Claude rains biography wikipedia

He was an extremely honest, entirely self-taught, shy, reserved man who lived quite simply but who always felt very insecure and frightened. Rains' persona of sophistication was self-created and in his acting he never used his own personality, as did so many film stars like Cary Grant and Gary Cooper. Above all, he rarely duplicated his characters and with equal aplomb could be a heavenly messenger Here Comes Mr.

Skeffington, Davis considered Claude Rains the greatest actor she ever worked with and they were friends for 20 years. He made two other popular films with her; as the kindly and understanding psychiatrist in Now, Voyager, , and as an egotistical, brilliant, but mean-spirited composer in Deception, Rains displayed an inherent intelligence in his characterizations, that enabled him to overcome a shallow script or trite dialogue in many films.

Producers and directors knew his broad range and his box-office popularity, and they frequently enlarged or built in roles for him. But even when his part was small Rains' presence was commanding, and he made a powerful impression, such as his portrayal of the mysterious Dr. Tower in Kings Row Rains could suggest thoughts without words, but when he did speak his tone revealed, without affectation, the complexity of his character or set the mood for the scene.

He was often labeled a "villain" simply because in some parts he implied intrigue and exuded an element of cunning. He used his unique voice to intimidate, suggest, or seduce an audience by controlling the pitch, volume, and innuendo; and his timing was impeccable. Perhaps Rains' uniqueness was that he could "put on" a complex personality as easily as other actors use make-up or costumes.

Often his characters seemed to border between being scrupulous and unscrupulous, and while scheming, not necessarily evil; this is most evident in his performance as the wily police captain in Casablanca. He could also throw out a high-pitched maniac laugh that would make you leave the lights on before going to bed. True to Universal's formula mentality, it cast him in similar roles through with some respite in more diverse film roles -- and further relieved by Broadway roles , for the remainder of his contract.

By , he was at Warner Bros. His acting was superb, and his eyes could say as much as his voice. And his mouth could take on both a forbidding scowl and the warmest of smiles in an instant. His malicious, gouty Don Luis in Anthony Adverse was inspired. After a shear lucky opportunity to dispatch his young wife's lover, Louis Hayward , in a duel, he triumphs over her in a scene with derisive, bulging eyes and that high pitched laugh -- with appropriate shadow and light backdrop -- that is unforgettable.

He was kept very busy through the remainder of the s with a mix of benign and devious historical, literary, and contemporary characters always adapting a different nuance -- from murmur to growl -- of that voice to become the person. He culminated the decade with his complex, ethics-tortured Senator "Joe" Paine in Mr. His acting was superb, and his eyes could say as much as his voice.

And his mouth could take on both a forbidding scowl and the warmest of smiles in an instant. His malicious, gouty Don Luis in Anthony Adverse was inspired. After a shear lucky opportunity to dispatch his young wife's lover, Louis Hayward , in a duel, he triumphs over her in a scene with derisive, bulging eyes and that high pitched laugh -- with appropriate shadow and light backdrop -- that is unforgettable.

He was kept very busy through the remainder of the s with a mix of benign and devious historical, literary, and contemporary characters always adapting a different nuance -- from murmur to growl -- of that voice to become the person. He culminated the decade with his complex, ethics-tortured Senator "Joe" Paine in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington That year he became an American citizen.

Into the s, Rains had risen to perhaps unique stature: a supporting actor who had achieved A-list stardom -- almost in a category by himself. His some 40 films during that period ranged from subtle comedy to psychological drama with a bit of horror revisited; many would be golden era classics. He also did not go to see the rushes of the day's filming "because he told me, every time he went he was horrified by his huge face on the huge screen, that he just never went back again.

Roddy McDowall once asked Rains if he had intentionally lampooned Bette Davis in his performance as Prince John, and Rains only smiled "an enigmatic smile. Rains later credited the film's co-director Michael Curtiz with teaching him the more understated requirements of film acting, or "what not to do in front of a camera. For Warner Bros.

Alexander Tower, who commits murder-suicide to spare his daughter a life of insanity in Kings Row and the cynical police chief Captain Louis Renault in Casablanca also On loan again, Rains played the title character in Universal's remake of Phantom of the Opera Skeffington ; and Deception was her favorite co-star. Shaw apparently chose him for the part, although Rains intensely disliked Gabriel Pascal , the film's director and producer.

The NBC colour special, broadcast as a film rather than a live or videotaped programme, was highly successful with the public.

Claude rains biography wikipedia

Sold into syndication after its first telecast, it was repeated annually by many local US TV stations. Rains remained active as a character actor in the s and s, appearing in films and as a guest in television series. He additionally made several audio recordings, narrating some Bible stories for children on Capitol Records , and reciting Richard Strauss 's setting for narrator and piano of Tennyson's poem Enoch Arden , with the piano solos performed by Glenn Gould.

He starred in The Jeffersonian Heritage, a series of 13 half-hour radio programmes recorded by the National Association of Educational Broadcasters and syndicated for commercial broadcast on a sustaining i. He loved acting. When he came to California to do a film, I had to "hear him his lines" as he drove me to school every morning, 10 miles [16 km].

He knew everybody's part. He knew the whole script before he came out to film. I don't think many people did that. The first time I played with him was in Carlotta Juarez , and I had to make an entrance [into] the King of France's domain for a rehearsal, and he's playing the King of France N. As all of us "other era people," we don't just run through lines and say "turn the camera", we rehearse beforehand Rains, so I thought he hated me.