Add/Update Information: Claude Rains - Actor

Claude Rains was a British-American actor, born in Clapham, London, England on November 10, 1889 as William Claude Rains. He made his stage debut at a young age, and in 1913, he moved to the USA, but went back to England after the outbreak of WWI. He started working in the theater in England under the patronage of the founder of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who helped him hone his talent. He became a teacher at the Academy, and among his students was a young Laurence Olivier. Rains returned to the States in 1927, and worked on Broadway, then signed on with Universal Pictures in 1932, after which he played the leading role in The Invisible Man (1933). In 1939, he became an American citizen. His most notable films include The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Casablanca (1942), and Notorious (1946). Rains died in Laconia, New Hampshire, USA on May 30, 1967