Star of the Month-Claude Rains

 

BORN: November 10, 1889

DEATH: May 30, 1967

AGED: 77 years

DIED FROM: abdominal hemorrhage from cirrhosis of the liver brought on by acute alcoholism 

REAL NAME: William Claude Rains

MARRIED: 6 times! Isabel Jeans( famous actress on to her own), Marie Hemingway, Beatrix Thomson, France’s Propper, Agi Jambor, Rosemary Schrode ( her death)

AFFAIRS: one place I read said Bette Davis but I highly doubt that

CHILDREN: 1 daughter

OSCAR NOMINATIONS: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington(1939), Casablanca(1943), Mr. Skeffington (1944), Notorious (1946)

OSCAR WINS: not one time!!!

TALENT: aside from acting, he loved to farm and owned one which was his refuge

KNOWN FOR: His mellifluous voice which could be sinister and soothing. His piercing eyes. 

Claude Rains is one of my favourite actors who has appeared in many great films that are too numerous to mention here but are so good that, even a poor film, is better just for Claude Rains being in it. That he never won an Oscar, is a crime but he is in  good company with Cary Grant, Thelma Ritter, Rosalind Russell, and Barbara Stanwyck also in this club. His dad was an actor and his son wanted to be one from early on. He had a thick Cockney accent and a speech impediment but that didn’t stop him although WW1 did delay his fame. rains was at Vimy when he was injured in a gas attack losing 90% of his right eye and it affected his vocal chords. After the war, he met Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, the founder of RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts) who discovered Claude and could see the potential but not before paying for elocution lessons to have Claude lose the Cockney accent and the speech impediment. Claude Rains was so good that he became a teacher at RADA and had Sir John Gielgud and Charles Laughton as his students. 

When Claude Rains moved to the States, his voice was heard and was perfect for the role as the Invisible Man and became famous. From that moment, Rains appeared in many great films ( and some not so great ones) gaining a reputation as a stellar actor. He not only learned his own lines but he learned the who script! Many enjoyed working with him like Bette Davis who counted him as her favourite actor. He was not tall at all but he had unusual good looks which seemed to attract many a female and he married 6 of them with 5 ending in divorce. He was not known for playing around or being mean but seemed to pick the wrong type..at least a couple of times. 2 of his wives had affairs on him and the one, Frances Propper, had a daughter with him. When she was a tween, Frances came to her and told she was leaving her dad and to come with her but her daughter refused. 

In the Late 40s and 50s, he owned a farm that he thoroughly enjoyed working on and had a knack for. It was his refuge. He was known for his wit and elegant style. He played Prince John as a gay man and revelled in it, apparently, because it got away from the censors. I don’t know why he drank so much but would love to read his biography and learn more about this man. I will end this with what Rains wanted, and got, on his headstone, “All things once, are things forever, Soul, once living, lives forever.”

FILMS( My Favs…too hard)

1. Casablanca-1943

2. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington-1939

3. Caesar and Cleopatra-1945

4. Here Comes Mr. Jordan-1941

5. Notorious-1946

6. Now, Voyager-1942

7. The Invisible Man-1933

8. The Adventures of Robin Hood-1938

9. They Made Me A Criminal-1939

10. Phantom of the Opera-1943

11. The Wolf Man-1941

There are so many more that I have yet to see but you can add to these, of course.