elocution lessons and books. Claude practiced every day and eventually changed his voice. His daughter said he became "a very elegant man, with a really extraordinary Mid-Atlantic accent." Soon, he was known as one of London's top stage actors.

Claude Rains also taught at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA). Famous actors like John Gielgud and Charles Laughton were some of his students.

Claude Rains' Film Career

Claude Rains became famous in London theater. He played the main role in Ulysses S. Grant. He also returned to New York City in 1927. There, he appeared in almost 20 Broadway plays.

Even though he had a small role in a silent film in 1920, Claude Rains started acting in movies later in his career. In 1932, he was offered a screen test for Universal Pictures. His unique voice was accidentally overheard from another room during a screen test. This led to him being cast as the main character in The Invisible Man (1933). This was the only movie his daughter remembers him ever watching. He didn't like watching the daily filming because he felt his face looked too big on the screen.

Claude Rains with Mary Kennedy in a Broadway play, 1929

In 1935, Claude Rains signed a long contract with Warner Bros.. He played the bad guy, Prince John, in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). He later said that the film's director, Michael Curtiz, taught him how to act more subtly for the camera.

He was loaned to Columbia Pictures for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). In this movie, he played a dishonest U.S. senator. This role earned him his first Academy Award nomination. For Warner Bros., he played Dr. Alexander Tower in Kings Row (1942). He also played the clever police chief Captain Renault in Casablanca (1942). He was loaned out again to Universal to play the main character in Phantom of the Opera (1943).

Claude Rains in Notorious (1946)

Actress Bette Davis said Claude Rains was her favorite co-star. They acted together in four movies. Claude Rains became the first actor to earn a million dollars for a single movie role. This was for his part as Julius Caesar in Caesar and Cleopatra (1945). After that, he starred in Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious (1946). In this film, he played a former Nazi agent alongside Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman.

In 1957, Claude Rains had his only singing and dancing role. It was in a TV musical version of The Pied Piper of Hamelin. This show was very popular.

Claude Rains continued to act in movies and TV shows in the 1950s and 1960s. He appeared in science fiction films like The Lost World (1960). Two of his last movie roles were as Dryden in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and King Herod in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965). This was his final film.

He also made several audio recordings. He narrated Bible stories for children and recited a poem called Enoch Arden.

Claude Rains' Personal Life and Later Years

Claude Rains became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1939. He was married six times and had one child, a daughter named Jennifer (who is known as Jessica Rains).

In 1941, he bought a large farm in Pennsylvania. He loved being a "gentleman farmer" there. He enjoyed farming life with his family, plowing fields and growing vegetables. He even read books about farming between takes while filming movies. He sold the farm in 1956.

Claude Rains spent his last years in Sandwich, New Hampshire. He passed away on May 30, 1967, at the age of 77. He was buried in Red Hill Cemetery in Moultonborough, New Hampshire. He designed his own tombstone, which reads: "All things once, Are things forever, Soul, once living, lives forever."

In 2010, many of Claude Rains' personal items were sold at an auction. These included his 1951 Tony Award, old movie posters, letters, and photos. In 2011, the military uniform he wore as Captain Renault in Casablanca was also sold at an auction.

Filmography

Awards and Nominations