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William Claude Rains
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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".
Info
- wc Gender: Male
- calendar_month Birth Date: 1889-11-09
- event Death Date 1967-05-30
- school Known for: Acting
- star Popularity: 9.8
- info Birth Place Clapham, London, England, UK
- visibility Views: 7 views
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star User Ratings:
image Images
smart_display Movies and TV shows by Claude Rains
8.2
Casablanca
1943-01-15
7.7
Notorious
1946-08-21
8
Lawrence of Arabia
1962-12-11
10
The Wolf Man
1966-01-01
7.9
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
1939-10-19
6.4
The Greatest Story Ever Told
1965-04-09
5.7
The Lost World
1960-07-13
7.5
The Adventures of Robin Hood
1938-05-13
7.5
The Invisible Man
1933-11-03
6.3
Where Danger Lives
1950-11-16
6.1
Caesar and Cleopatra
1945-12-11
6.4
Angel on My Shoulder
1946-09-20
4.6
Battle of the Worlds
1961-10-30
6.5
Deception
1946-10-26
6.3
They Made Me a Criminal
1939-01-21
7.4
Now, Voyager
1942-10-22
7.2
The Sea Hawk
1940-08-10
6
The Horror Show
1979-02-06
5.8
Crime Without Passion
1934-08-30
7
The Wolf Man
1941-12-12
6.6
The Unsuspected
1947-10-11
5
The Making of a Great Motion Picture
1936-04-15
6.4
Moontide
1942-05-29
6.8
The Prince and the Pauper
1937-04-30
6.7
Mr. Skeffington
1944-05-25
6
The Man Who Watched Trains Go By
1952-12-01
7.3
Forever and a Day
1943-01-21
5.6
Rope of Sand
1949-08-03
5.7
Anthony Adverse
1936-08-26
6.2
Phantom of the Opera
1943-08-12
0
Build Thy House
1920-10-01
5.9
The Clairvoyant
1935-06-07
7
Here Comes Mr. Jordan
1941-08-07
6.5
Four Daughters
1938-08-09
6.6
Passage to Marseille
1944-03-11
5.7
They Won't Forget
1937-07-14
6.9
The Passionate Friends
1949-01-26
7
Breakdowns of 1941
1941-11-14
6.5
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983-02-25
7.2
Kings Row
1942-02-02
5.5
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
1935-02-04
5.5
The White Tower
1950-06-24
6
The Last Outpost
1935-10-11
6.5
Juarez
1939-06-10
6.5
Lady with Red Hair
1940-11-30
5.8
White Banners
1938-06-23
5.1
Four Wives
1939-12-22
6.4
Strange Holiday
1945-10-19
6.1
This Earth Is Mine
1959-07-08
6.2
Daughters Courageous
1939-06-23
5.7
Four Mothers
1941-01-04
6
The Man Who Reclaimed His Head
1934-12-24
5.6
The Pied Piper of Hamelin
1957-11-26
6.4
Saturday's Children
1940-05-04
6.7
Twilight of Honor
1963-11-13
5
Hearts Divided
1936-06-20
6.6
Stolen Holiday
1937-02-06
6.4
Sealed Cargo
1951-05-19
5.7
This Love of Ours
1945-11-02
6.9
Gold Is Where You Find It
1938-02-12
6.4
Lisbon
1956-08-17
6
Sons of Liberty
1939-05-20
5.5
Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored
2013-01-29
8
The Opera Ghost: A Phantom Unmasked
2000-01-01
0
Song of Surrender
1949-10-27
0
Breakdowns of 1936
1936-12-30
6
Breakdowns of 1937
1937-12-31
5
Breakdowns of 1938
1938-12-31
6
Blow-Ups of 1946
1946-12-31
6.7
Ingrid Bergman Remembered
1996-04-06
6
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
1988-11-22
6
Scrooge
1935-11-26
0
On Borrowed Time
1957-11-17
6
Breakdowns of 1942
1942-12-31
9
Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman
2007-05-16
6.9
Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man'
1999-01-01
0
Judgment at Nuremberg
1959-04-16
5.3
Naked City
1958-09-30
6.6
The Ed Sullivan Show
1948-06-20
8.7
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951-12-24
7.7
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955-10-02
6
Sam Benedict
1962-09-15
7.2
Rawhide
1959-01-09
5.4
Dr. Kildare
1961-09-27
7.5
Playhouse 90
1956-10-04
7.7
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955-10-02
7.7
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955-10-02
7.7
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955-10-02
7.7
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955-10-02
8.7
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951-12-24
8.5
Svengoolie
1995-01-07
7.7
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955-10-02