Claude Rains

Claude Rains

Biography: Claude Rains (10 November 1889 – 30 May 1967) was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned 47 years; he later held American citizenship. He was known for many roles in Hollywood films, among them the title role in The Invisible Man (1933), a corrupt senator in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), and, perhaps his most famous performance, Captain Renault in Casablanca (1942). Rains was born William Claude Rains in Camberwell, London on November 10, 1889. He grew up, according to his daughter, with "a very serious cockney accent and a speech impediment". His father was British stage actor Frederick Rains, and the young Rains made his stage debut at 11 in Nell of Old Drury. His acting talents were recognised by Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, founder of The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Tree paid for the elocution lessons Rains needed in order to succeed as an actor. Later, Rains taught at the institution, teaching John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, among others. Rains served in the First World War in the London Scottish Regiment, with fellow actors Basil Rathbone, Ronald Colman and Herbert Marshall. Rains was involved in a gas attack that left him nearly blind in one eye for the rest of his life. However, the war did aid his social advancement and, by its end, he had risen from the rank of Private to Captain. Rains began his career in the London theatre, having a success in the title role of John Drinkwater's play Ulysses S. Grant, the follow-up to the playwright's major hit Abraham Lincoln, and traveled to Broadway in the late 1920s to act in leading roles in such plays as Shaw's The Apple Cart and in the dramatizations of The Constant Nymph, and Pearl S. Buck's novel The Good Earth, as a Chinese farmer. Rains came relatively late to film acting and his first screen test was a failure, but his distinctive voice won him the title role in James Whale's The Invisible Man (1933) when someone accidentally overheard his screen test being played in the next room. Rains later credited director Michael Curtiz with teaching him the more understated requirements of film acting, or "what not to do in front of a camera".

Place of Birth: Not available

Birthday: November 09, 1889

Deathday: May 30, 1967

Popularity:

7.679

Known For

Casablanca
Casablanca

1943-01-15

Notorious
Notorious

1946-08-21

Lawrence of Arabia
Lawrence of Arabia

1962-12-11

The Wolf Man
The Wolf Man

1966-01-01

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

1939-10-19

The Greatest Story Ever Told
The Greatest Story Ever Told

1965-04-09

The Lost World
The Lost World

1960-07-13

The Adventures of Robin Hood
The Adventures of Robin Hood

1938-05-13

The Invisible Man
The Invisible Man

1933-11-03

Where Danger Lives
Where Danger Lives

1950-11-16

Caesar and Cleopatra
Caesar and Cleopatra

1945-12-11

Angel on My Shoulder
Angel on My Shoulder

1946-09-20

Battle of the Worlds
Battle of the Worlds

1961-10-30

Deception
Deception

1946-10-26

They Made Me a Criminal
They Made Me a Criminal

1939-01-21

Now, Voyager
Now, Voyager

1942-10-22

The Sea Hawk
The Sea Hawk

1940-08-10

The Horror Show
The Horror Show

1979-02-06

Crime Without Passion
Crime Without Passion

1934-08-30

The Wolf Man
The Wolf Man

1941-12-12

The Unsuspected
The Unsuspected

1947-10-11

The Making of a Great Motion Picture
The Making of a Great Motion Picture

1936-04-15

Moontide
Moontide

1942-05-29

The Prince and the Pauper
The Prince and the Pauper

1937-04-30

Mr. Skeffington
Mr. Skeffington

1944-05-25

The Man Who Watched Trains Go By
The Man Who Watched Trains Go By

1952-12-01

Forever and a Day
Forever and a Day

1943-01-21

Rope of Sand
Rope of Sand

1949-08-03

Anthony Adverse
Anthony Adverse

1936-08-26

Phantom of the Opera
Phantom of the Opera

1943-08-12

Build Thy House
Build Thy House

1920-10-01

The Clairvoyant
The Clairvoyant

1935-06-07

Here Comes Mr. Jordan
Here Comes Mr. Jordan

1941-08-07

Four Daughters
Four Daughters

1938-08-09

Passage to Marseille
Passage to Marseille

1944-03-11

They Won't Forget
They Won't Forget

1937-07-14

The Passionate Friends
The Passionate Friends

1949-01-26

Breakdowns of 1941
Breakdowns of 1941

1941-11-14

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

1983-02-25

Kings Row
Kings Row

1942-02-02

The Mystery of Edwin Drood
The Mystery of Edwin Drood

1935-02-04

The White Tower
The White Tower

1950-06-24

The Last Outpost
The Last Outpost

1935-10-11

Juarez
Juarez

1939-06-10

Lady with Red Hair
Lady with Red Hair

1940-11-30

White Banners
White Banners

1938-06-23

Four Wives
Four Wives

1939-12-22

Strange Holiday
Strange Holiday

1945-10-19

This Earth Is Mine
This Earth Is Mine

1959-07-08

Daughters Courageous
Daughters Courageous

1939-06-23

Four Mothers
Four Mothers

1941-01-04

The Man Who Reclaimed His Head
The Man Who Reclaimed His Head

1934-12-24

The Pied Piper of Hamelin
The Pied Piper of Hamelin

1957-11-26

Saturday's Children
Saturday's Children

1940-05-04

Twilight of Honor
Twilight of Honor

1963-11-13

Hearts Divided
Hearts Divided

1936-06-20

Stolen Holiday
Stolen Holiday

1937-02-06

Sealed Cargo
Sealed Cargo

1951-05-19

This Love of Ours
This Love of Ours

1945-11-02

Gold Is Where You Find It
Gold Is Where You Find It

1938-02-12

Lisbon
Lisbon

1956-08-17

Sons of Liberty
Sons of Liberty

1939-05-20

Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored
Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored

2013-01-29

The Opera Ghost: A Phantom Unmasked
The Opera Ghost: A Phantom Unmasked

2000-01-01

Song of Surrender
Song of Surrender

1949-10-27

Breakdowns of 1936
Breakdowns of 1936

1936-12-30

Breakdowns of 1937
Breakdowns of 1937

1937-12-31

Breakdowns of 1938
Breakdowns of 1938

1938-12-31

Blow-Ups of 1946
Blow-Ups of 1946

1946-12-31

Ingrid Bergman Remembered
Ingrid Bergman Remembered

1996-04-06

James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life

1988-11-22

Scrooge
Scrooge

1935-11-26

On Borrowed Time
On Borrowed Time

1957-11-17

Breakdowns of 1942
Breakdowns of 1942

1942-12-31

Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman
Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman

2007-05-16

Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man'
Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man'

1999-01-01

Judgment at Nuremberg
Judgment at Nuremberg

1959-04-16