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Claude Rains - An Invisible Man
Claude Rains was "the greatest character actor of his age - possibly of all ages," according to film historian Richard Schickel. Classic credits include The Invisible Man, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Now, Voyager, Casablanca, Notorious and Lawrence of Arabia . A stage star in his native England, Rains didn't make his screen debut until age 43. Throughout his career, he hid behind a movie persona that was suave and sophisticated, but off camera he was insecure and had trouble expressing feelings. Good-natured, still he had few friends and was married six times. A proud naturalized American, Victorian values led him to repudiate Tinsel Town - he was happiest puttering around the 18th-century Pennsylvania farm that was his heart and soul. As a teenager, Toby Cohen was thrilled to meet her screen idol backstage after his Broadway triumph. Based on her decades of research and exclusive interviews - with Rains' fifth wife, his sixth wife's children and nephews, his farm neighbors, the doctor who treated him in his final illness - Ms. Cohen has produced not just a biography, but an in-depth, compassionate analysis of a complicated man whose true self was "invisible" to all. With never-before-published candid photographs.
368 pages, Hardcover
Published September 1, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 30, 2022
Some years back, when I was making my way in the NYC theater scene of the early '80s, I made the acquaintance of a young actor who had a unique talent. Many around me agreed - he even made a brief splash in a Broadway hit. In getting to know him, I asked him how he developed his technique and his answer was shockingly candid. He said something like, "I actually have nothing inside me. I'm empty. So I need a role to get lost in and give me character. Then I can be 'complete'".
In retrospect, he represents a particular kind of actor. And, after reading this terrific, newly released biography by Toby I. Cohen, Claude Rains reads to me as this kind of clean-slate performer; someone who never developed as a person - and spent his entire life that way.
It's a cold-shower reminder that acting is illusion. There may be an actual person 'behind the mask' or there may not be. But don't presume.
Cohen's very rich and endlessly detailed tribute (published by a small, independent press - BearManor Media - which has its focus on a wide range of entertainment topics) begins with a chapter of personal disclosure: something not usually done in a work where total objectivity is expected. She tells us that her fascination with Rains began when she was a teenager - as her contemporaries lost their minds over the likes of Clark Gable and Frank Sinatra - and her near-obsession was total. She even saw Rains in his Tony-winning performance in 'Darkness at Noon'... and awkwardly 'met' and photographed him and family members a few times.
But, from that point in the book, Cohen all but vanishes into the background, moving her exhaustively researched study forward. Beginning with the actor's early years of poverty, as the only child in a very troubled marriage (setting the tone for most of what followed), Cohen lays out Rains' career in a no-stone-unturned way - moving methodically from his 'luck' in gaining apprenticeship in the British theater, through his high-profile status as one of Hollywood's most dynamic supporting actors.
Though he may have wanted to be, Rains was never a leading man type; nor did he push himself (exactly) to be one. However, he clearly loved attention and recognition - at times, in his private life, to a disturbing degree. According to Cohen, Rains covered his insatiable need for love with another mask... one of modesty.
He never endeared himself much to others in the theater and movie worlds. ~ which may have cost him a deserved Oscar, since Hollywood is a place that loves ass-kissing.
Cohen goes to great lengths in describing (primarily) Rains' big-screen (and television) work, so the reader learns a satisfying amount about all of the actor's films, even minor ones. A read of this bio is fairly smooth and largely exciting - all the way through to the end of Rains' fourth (longest and most productive) marriage.
Sadly... that marriage ends - when his much-younger wife Frances reached the point where she felt she could no longer muster an allegiance that was leaving her as more of a mere shadow than a life partner. It's then that this riveting study takes a very dark (and gradually depressing) turn, as Rains moves on to a disastrous 5th marriage and then a 6th - which, by comparison, is only a slight facsimile of his 4th.
(The author includes a lot of information on Bette Davis - who co-starred with Rains 4 times: 'Juarez', the standout 'Now, Voyager, ' 'Mr. Skeffington', and the vastly underrated 'Deception'. Davis would have loved to have been a Mrs. Rains but, as the author documents, Rains' feeling about the similarly-charactered Davis was constant: "That woman has been chasing me from the day we met. ...I tried to stay clear of her.")
Of course, Rains continues to work, though his personality is seen as largely to blame for his loss of stature as a performer. Frankly, the last 80-something pages are quite difficult to read. But, true to an ultimate fan's form, Cohen continues on, documenting with a thoroughness that remains admirable.
