Claude Rains: Encyclopedia II - Claude Rains - Life

Claude Rains - Life

Rains was born in London on November 10, 1889.

He fought in World War I, and was involved in a gas attack that left him almost blind in one eye for the rest of his life.

Rains' acting talents were recognized by Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, founder of The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Tree paid for the elocution lessons that he needed to succeed as an actor. Later, Rains taught at the institution, working with John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, among others.

Rains' first Hollywood role was the title character in James Whale's The Invisible Man (1933). His distinctive voice won him the role: his face was not seen until the very end of the film.

In 1939, Rains became a naturalized citizen of the United States.

Following The Invisible Man, Universal Studios tried to typecast him in horror films, but he broke free with his Academy Award-nominated role as the conflicted corrupt senator in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), and followed that with probably his most famous role, the French policeman Captain Renault in Casablanca (1942).

In 1951, Rains won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play for Darkness at Noon.

Rains died in Laconia, New Hampshire and is interred in the Red Hill Cemetery, Moultonborough, New Hampshire.

He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 6400 Hollywood Blvd.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Life", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki