Biography for
John Carradine More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

5 February 1906, New York City, New York, USA

Date of Death

27 November 1988, Milan, Italy (natural causes)

Birth Name

Richmond Reed Carradine

Nickname

The Bard of Boulevard
The Voice

Height

6' 1¼" (1.86 m)

Mini Biography

John Carradine, the son of a reporter/artist and a surgeon, grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York. He attended Christ Church School and Graphic Art School, studying sculpture, and afterward roamed the South selling sketches. He made his acting debut in "Camille" in a New Orleans theatre in 1925. Arriving in Los Angeles in 1927, he worked in local theatre. He applied for a job as as scenic designer to Cecil B. DeMille, who rejected his designs but gave him voice work in several films. His on-screen debut was in Tol'able David (1930), billed as Peter Richmond. A protégé and close friend of John Barrymore, Carradine was an extremely prolific film character actor while simultaneously maintaining a stage career in classic leading roles such as Hamlet and Malvolio. In his later years he was typed as a horror star, putting in appearances in many low- and ultra-low-budget horror films. He was a member of the group of actors often used by director John Ford that became known as "The John Ford Stock Company."

IMDb Mini Biography By: Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>

Spouse

Emily Cisneros	(3 July 1975 - 27 November 1988) (his death)
Doris Rich	(30 August 1957 - 10 December 1964) (divorced)
Sonia Sorel	(13 August 1944 - 6 March 1957) (divorced) 3 children
Ardanelle McCool	(31 December 1935 - 14 March 1944) (divorced) 1 child

Trade Mark

Deep baritone voice

Trivia

Father of Chris Carradine, David Carradine, Keith Carradine and Robert Carradine. Adoptive father of Bruce Carradine.

The Carradine family traces its ancestry back to an actual saint--St. Pedro Carradegna, patron saint of Barcelona.

Grandfather of Martha Plimpton.

Changed his name to John Carradine in 1935.

Always ranked his performance in Bluebeard (1944) high among his career favorites.

Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 2003.

Grandfather of Ever Carradine.

Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume Two, 1986-1990, pages 165-167. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999.

Claimed near the end of his life to have appeared in more movies than any other actor, surpassing the record set by Donald Crisp, the Oscar-winning actor and director who had started in silent movies and had appeared in numerous one- and two-reel films, many of them lost. The title for actor who appeared in most films likely is a contest between Carradine (more than 300 films) and Crisp (at least 170 known films). Of the contemporary generation, Christopher Lee, who has acted in more films than his peers (over 200), does not come close to matching Carradine's prolific output.

In later life he suffered from crippling arthritis, but continued to work.

Had the word "HAM" in his License Plates on his Mercedes when he lived in Santa Barbara, California.

According to oldest son David Carradine in "Hollywood and Whine, "... we carted the coffin over to our house and opened it up. I looked down at him, and the undertaker had put a demonic, artificial grin on his face--like nothing I had ever seen him do in real life, except in a horror film. I reached out and, using the sculptural skills I had learned from him, I remodeled his face to be more naturally like him. Then I poured half a bottle of J&B scotch, his favorite, down his throat, and we had a wake".

Personal Quotes

I've made some of the greatest films ever made - and a lot of crap, too.

[his last words before passing away in Milan, Italy] Milan. What a beautiful place to die.

As for making movies, who can act at eight o'clock in the morning? Let's face it!

Directors never direct me. They just turn me loose.

[on Darryl F. Zanuck] Nobody liked working for Zanuck, the little goddamn Napoleon, always walking around with his polo mallet. Nobody had any respect for him except as an executive. And he was a good editor at one time, but he fancied himself a writer, and he was not a good writer.

[on Cecil B. DeMille] I was very fond of him. I never saw him direct an actor; his specialty was the camera. He simply hired the best actors he could get and let them do their job. He didn't interfere with them unless something was drastically wrong. DeMille's specialty was the camera, the pageantry.

[on John Ford] Oh, Ford was a peculiar man. You had to know how to handle him. Actors were terrified of him because he liked to terrify them. He was a sadist.

I am a ham! And the ham in an actor is what makes him interesting.

Lionel Barrymore then had hands like mine are now--arthritic talons.

Never do anything you wouldn't want to be caught dead doing.

Salary

Shock Waves (1977)	$5,000
Stagecoach (1939)	$3,600