The bio's subtitle - taken from his first major screen role - is 'An Invisible Man'. The book bears out the fullness of that moniker. Rains is shown to have had a genuine longing to be known as a person, yet simultaneously a fear of that same thing. Ironically, Cohen's celebration of Rains allows us to finally know the man as well as (probably) possible.
Brava, Ms. Cohen, on creating (out of love) a biography that far outshines the many other celebrity bios that do not benefit from this kind of personal investment.
In retrospect, he represents a particular kind of actor. And, after reading this terrific, newly released biography by Toby I. Cohen, Claude Rains reads to me as this kind of clean-slate performer; someone who never developed as a person - and spent his entire life that way.
It's a cold-shower reminder that acting is illusion. There may be an actual person 'behind the mask' or there may not be. But don't presume.
Cohen's very rich and endlessly detailed tribute (published by a small, independent press - BearManor Media - which has its focus on a wide range of entertainment topics) begins with a chapter of personal disclosure: something not usually done in a work where total objectivity is expected. She tells us that her fascination with Rains began when she was a teenager - as her contemporaries lost their minds over the likes of Clark Gable and Frank Sinatra - and her near-obsession was total. She even saw Rains in his Tony-winning performance in 'Darkness at Noon'... and awkwardly 'met' and photographed him and family members a few times.
But, from that point in the book, Cohen all but vanishes into the background, moving her exhaustively researched study forward. Beginning with the actor's early years of poverty, as the only child in a very troubled marriage (setting the tone for most of what followed), Cohen lays out Rains' career in a no-stone-unturned way - moving methodically from his 'luck' in gaining apprenticeship in the British theater, through his high-profile status as one of Hollywood's most dynamic supporting actors.
Though he may have wanted to be, Rains was never a leading man type; nor did he push himself (exactly) to be one. However, he clearly loved attention and recognition - at times, in his private life, to a disturbing degree. According to Cohen, Rains covered his insatiable need for love with another mask... one of modesty.
He never endeared himself much to others in the theater and movie worlds. ~ which may have cost him a deserved Oscar, since Hollywood is a place that loves ass-kissing.
Cohen goes to great lengths in describing (primarily) Rains' big-screen (and television) work, so the reader learns a satisfying amount about all of the actor's films, even minor ones. A read of this bio is fairly smooth and largely exciting - all the way through to the end of Rains' fourth (longest and most productive) marriage.
Sadly... that marriage ends - when his much-younger wife Frances reached the point where she felt she could no longer muster an allegiance that was leaving her as more of a mere shadow than a life partner. It's then that this riveting study takes a very dark (and gradually depressing) turn, as Rains moves on to a disastrous 5th marriage and then a 6th - which, by comparison, is only a slight facsimile of his 4th.
(The author includes a lot of information on Bette Davis - who co-starred with Rains 4 times: 'Juarez', the standout 'Now, Voyager, ' 'Mr. Skeffington', and the vastly underrated 'Deception'. Davis would have loved to have been a Mrs. Rains but, as the author documents, Rains' feeling about the similarly-charactered Davis was constant: "That woman has been chasing me from the day we met. ...I tried to stay clear of her.")
Of course, Rains continues to work, though his personality is seen as largely to blame for his loss of stature as a performer. Frankly, the last 80-something pages are quite difficult to read. But, true to an ultimate fan's form, Cohen continues on, documenting with a thoroughness that remains admirable.
The bio's subtitle - taken from his first major screen role - is 'An Invisible Man'. The book bears out the fullness of that moniker. Rains is shown to have had a genuine longing to be known as a person, yet simultaneously a fear of that same thing. Ironically, Cohen's celebration of Rains allows us to finally know the man as well as (probably) possible.
Brava, Ms. Cohen, on creating (out of love) a biography that far outshines the many other celebrity bios that do not benefit from this kind of personal investment.
May 19, 2023
Impressively thorough biography of my favorite actor. Ms. Cohen's lifelong admiration for Claude Rains shows in every chapter. Four time Academy Award nominee and Tony winner, Claude Rains was much respected on the stage and certainly in Hollywood where he got rave reviews for his performances in classics and even in less than stellar films. I was amazed at the number of interviews she had conducted and research she had done throughout the years. I found this book fascinating and it brought me to care even more about the immensely talented, though sometimes flawed, man at the center.
Want to Read
March 21, 2023Author Toby Cohen will sign copies of her book at the Columbus Moving Picture Show in May 2023.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews