Claude Rains (November 10, 1889 – May 30, 1967) was a British-born theatre and film actor, who later held American citizenship, best known for his many roles in Hollywood films.

Rains was born William Claude Rains (known as 'Willie') in Camberwell, London on November 10, 1889. He grew up with, according to his daughter, "a very serious cockney accent and a speech impediment". His acting talents were recognized by Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, founder of The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and 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 served in the First World War with the London Scottish Regiment (), alongside fellow actors Basil Rathbone, Ronald Colman and Herbert Marshall; he was involved in a gas attack that left him almost 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 that of captain.

Having made his name in the theatre, Rains came late to film acting. His first screen test was a failure, but his 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 the director Michael Curtiz with teaching him the more understated requirements of film acting, or, "what not to do in front of a camera".

In 1939, Rains became a naturalized citizen of the United States. He married six times, the first five of which marriages ended in divorce: Isabel Jeans (1913 - 1915); Marie Hemingway (1920 - 1920); Beatriz Thomas (1924 - 8 April 1935); Frances Propper (9 April 1935 - 1956); Agi Jambor (4 November 1959 - 1960); and to Rosemary Clark Schrode (1960 - 31 December 1964) (her death). He acquired a 380-acre farm in Pennsylvania, and spent much of his time between takes reading up on agricultural techniques. He eventually sold the farm when his marriage to Frances Propper ended in 1956.

Following The Invisible Man, Universal Studios tried to typecast him in horror films, but he broke free, starting with the role of Prince John in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), then with his Academy Award-nominated role as the conflicted corrupt senator in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), and followed those with probably his most famous role, the French policeman Captain Renault in Casablanca (1942).

In 1945, Rains became the first actor to receive a million dollar salary for his role as Julius Caesar in Caesar and Cleopatra.

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

For television, he appeared in his only singing and dancing role, as the Mayor in a musical version of Robert Browning's The Pied Piper of Hamelin, opposite Van Johnson as the Piper. This 1957 NBC color special, shown as a film rather than a live or videotaped program, was highly successful with the public. Sold into syndication after its first telecast, it was repeated annually by many local TV stations.

On screen, Rains remained a popular character actor in the '50s and '60s, continuing to appear in many films. Two of his more well-known later screen roles were in Lawrence of Arabia (1962), where he played Dryden, a cynical British diplomat, and The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), where he was King Herod. The latter was his final film role.

Rains died from an internal haemorrhage, in Laconia, New Hampshire. He was 77 and is interred in the Red Hill Cemetery, Moultonborough, New Hampshire.

He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 6400 Hollywood Boulevard. In 1975, both Rains, and his memorable role as the Invisible Man was referenced in the opening song to the cult film The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

He was also mentioned in the television show Heroes, where the character Claude, who can make himself invisible, refers to himself as "Claude Rains, the Invisible Man."

Academy Award nominations

• 1939 Nominated Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

• 1944 Nominated Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Casablanca

• 1945 Nominated Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Mr. Skeffington

• 1947 Nominated Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Notorious

He and Arthur Kennedy share the record of four losing nominations for Best Supporting Actor Oscar.

Filmography

Trivia

• In the American TV Show Heroes, there is a british character named Claude Rains. Like the real Claude, he is a British man appearing in American media. The character also has a power of invisibility, which is a reference to Claude Rains' lead in the movie The Invisible Man. He is played by Christopher Eccleston.