JOHN CARRADINE

'John Carradine' (February 5, 1906 – November 27, 1988) was a Daytime Emmy Award-winning American actor, perhaps best known for his roles in horror films and Westerns.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Career

Personal life

Filmography

References

External links

Biography

Early life

Carradine was born 'Richmond Reed Carradine' in New York City, the son of Genevieve Winifred (Richmond), a surgeon, and William Reed Carradine, a correspondent for the Associated Press.^[1] He originally planned a career as a painter and sculptor. He began his career in show business as a Shakespearean dramatic actor and made his cinematic debut in 1930 under the name 'Peter Richmond'. He adopted the stage name "John Carradine" in 1935, and legally took the name as his own two years later.

Career

Carradine appeared in ten John Ford productions, including ''The Grapes of Wrath'' (1940) and ''The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance'' (1962). He also portrayed the Biblical hero Aaron in ''The Ten Commandments'' (1956). He did considerable stage work, much of which provided his only opportunity to work in a classic drama context. He toured with his own Shakespearean company in the 1940s, playing Hamlet and Macbeth. His Broadway roles included Ferdinand in a 1946 production of John Webster's ''The Duchess of Malfi'', the Ragpicker in a 13-month run of Jean Giraudoux's ''The Madwoman of Chaillot'', Lycus in a 15-month run of ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'', and DeLacey in the expensive one-night flop ''Frankenstein'' in 1981. He also toured in road companies of such shows as ''Tobacco Road'' and ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' in which he was properly emaciated as the cancer-ridden Big Daddy.
Carradine appeared in more than 225 movies, sometimes playing eccentric, mad or diabolical characters, especially in the horror genre with which he had become identified as a "star" by the mid-1940s. He even sang the theme song to one film he appeared in briefly, ''Red Zone Cuba''. He also made more than 100 television appearances, including recurring guest appearances as mortician Mr. Gateman on ''The Munsters''. In 1985, Carradine won a Daytime Emmy award for his performance as an eccentric old man who lives by the railroad tracks in the Young People's Special, 'Umbrella Joe'. Carradine's last released film credit was ''Bikini Drive-In'', released years after his death.
Carradine's deep, resonant voice earned him the nickname "The Voice". He was also known as the "Bard of the Boulevard" from his idiosyncratic habit of strolling Hollywood streets while reciting Shakespearean soliloquys. For his contribution to the motion picture industry, John Carradine has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6240 Hollywood Blvd. In 2003, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Personal life

Carradine's four sons all became actors: David Carradine, Robert Carradine, Keith Carradine and Bruce Carradine. David's show, ''Kung Fu'', featured his father John and half-brother Robert in the episode ''Dark Angel''. John would appear as the same character, the Reverend Serenity Johnson, in two more episodes: ''The Nature of Evil'' and ''Ambush''.
Carradine was married four times. His wives were: Ardanelle McCool, mother of Bruce and David, from 1935 to 1941; Sonia Sorel, mother of Keith and Robert, from 1944 to 1956; Doris Rich, 1957 to 1971, ending in her death; and Emily Cisneros, 1975 to 1988, who survived him.
Carradine suffered from painful and crippling arthritis during his later years, but continued working nonetheless.

Filmography

Main articles: John Carradine filmography

References

1. http://www.filmreference.com/film/50/John-Carradine.html

External links

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