80-658: William Claude Rains (10 November 1889 – 30 May 1967) was a British-American actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. After his American film debut as Dr. Jack Griffin in The Invisible Man (1933), he appeared in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), The Wolf Man (1941), Casablanca (1942), Kings Row (1942), Notorious (1946), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), and The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965). He
160-517: A Scottish -born American, a Detroit -based inventor, best known for founding the Buick Motor Company. Harley-Davidson – The Davidson brothers were of Scottish descent (William. A., Walter and Arthur Davidson ) and William S. Harley of English descent. Along with Indian Motorcycle Manufacturing Company was the largest and most recognizable American motorcycle manufacturer. Baseball – The earliest recorded game of base-ball for which
240-480: A Chinese farmer). Although he had played the single supporting role in the silent, Build Thy House (1920), Rains came relatively late to film acting. While working for the Theatre Guild , he was offered a screen test with Universal Pictures in 1932. His screen test for A Bill of Divorcement (1932) for a New York representative of RKO was a failure but, according to some accounts, led to his being cast in
320-671: A Continental Navy lieutenant) on the ship Alfred in Philadelphia). In addition, some places were named after the kings and queens of the former kingdoms of England and Ireland . The name Virginia was first applied by Queen Elizabeth I (the "Virgin Queen") and Sir Walter Raleigh in 1584., the Carolinas were named after King Charles I and Maryland named so for his wife, Queen Henrietta Maria (Queen Mary). The Borough of Queens in New York
400-470: 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. Bette Davis in an interview with Dick Cavett said about Rains: Well, of course he petrified me. The first time I played with him was in Carlotta ( Juarez ), and I had to make an entrance [into]
480-592: A first approximation of the truth", the Census Bureau commissioned a study to produce new scientific estimates of the colonial American population, in collaboration with the American Council of Learned Societies , in time to be adopted as basis for legal immigration quotas in 1929, and later published in the journal of the American Historical Association , reproduced in the table below. Note: as in
560-583: A game of baseball on Easter Monday 1755 in Guildford , Surrey ; Bray's diary was verified as authentic in September 2008. This early form of the game was apparently brought to North America by British immigrants. The first appearance of the term that exists in print was in " A Little Pretty Pocket-Book " in 1744, where it is called Base-Ball. Today, rounders , which has been played in England since Tudor times, holds
640-721: A life of insanity in Kings Row (1942) and the cynical police chief Captain Louis Renault in Casablanca (also 1942). On loan again, Rains played the title character in Universal's remake of Phantom of the Opera (1943). In her 1987 memoir, This 'N That , Bette Davis stated that Rains (with whom she shared the screen four times in Juarez ; Now, Voyager ; Mr. Skeffington ; and Deception )
720-421: A long piece of dialogue. Generally he had no problem remembering his lines despite getting along in years. However, there was one particularly long scene shot late at night where he was having a lot of trouble with the dialogue, and kept making excuses. And finally he paused and said with a sheepish look " Alibi Ike , good old Alibi Ike" ("Alibi Ike" being an expression based on a 1935 film of the same name, in which
800-422: A mere 5′6″, yet his enormous talent and immense stage presence made him a giant among his colleagues. During a stage and film career that spanned six decades, Rains encompassed some of the most memorable and exciting characters ever created by an actor. Villains were a Rains specialty, particularly those of a suave and sarcastic nature; and yet when the role called for it, Rains could be remarkably moving and even add
880-552: A refugee Nazi agent opposite Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman . Back in Britain, he appeared in David Lean 's The Passionate Friends (1949). His only singing and dancing role was in a 1957 television musical version of Robert Browning 's The Pied Piper of Hamelin , with Van Johnson as the Piper. The NBC colour special, broadcast as a film rather than a live or videotaped programme,
SECTION 10
#1732863333701960-625: A result of the 1970 MGM auction . Rains starred in multiple plays and productions over the course of his career, playing a variety of leading and supporting parts. As his film career began to flourish, he found less time to perform in the theatre in both England and America. 1949. Ford Theatre. The horn blows at midnight with Jack Benny. https://www.google.com/search?q=Ford+Theatre+radio+show+the+Horn+blows+at+midnight&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari British-American British Americans usually refers to Americans whose ancestral origin originates wholly or partly in
1040-682: A result of the British colonization of the Americas , what became the United States was "easily the greatest single destination of emigrant British". Historically in the 1790 United States census estimate and presently in Australia , Canada , and New Zealand "people of British origin came to constitute the majority of the population" contributing to these states becoming integral to the Anglosphere . There
1120-407: A significant drop overall, especially from the 1980 census where 49.59 million people reported English ancestry and larger numbers reported Scottish, Welsh and North Irish ancestry also. Demographers regard current figures as a "serious under-count", as a large proportion of Americans of British descent have a tendency to simply identify as 'American' since 1980 where over 13.3 million or 5.9% of
1200-560: A similarity to baseball. Although, literary references to early forms of "base-ball" in the United Kingdom pre-date use of the term "rounders". In addition to baseball, American football is a sport that developed from soccer and Rugby , which are both sports that originated in the British Isles. Bowling or ten-pin bowling derived from Nine-Pins ( nine-pin bowling ) brought over by early British settlers. The Grand Union Flag
1280-416: A total of 11.0% being "not specified". Additional responses were Cornish (3,991), Northern Irish 4,009 and Manx 6,317. Most of the population who stated their ancestry as "American" (20,625,093 or 7.3%) are said to be of old colonial British ancestry. Following are the top 10 highest percentage of people of English, Scottish and Welsh ancestry, in U.S. communities with 500 or more total inhabitants (for
1360-410: A touch of pathos without losing any of his effectiveness. In Twilight of Honor Rains played a retired lawyer acting as a mentor to Chamberlain's character. Reminiscing about his work with Rains, Chamberlain said: He was in his seventies then and in failing health, yet he was charming and totally professional on the set. It was clear to us that he loved practicing his craft; he dazzled us all. Claude
1440-643: Is also a significant population of people with British ancestry in South Africa . An English presence in North America began with the Roanoke Colony and Colony of Virginia in the late-16th century, but the first successful English settlement was established in 1607, on the James River at Jamestown . By the 1610s, an estimated 1,300 English people had traveled to North America, the "first of many millions from
1520-605: Is concentrated in countries that had mass migration such as the United States and that are part of the English-speaking world . A 2006 publication from the Institute for Public Policy Research estimated 5.6 million British-born people lived outside of the United Kingdom. After the Age of Discovery , the British were one of the earliest and largest communities to emigrate out of Europe, and
1600-464: Is considered to be the first national flag of the United States . The design consisted of 13 stripes, red and white, representing the original Thirteen Colonies , the canton on the upper left-hand corner bearing the British Union Flag , the red cross of St. George of England with the white cross of St. Andrew of Scotland. The flag was first flown on December 2, 1775, by John Paul Jones (then
1680-736: Is not differentiated between modern Northern Ireland (part of the United Kingdom ) and the Republic of Ireland , which was part of the United Kingdom during the greatest phase of Irish immigration. Figures for Manx and Cornish ancestries are not separately reported, although Manx was reported prior to 1990, numbering 9,220 on the 1980 census, and some estimates put Cornish ancestry as high as 2 million. This figure also does not include people reporting ancestries in countries with majority or plurality British ancestries, such as Canadian, South African, New Zealander (21,575) or Australian (105,152). There has been
SECTION 20
#17328633337011760-550: The Appalachia . Much of American culture shows influences from nation states of British culture . Colonial ties to Great Britain spread the English language , legal system and other cultural attributes. Historian David Hackett Fischer has posited that four major streams of immigration from the British Isles in the colonial era contributed to the formation of a new American culture, summarized as follows: Fischer's theory acknowledges
1840-563: The British Empire 's expansion during the latter half of the 18th century and first half of the 19th century saw an "extraordinary dispersion of the British people", with particular concentrations "in Australasia and North America ". The British Empire was "built on waves of migration overseas by British people", who left the United Kingdom and "reached across the globe and permanently affected population structures in three continents". As
1920-491: The Channel Islands and Gibraltar . Based on 2020 American Community Survey estimates, 1,934,397 individuals identified as having British ancestry, while a further 25,213,619 identified as having English ancestry, 5,298,861 Scottish ancestry and 1,851,256 Welsh ancestry. The total of these groups, at 34,298,133, was 10.5% of the total population. A further 31,518,129 individuals identified as having Irish ancestry, but this
2000-667: The Immigration Act of 1924 , which imposed numerical quotas on each country of Europe limiting the number of immigrants to be admitted out of a finite total annual pool. The size of each national quota was determined by the National Origins Formula , in part computed by estimating the origins of the colonial stock population descended from White Americans enumerated in the 1790 Census . The undercount of other colonial stocks like German Americans and Irish Americans would thus have contemporary policy consequences. When CPG
2080-480: The United Kingdom ( England , Scotland , Wales , and Northern Ireland and also the Isle of Man , the Channel Islands , and Gibraltar ). It is primarily a demographic or historical research category for people who have at least partial descent from peoples of Great Britain and the modern United Kingdom , i.e. English , Scottish , Irish , Welsh , Scotch-Irish , Orcadian , Manx , Cornish Americans and those from
2160-622: The United Kingdom . In 1927, proposed immigration quotas based on CPG figures were rejected by the President's Committee chaired by the Secretaries of State , Commerce , and Labor , with the President reporting to Congress "the statistical and historical information available raises grave doubts as to the whole value of these computations as the basis for the purposes intended." Among the criticisms of A Century of Population Growth : Concluding that CPG "had not been accepted by scholars as better than
2240-502: The right of the Parliament of Great Britain to govern them without representation ; they proclaimed their independence in 1776, and subsequently constituted the first thirteen states of the United States of America, which became a sovereign state in 1781 with the ratification of the Articles of Confederation . The 1783 Treaty of Paris represented Great Britain's formal acknowledgment of
2320-698: 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." Rains signed a long-term contract with Warner Bros. on 27 November 1935, with Warner able to exercise the right to loan him to other studios and Rains having a potential income of up to $ 750,000 over seven years. He played the villainous role of Prince John in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). 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 revealed to his daughter that he had enjoyed playing
2400-440: The "great prides" of his life. Here, he became a "gentleman farmer" and could relax and enjoy farming life with his then wife (Frances) churning the butter, their daughter collecting the eggs, with Rains himself ploughing the fields and cultivating the vegetable garden. He spent much of his time between film takes reading up on agricultural techniques to try when he got home. He sold the farm when his marriage to Propper ended in 1956;
2480-500: The 2020 census. Response rates for the question on ancestry was 83.1% (1980) 90.4% (1990) and 80.1% (2000) for the total population of the United States. Ethnic distribution in 1700. According to estimates by Thomas L. Purvis (1984), published in the European ancestry of the United States , gives the ethnic composition of the American colonies from 1700 to 1755. British ancestry in 1755
Claude Rains - Misplaced Pages Continue
2560-630: The British Isles". In 1620, the Pilgrims established the English imperial venture of Plymouth Colony , beginning "a remarkable acceleration of permanent emigration from England" with over 60% of trans-Atlantic English migrants settling in the New England Colonies . During the 17th century, an estimated 350,000 English and Welsh migrants arrived in North America, which in the century after the Acts of Union 1707
2640-498: The British film Build Thy House (1920). During his early years, Rains taught at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA). John Gielgud and Charles Laughton were among his students. In an interview for Turner Classic Movies , Gielgud fondly remembered Rains: I learnt a great deal about acting from this gentleman. Claude Rains was one of my teachers at RADA. In fact he was one of the best and most popular teachers there. He
2720-615: The King of France's domain for a rehearsal, and he's playing the King of France (N.B. The character is actually the Emperor of the French Napoleon III ) in rehearsal. As all of us "other era people," we don't just run through lines and say "turn the camera", we rehearse beforehand...Anyway Claude and I couldn't, and he was the King of France who loathed Carlotta, and I was a kid and petrified of Mr. Rains, so I thought he hated me . I didn't know he
2800-402: The U.S. and their influence on the country's population. A leading specialist, Charlotte Erickson, found them to be ethnically "invisible". This may be due to the early establishment of British settlements; as well as to non-English groups having emigrated in order to establish significant communities. Table below shows census results between 1980 (when data on ancestry was first collected) and
