Rains, Claude

Rains, Claude

▪ British actor
in full  William Claude Rains 
born Nov. 10, 1889, London, Eng.
died May 30, 1967, Laconia, N.H., U.S.

      British motion picture and stage character actor noted for his smooth, distinguished voice, polished, ironic style, and intelligent portrayal of a variety of roles, ranging from villains to sympathetic gentlemen.

      Rains began acting at the age of 11 and worked at various backstage jobs before making his adult stage debut in 1911. After serving in World War I, he enjoyed a successful stage career in London and taught at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (one of his students was John Gielgud (Gielgud, Sir John)). He toured the United States in The Constant Nymph in 1926 and soon made a name for himself on Broadway. Although neither tall nor romantically handsome, Rains had an attractive, expressive face and a commanding voice and stage presence that led to his making a screen test. He was then cast in the title role of H.G. Wells (Wells, H.G.)'s The Invisible Man (1933), directed by James Whale. Although Rains's face is hidden behind bandages throughout most of the film, his ominous voice effectively reflects the heightening madness of the megalomaniacal scientist he portrays.

 Rains went on to play a variety of leading and supporting roles, including criminals, aristocrats, politicians, spies, learned professionals, and family men, all with equal charm and finesse. He displayed great chemistry with Bette Davis (Davis, Bette) as her sympathetic psychiatrist in Now, Voyager (1942) and as her patient, loving husband in Mr. Skeffington (1944), for which he received an Academy Award nomination. Rains was also nominated for Oscars as best supporting actor for his work in three much-loved American film classics: as the corrupt senator in Frank Capra (Capra, Frank)'s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), as the charming, opportunistic police chief in Casablanca (1942), and as the likable, sensitive Nazi agent in love with costar Ingrid Bergman (Bergman, Ingrid) in Alfred Hitchcock (Hitchcock, Sir Alfred)'s Notorious (1946). Among his many other notable pictures are The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), The Sea Hawk (1940), and Caesar and Cleopatra (1945), in which Rains was reportedly personally chosen by George Bernard Shaw (Shaw, George Bernard) to portray Caesar. Rains returned to the stage in the 1950s and also continued to appear in films until 1965.
 

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Claude Rains — For the Heroes character, see Claude (Heroes). Claude Rains Claude Rains in Now, Voyager (1942) Born William Claude Rains 10 November 1889( …   Wikipedia

  • Claude Rains — Para el personaje ficticio, véase Claude Rains (Héroes). Claude Rains Claude Rains en el tráiler de Now Voyager …   Wikipedia Español

  • Claude Rains — 1929 am Broadway Claude Rains (* 10. November 1889 in London, England; † 30. Mai 1967 in Laconia, New Hampshire, USA) war ein britisch US amerikanischer Schauspieler …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Claude Rains — dans Les Enchaînés Données clés Naissance …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Claude Rains (disambiguation) — Claude Rains may refer to:* Claude Rains, English born actor of theatre and film * Claude Rains , name claimed by Claude (Heroes), a character from the TV show Heroes …   Wikipedia

  • Claude (given name) — Claude Claude Debussy (1862 1918), French composer Pronunciation /clod/ Gender us …   Wikipedia

  • Rains — ist der Name folgender Personen: Albert McKinley Rains (1902–1991), amerikanischer Politiker und Abgeordneter Claude Rains (1889–1967), englischer Schauspieler Darby Lloyd Rains (* 1947), Pornodarstellerin aus den 1970er Jahren …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Claude Raines — Claude (Heroes) Claude est un personnage de fiction du feuilleton télévisé américain Heroes (NBC), interprété par Christopher Eccleston. Son histoire Ce qui suit dévoile des moments clés de l’intrigue. Il peut se rendre invisible, ainsi que les… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Claude Gregory — No. 7, 43 Power forward Personal information Date of birth December 26, 1958 (1958 12 26) (age 52) Place of birth Washington, D.C. Nationality …   Wikipedia

  • Claude Harris, Jr. — Claude Harris, Jr. (* 29. Juni 1940 in Bessemer, Alabama; † 2. Oktober 1994 in Birmingham, Alabama) war ein US amerikanischer Jurist und Politiker (Demokratische Partei). Werdegang Claude Harris graduierte 1962 an der University of Alabama in… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”