John Carradine American actor Date of Birth: 05.02.1906 Country: USA

Biography of John Carradine

John Carradine, whose real name was Richmond Reed Carradine, was born in 1906 in New York City, USA. He was the son of surgeon Genevieve Winifred and her husband, Associated Press reporter William Reed Carradine. The family lived in Peekskill and Kingston, New York. Unfortunately, John's father passed away from tuberculosis when he was just two years old. His mother remarried a paper manufacturer named Mr. Peck, who was not very kind to John and often resorted to physical punishment.

John attended a Christian school in Kingston and later studied at the Episcopal Academy in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. It was during his time there that he trained his memory and improved his diction by memorizing and reciting passages from the "Episcopal Book of Common Prayer" as a form of punishment for students.

At the age of 11, John became fascinated with the stage and decided to pursue a career in acting. He made his stage debut in 1925 in New Orleans, performing in the play "Camille" and later became a member of the New Orleans Shakespeare company. In 1927, he worked as a cargo escort for banana shipments from Dallas, Texas to Los Angeles, where he eventually managed to join a local theater. During this time, he used the pseudonym "Peter Richmond" in honor of his uncle. He befriended John Barrymore and started working as a set designer and decorator for Cecil B. DeMille. DeMille discovered John's beautiful baritone voice and soon he was providing voiceovers for films. Eventually, he began appearing in front of the camera.

John's first film role as an actor was in 1930's "Tol'able David". Although his early roles were not very significant, he gradually gained more screen time. In 1936, he appeared in the biographical drama "Mary of Scotland" alongside Katharine Hepburn, and the same year he starred with Loretta Young in the drama "Ramona". He went on to appear in adventure film "Captains Courageous" and the crime drama "This Is My Affair" in 1937. In the late 1930s, he also starred in the musical "Alexander's Ragtime Band", the drama "Kidnapped", the renowned western "Stagecoach", the musical film "The Three Musketeers", and the detective film "The Hound of the Baskervilles".

In 1940, John appeared in the famous drama "The Grapes of Wrath" and the western "The Return of Frank James". Throughout his career, he not only appeared in popular and high-budget films but also in numerous low-budget horror movies, as he tried to earn more money for his theater company's tours. It is difficult to list all the films in which John Carradine appeared; he claimed to have played over 450 roles, but this number remains unconfirmed. Regardless, his filmography is truly impressive. He also appeared in several Broadway plays, with most of his stage appearances occurring in the 1940s.

John Carradine was particularly well-received by the audience in horror films and westerns. He was also highly regarded for his performances in Shakespearean plays. In the late 1940s and 1950s, he appeared in many television series, including "Studio One", "Suspense", "Schlitz Playhouse of Stars", and "Climax!".

One of John's last significant roles was in the romantic comedy-drama "Peggy Sue Got Married" in 1986. By that time, he had appeared in over 300 films.

In terms of his personal life, John was married four times. His first marriage was in 1935 to Ardanelle McCool Cosner, with whom he had two sons, Bruce and David. They divorced in 1944, and that same year he married actress Sonia Sorel, with whom he appeared in the thriller "Bluebeard". They divorced in 1957, and they had three children together - Christopher, Keith, and Robert.

John married Doris Rich in 1957, but they divorced in 1964. His final marriage was to Emily Cisneros in 1975, which lasted until his death.

In his later years, John suffered from arthritis, which caused him considerable pain. However, he continued to work. He passed away on November 27, 1988, at the Fatebenefratelli Hospital in Milan, Italy, at the age of 82.

John Carradine has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and in 2003, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.