2880-507: The United States in 1912 owing to the opportunities that were being offered in the New York theatres. However, at the outbreak of World War I in 1914, he returned to England to serve in the London Scottish Regiment , alongside fellow actors Basil Rathbone , Ronald Colman , Herbert Marshall and Cedric Hardwicke . In November 1916, Rains was involved in a gas attack at Vimy , which resulted in his permanently losing 90 percent of
2960-651: The United States' sovereignty at the end of the American Revolutionary War . In the original Thirteen Colonies , most laws contained elements found in the English common law system. The vast majority of the Founding Fathers of the United States were of mixed British extraction. Most of them were of English descent, with smaller numbers of those of Scottish, Irish or Scots-Irish, and Welsh ancestry. A minority were of high social status and can be classified as White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP). Many of
3040-534: The United States, the British find Americans a "mysterious and paradoxical people, physically distant but culturally close, engagingly similar yet irritatingly different". For over two centuries (1789–2009) of early U.S. history, all Presidents with the exception of two (Van Buren and Kennedy) were descended from the varied colonial British stock, from the Pilgrims and Puritans to the Scotch-Irish and English who settled
3120-729: The Worlds (1961). Two of his late screen roles were as Dryden , a cynical British diplomat in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and King Herod in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), his last film. In CBS's Rawhide , he portrayed Alexander Langford, an attorney in a ghost town, in the episode "Incident of Judgement Day" (1963). 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
3200-477: The actor when Rains was featured as Turner Classic Movies ' Star of the Month: Claude Rains has to be considered one of the finest actors of the 20th century. As soon as you hear that marvelous, unmistakable voice of honey mixed with gravel, he becomes instantly recognizable. And that scornful right eyebrow which could freeze an adversary faster than and more effectively than any physical threat. He stood at
3280-627: The auction were many volumes of his private leather-bound scrapbooks which contained many of his press cuttings and reviews from the beginning of his career. The majority of the items were used to help David J. Skal write his book on Rains, An Actor's Voice . In 2011, the ivory military uniform (complete with medals) he wore as Captain Renault in Casablanca was put up for auction when noted actress and film historian Debbie Reynolds sold her collection of Hollywood costumes and memorabilia which she had amassed as
Claude Rains - Misplaced Pages Continue
3360-523: The building now, as then, is still referred to by locals as "Rains' Place". Rains spent his final years in Sandwich , New Hampshire . In his final years, he decided to write his memoirs and engaged the help of journalist Jonathan Root to assist him. Rains' declining health delayed their completion and with Root's death in March 1967 the project was never completed. A chronic alcoholic , Rains died from cirrhosis of
3440-496: The cinema's gain. And the striking virtuosity that I witnessed as a young actor is now there for audiences everywhere to see for all time. I'm so glad of that." Rains became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1939. He married six times and was divorced from the first five of his wives: Isabel Jeans (married 1913–1915); Marie Hemingway (to whom Rains was married for less than a year in 1920); Beatrix Thomson (1924–8 April 1935); Frances Propper (9 April 1935 – 1956); and
3520-517: The classical pianist Agi Jambor (4 November 1959 – 1960). In 1960, he married Rosemary Clark Schrode, to whom he was married until her death on 31 December 1964. His only child, Jennifer, was the daughter of Frances Propper. As an actress, she is known as Jessica Rains. He acquired the 380-acre (1.5 km) Stock Grange Farm, built in 1747 in West Bradford Township , Pennsylvania (just outside Coatesville ), in 1941. The farm became one of
3600-450: The clips, the whole audience burst into a great wave of applause." Bette Davis often cited Rains as one of her favorite actors and colleagues. Gielgud said that he once wrote that "The London stage suffered a great loss when Claude Rains deserted it for motion pictures," and that he later added, "but when I see him now on the screen and remember him, I must admit that the London stage's loss was
3680-483: The ethnic composition. A study published in 1909 titled A Century of Population Growth by the Census Bureau estimated the British origin combined were around 90% of the white population. Another source by Thomas L. Purvis in 1984 estimated that people of British ancestry made up about 62% of the total population or 74% of the white or European American population. Some 81% of the total United States population
