Colin Clive Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Colin Clive
Trailer for Mad Love (1935)
Born	Colin Glenn Clive-Greig (1900-01-20)20 January 1900 Saint-Malo, Brittany, France
Died	25 June 1937(1937-06-25) (aged 37) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Ashes scattered at sea
Education	Stonyhurst College Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1925–1937
Spouse(s)	Evelyn Taylor (m. 1922; ~~her death~~ 1929) Jeanne de Casalis (m. 1929)

Colin Glenn Clive (born Clive-Greig; 20 January 1900 – 25 June 1937) was a British stage and screen actor. His most memorable role was Henry Frankenstein, the creator of the monster, in the 1931 film Frankenstein and its 1935 sequel, Bride of Frankenstein.

Early life
Hollywood
Personal life
Death
Roles
- Stage
- Film
See also

Early life

Clive was born in Saint-Malo, France, to an English colonel, Colin Philip Greig, and his wife, Caroline Margaret Lugard Clive. He attended Stonyhurst College and subsequently the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, where an injured knee disqualified him from military service and contributed to his becoming a stage actor. He was a member of the Hull Repertory Theatre Company for three years.

Clive created the role of Steve Baker, the white husband of racially mixed Julie LaVerne, in the first London production of Show Boat; the production featured Cedric Hardwicke and Paul Robeson. Clive first worked with James Whale in the Savoy Theatre production of Journey's End and subsequently joined the British community in Hollywood, repeating his stage role in the film version.

Hollywood

Clive's first screen role, in Journey's End (1930), was also directed by James Whale. Clive played the tormented Captain Stanhope, a character that (much like Clive's other roles) mirrored his personal life. He was an in-demand leading man for several major film actresses of the era, including Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Corinne Griffith, and Jean Arthur. He starred as Edward Rochester in the 1934 adaptation of Jane Eyre opposite Virginia Bruce. He was a descendant of Robert Clive and appeared in a featured role in Clive of India (1935), a biopic of his ancestor.

Colin Clive, together with Leo G. Carroll, starred in a radio play titled The Other Place. It was written by John L. Balderston for the radio program The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour hosted by Rudy Vallee. It was aired on 14 November 1935. Clive is set to posthumously reprise his role as Dr. Henry Frankenstein via archive audio in the LEGO film Piece by Piece (2024) releasing in cinemas on 11 October 2024.

Personal life

Clive was married to Jeanne de Casalis in June 1929, though they were estranged for several years before his death.

Death

Colin Clive died from complications of tuberculosis on 25 June 1937 at age 37.

Clive was tormented by the medical threat of amputation of his long-damaged leg.

Forrest J Ackerman recalled visiting Clive's body: "I actually saw him in death, lying in a bed at a mortuary where it was possible for the public to view his body. He looked remarkably as he had when lying in bed in The Bride of Frankenstein." Over 300 mourners turned out. One of the pallbearers was Peter Lorre. His cenotaph is located at Chapel of the Pines Crematory.

Roles

Flyer for Colin Clive's appearance in the 1935 play Libel!

Stage

Peter and Paul (September 1925)
Advertising April (November 1925)

Date of 1st performance	Title	Author(s)	City	Theatre	Role
1925 March 20	Rose-Marie	Otto Harbach, Rudolf Friml, Herbert Stothart	London	Drury Lane	Edward Hawley
1926 May 30	Getting Mother Married	Neil Grant	London	Apollo	Capt. Eric Wilbraham
1927 June 30	Fire	Arthur Rose	London	Everyman Theatre	St. John Sevening
1928 May 3	Show Boat	Oscar Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern	London	Drury Lane	Steve
1928 November 4	The Dark Path	Evan John	London	Savoy Theatre	James Havilland
1929 January 21	Journey's End	R. C. Sherriff	London	Savoy Theatre	Cpt. Stanhope
1929 April 14	Let's Leave It At That	Jeanne de Casalis, Colin Clive	London	Prince of Wales's Theatre	Michael Stern
1929 April 23	Shall We Join the Ladies?	J. M. Barrie	London	PalaceTheatre	Mr. Vaile
1930 February 2	Forty-Seven	Sydney Loch	London	Prince of Wales's Theatre	Forty-Seven
1930 April 22	Hamlet	William Shakespeare	London	Haymarket Theatre	Laertes
1930 June 30	The Swan	Ferenc Molnár	London	St. James's Theatre	Dr. Nicholas Agi
1930 December 5	Overture	William Bolitho	New York	Longacre Theatre	Karl Ritter
1931 May 21	The Crime at Blossoms	Mordaunt Shairp	London	Playhouse Theatre	Christopher Merryman
1932 July 19	Escape	John Galsworthy	London	Garrick Theatre	Matt Denant
1932 August 22	Loyalties	John Galsworthy	London	Garrick Theatre	Ronald Dancy
1932 September 29	Justice	John Galsworthy	London	Garrick Theatre	William Falder
1933 October 28	Eight Bells	Percy G. Mandley	New York	Hudson Theatre	Dale
1933 December 26	The Lake	Dorothy Massingham and Murray MacDonald	New York	Martin Beck Theatre	John Clayne
1935 December 20	Libel	Edward Wooll	New York	Henry Miller's Theatre	Sir Mark Loddon, Bart. M.P.

Film

Journey's End (1930) as Capt. Denis Stanhope (film debut)
Frankenstein (1931) as Henry Frankenstein
The Stronger Sex (1931) as Warren Barrington
Lily Christine (1932) as Rupert Harvey
Christopher Strong (1933) as Sir Christopher Strong
Looking Forward (1933) as Geoffrey Fielding
The Key (1934) as Capt. Andrew 'Andy' Kerr
One More River (1934) as Sir Gerald Corven
Jane Eyre (1934) as Edward Rochester
Clive of India (1935) as Capt. Johnstone
The Right to Live (1935) as Maurice
Bride of Frankenstein (1935) as Henry Frankenstein
The Girl from 10th Avenue (1935) as John Marland
Mad Love (1935) as Stephen Orlac
The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo (1935) as Bertrand Berkeley
The Widow from Monte Carlo (1936) as Lord Eric Reynolds
History Is Made at Night (1937) as Bruce Vail
The Woman I Love (1937) as Capt. Thelis (final role)

Colin Clive facts for kids

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