3760-466: The founder of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art . Tree told Rains that in order to succeed as an actor, he would have to get rid of his Cockney accent and speech impediment. With this in mind, Tree paid for the elocution books and lessons that Rains needed to help him change his voice. Rains eventually shed his accent and speech impediment after practising every day. His daughter Jessica, when describing her father's voice, said, "The interesting thing to me
3840-467: The lead character has a penchant for making up excuses). Of course in the finished film he played the scene flawlessly, as he always did. Claude Rains: truly a class act, on and off screen. Many years after Rains had gone to Hollywood and become a well-known film actor, John Gielgud commented, tongue-in-cheek: There was somebody who taught me a very great deal at drama school, and I am certainly grateful to him for his kindness and consideration. His name
3920-713: The liver , having an abdominal hemorrhage in Laconia on 30 May 1967, aged 77. His daughter said, "And, just like most actors, he died waiting for his agent to call." He was buried at the Red Hill Cemetery in Moultonborough , New Hampshire . He designed his own tombstone which reads "All things once, Are things forever, Soul, once living, lives forever". In 2010, many of Rains' personal effects were put into an auction at Heritage Auctions , including his 1951 Tony award, rare posters, letters and photographs. Also included in
4000-536: The original CPG report, the "English" category encompassed England and Wales , grouping together all names classified as either " Anglican " (from England ) or " Cambrian " (from Wales ). [REDACTED] Estimated British American population in the Continental United States as of the 1790 Census [REDACTED] The 1980 census was the first that asked people's ancestry . The 1980 United States Census reported 61,327,867 individuals or 31.67% of
4080-592: The original source survives, involved the family of George II of Great Britain , played indoors in London in November 1748. The Prince is reported as playing "Bass-Ball" again in September 1749 in Walton-on-Thames , Surrey, against Lord Middlesex. The English lawyer William Bray wrote in his diary that he had played a game of baseball on Easter Monday 1755 in Guildford , also in Surrey . English lawyer William Bray recorded
SECTION 50
#17328633337014160-426: The other three being of Spanish origin. Not to be confused are cases when the term is also used in an entirely different (although possibly overlapping) sense to refer to people who are dual citizens of both the United Kingdom and the United States. Americans of British heritage are often seen, and identify, as simply " American " due to the many historic, linguistic and cultural ties between Great Britain and
4240-564: The piano solos performed by Glenn Gould . He starred in The Jeffersonian Heritage , a 1952 series of 13 half-hour radio programmes recorded by the National Association of Educational Broadcasters and syndicated for commercial broadcast on a sustaining (i.e., commercial-free) basis. Jessica Rains remembered her father's work ethic: He was interested in the process (of film). He loved acting. When he came to California to do
4320-469: The play Sweet Nell of Old Drury at the Haymarket Theatre , so that he could run around onstage as part of the production. He slowly worked his way up in the theatre, becoming a call boy (telling actors when they were due on stage) at His Majesty's Theatre and later a prompter, stage manager, understudy, and then moving on from smaller parts with good reviews to larger, better parts. Rains moved to
4400-549: The presence of other groups of immigrants during the colonial period, both from the British Isles (the Welsh and the Highland Scots) and not (Germans, Dutch, and French Huguenots), but believes that these did not culturally contribute as substantially to the United States as his main four. Apple pie – New England was the first region to experience large-scale English colonization in the early 17th century, beginning in 1620, and it
4480-574: The prewar WASP elite were Loyalists who left the new nation. Nevertheless, longstanding cultural and historical ties have, in more modern times, resulted in the Special Relationship , the exceptionally close political, diplomatic and military co-operation of United Kingdom – United States relations . Linda Colley , a professor of history at Princeton University and specialist in Britishness, suggested that because of their colonial influence on
4560-581: The prince as a homosexual , by using subtle mannerisms. 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." On loan to Columbia Pictures , he portrayed a corrupt but honourable U.S. senator in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), for which he received his first Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor. For Warner Bros., he played Dr. Alexander Tower, who commits murder-suicide to spare his daughter
4640-872: The time I first met him in the 1920s he was already much in demand as a character actor in London. I found him enormously helpful and encouraging to work with. I was always trying to copy him in my first years as an actor, until I decided to imitate Noël Coward instead. In London theatre, he achieved success in the title role of John Drinkwater's play Ulysses S. Grant , the follow-up to the same playwright's Abraham Lincoln . Rains portrayed Faulkland in Richard Brinsley Sheridan 's The Rivals , presented at London's Lyric Theatre in 1925. He returned to New York City in 1927 and appeared in nearly 20 Broadway roles, in plays which included George Bernard Shaw 's The Apple Cart and dramatisations of The Constant Nymph and Pearl S. Buck 's novel The Good Earth (as
4720-446: The title role of James Whale 's The Invisible Man (1933) after his screen test and unique voice were inadvertently overheard from the next room. His agent, Harold Freedman, was a family friend of Carl Laemmle , who controlled Universal Pictures at the time, and had been acquainted with Rains in London and was keen to cast him in the role. According to Rains' daughter, this was the only film of his he ever saw. He also did not go to see
4800-554: The total U.S. population self-identified as "American" or "United States", this was counted under "not specified". This response is highly overrepresented in the Upland South , a region settled historically by the British. Those of mixed European ancestry may identify with a more recent and differentiated ethnic group. Of the top ten family names in the United States (2010), seven have English origins or having possible mixed British Isles heritage (such as Welsh, Scottish or Cornish),
4880-490: The total U.S. population self-identified as having British descent. In 1980, 16,418 Americans reported "Northern Islander". No Scots-Irish (descendants of Ulster-Scots ) ancestry was recorded, although over ten million people identified as Scottish. This figure fell to over 5 million each in the following census when the Scotch-Irish were first counted. Over 90.4% of the United States population reported at least one ancestry, 9.6% (23,921,371) individuals as "not stated" with
SECTION 60
#17328633337014960-419: The total list of the 101 communities, see references) As of 2020, the distribution of British Americans (combined English, Welsh, Scottish, Scotch-Irish, and British ancestry self-identification) across the 50 states and DC is as presented in the following table: The British diaspora consists of the scattering of British people and their descendants who emigrated from the United Kingdom. The diaspora
5040-759: The vision in his right eye as well as suffering vocal cord damage. He never returned to combat but continued to serve with the Transport Workers Battalion of the Bedfordshire Regiment , in which he was commissioned as a temporary lieutenant on 9 May 1917. In March 1918, he was promoted to temporary captain, the rank he held at the end of the war. On 8 October 1918 he was appointed as adjutant , and continued to serve in that role until March 1919. After his return to civilian life, Rains remained in England and continued to develop his acting talents. These talents were recognised by Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree ,
5120-413: Was Claude Rains. I don't know whatever happened to him. I think he failed, and had to go to America. Gielgud later went on to recollect a time when he was in New York and in the audience during an event that included a focus on Bette Davis : "A number of clips from many of her most successful films were shown and I was particularly delighted, when, as soon as Claude Rains appeared in the close-up of one of
5200-410: Was a Tony Award –winning actor and a four-time nominee for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor . Rains was one of the screen's great character stars who played cultured villains. William Claude Rains was born on 10 November 1889 at 26 Tregothnan Road in Clapham , London . His parents were Emily Eliza ( née Cox) and stage actor Frederick William Rains . He lived in the slums of London. Rains
5280-424: Was a very small man and Bergman was quite tall, so in order to shoot them in close-up together (in the key scene) the resourceful Alfred Hitchcock had a ramp installed, so as Rains approaches Bergman on camera he appears taller than his co-star. Claude found this ramp business a bit embarrassing and very funny. I got another taste of Claude's witty nature shooting a scene in his [next-to-last] film, in which he had
5360-421: Was an extremely private man—he never discussed his humble beginnings, his six marriages. But get him into a conversation about acting, and he opened up with delightful anecdotes and fascinating stories about his long life as a thespian. One day on the set I mentioned to him that Notorious was one of my favorite films, and Claude related with amusement the filming of a particular scene with Ingrid Bergman . Rains
5440-402: Was dominated by East Anglian Calvinists, better known as the Puritans . Baking was a particular favorite of the New Englanders and was the origin of dishes seen today as quintessentially "American", such as apple pie and the oven-roasted Thanksgiving turkey. "As American as apple pie" is a well-known phrase used to suggest that something is all-American. Buick – David Dunbar Buick was
5520-447: Was estimated to be 63%, comprising 52% English and Welsh, 7.0% Scots-Irish, and 4% Scottish. The ancestry of the 3,929,214 population in 1790 has been estimated by various sources by sampling last names in the very first United States official census and assigning them a country of origin. There is debate over the accuracy between the studies with individual scholars and the Federal Government using different techniques and conclusion for
5600-424: Was extremely attractive and needless to say, all the girls in my class were hopelessly in love with him. He had piercing dark eyes and a beautifully throaty voice, although he had, like Marlene Dietrich , some trouble with the letter 'R'. He lacked inches and wore lifts to his shoes to increase his height. Stocky but handsome, Rains had broad shoulders and a mop of thick brown hair which he brushed over one eye. But by
5680-424: Was her favorite co-star. Rains became the first actor to receive a million-dollar salary when he portrayed Julius Caesar in a large-budget but unsuccessful version of Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra (1945), filmed in Britain . Shaw apparently chose him for the part, although Rains intensely disliked Gabriel Pascal , the film's director and producer. Rains followed it with Alfred Hitchcock 's Notorious (1946) as
5760-584: Was highly successful with the public. 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 1950s and 1960s, appearing in films and as a guest in television series. He played the ventriloquist Fabian on Alfred Hitchcock Presents Season 1 Episode 20 "And So Died Riabouchinska" which aired on February 10, 1956. He ventured into science fiction for Irwin Allen 's The Lost World (1960) and Antonio Margheriti 's Battle of
5840-468: Was named after Catherine of Braganza (Queen Catherine), the wife of the King Charles II . Build Thy House Build Thy House is a 1920 British silent film directed by Fred Goodwins , and starring Henry Ainley , Ann Trevor , Reginald Bach and Claude Rains in his film debut. The screenplay was written by Eliot Stannard from the story by S. Trevor Jones. The film was the winner of
5920-452: Was of European heritage. Around 757,208 were of African descent with 697,624 being slaves. Estimated British American population in the Continental United States as of the 1790 Census . The 1909 Century of Population Growth report came under intense scrutiny in the 1920s; its methodology was subject to criticism over fundamental flaws that cast doubt on the accuracy of its conclusions. The catalyst for controversy had been passage of
6000-437: Was one of twelve children, of whom all but four died while still infants. His mother took in boarders in order to support the family. Rains grew up with a Cockney accent and a speech impediment . Because his father was an actor, the young Rains would spend time in theatres and was surrounded by actors and stagehands. There he observed actors as well as the day-to-day running of a theatre. Rains made his stage debut at age 10 in
6080-452: Was playing the character. I thought, he thinks I just stink! What am I going to do? Eventually we worked together quite a lot and became really great friends, really great friends. Davis later went on to describe him: "Claude was witty, amusing and beautiful, really beautiful, thoroughly enchanting to be with and brilliant." She also praised his performances: "He was marvelous in Deception and
6160-534: Was produced in 1909, the concept of independent Ireland did not even exist. CPG made no attempt to further classify its estimated 1.9% Irish population to distinguish Celtic Irish Catholics of Gaelic Ireland , who in 1922 formed the independent Irish Free State , from the Scotch-Irish descendants of Ulster Scots and Anglo-Irish of the Plantation of Ulster , which became Northern Ireland and remained part of
6240-536: Was surpassed in rate and number by Scottish and Irish migrants. The British policy of salutary neglect for its North American colonies intended to minimize trade restrictions as a way of ensuring they stayed loyal to British interests. This permitted the development of the American Dream , a cultural spirit distinct from that of its European founders. The Thirteen Colonies of British America began an armed rebellion against British rule in 1775 when they rejected
6320-416: Was that he became a different person. He became a very elegant man, with a really extraordinary Mid-Atlantic accent . It was 'his' voice, nobody else spoke like that, half American, half English and a little Cockney thrown in." Soon after changing his accent, he became recognised as one of the leading stage actors in London. At age 29, he made his film debut, playing the role of Clarkis in his only silent film,
6400-409: Was worth the whole thing as the picture wasn't terribly good, but he was so marvelous in the restaurant scene where he's talking about all the food...brilliant, and of course in Mr. Skeffington he was absolutely brilliant as the husband, just brilliant." Richard Chamberlain worked with Rains in what would be his second-to-last film, Twilight of Honor . In 2009, Chamberlain recorded a tribute to
#700299