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John Carradine Born: February 05, 1906 Died: November 27, 1988 (age 82)

Born Richmond Reed Carradine in Greenwich Village, New York City, USA on Febrary 05, 1906. Carradine father was William Reed Carradine, a correspondent for the Associated Press, and his mother was Dr. Genevieve Winnifred Richmond, a surgeon. William's mother was Evagelical Author Beverly Carradine. When young Carradine was on 2 years old, his father died of tuberculosis. His mother would married a Philadelphia paper manufacturer named Peck. Peck would beat young Carradine nearly every day. Carradine attended the Christ Church School in Kingston and the Episcopal Academy in Merion Station, Pennsylvania, where he developed his diction and his memory while memorizing portions of the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer as a punishment.

David Carradine (one of John's son's) recalls about his father, when he was 14 he ran away from home. He would later return to study sculpture at Philadelphia's Graphic Arts Institute. He would work in the film archives of the public library in New York City while still a teenager while living with his uncle. He went to Richmond, Virginia, and was apprentice to Daniel Chester French, the sculptor who created the statue of Abraham Lincoln for the Lincoln Monument. He would travel, supporting himself painting portraits. He would make $2.50 if it was good nothing if it was bad, doing this he could make $10-$15 a day. While traveling Carradine jailed for vagrancy and was beatena and suffered a broken nose which did not set correctly. This added to his facial characteriestics. David recalled that his father told him that he saw a production of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice when he was 11, this production is what made him decide to be an actor.

In 1925 Carradine made his stage debute in New Orleans in a production of 'Camille'. Carradine found a mentor in R.D. MaClean when he joined a repertory theater. In 1927 he took a load of bananas from Dallas, Texas to Los Angeles. He took the name Peter Richmond (to honor his uncle) and worked in some theaters in Los Angeles. He became friends with John Barrymore, and started designing sets for non other than Cecil B. DeMille. He lasted 2 weeks in the job because DeMille did not like his sketches. Once DeMille here Carradine's deep, rich voice DeMille hired him to do voice-over work. He became a member of DeMille's stock company and his voice was heard in several DeMille pictures, including The Sign of the Cross.

In 1930, Carradine got his first film role in 'Bright Lights' as a uncredited Newspaper Photographer. In his next flim he was credited for it, (1930) 'Tol'able David' as Buzzard Hatburn (as Peter Richmond). Carradine claimed to have done 70 films before getting a billing but there is no evidence to substantuate this claim.

In 1931 along with Carradine along with Conrad Veidt, William Courtenay, Paul Muni, and Ian Keith tested for Universal's Horror Classic (1931) 'Dracula'. Although Carradine would later play the legendary Count Dracula multiple times, most notably (1944) 'House of Frankenstein' and (1945) 'House of Dracula'. He would also test for the role of Universal's next Horror Classic (1931) 'Frankenstein'.

By 1933, he was being credited as John Peter Richmond and in 1935 took the stage name of 'John Carradine', and he would legally change it in 1937.
On December 31, 1935 Carradine would marry his first wife Ardanelle McCool Cosner. He would adopt her son by her first marriage, Bruce. On December 08, 1936 Ardanelle would give birth to there child John Arthur Carradine who would become David Carradine. Carradine had planned a large family bur according to David's autobiography Ardanelle had many 'coat hanger' abortions, without John's knowledge and it made her unable to carry a baby to full term.After only three years of marriage, Ardenelle Carradine filed for divorce, but the couple remained married for another five years.

By 1936, Carradine had become a member of a group of actors often used by director John Ford that became known a 'The John Ford Stock Company' in which in made 11 films. His first was (1936) 'The Prisoner of Shark Island'. He also made his first important film working with Ford, (1940) 'The Grapes of Wrath' playing Preacher Casy. He also made (1939) 'Stagecoach' and (1962) 'The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance' under John Ford.

In the 1930's, Carradine did some nice genre pieces, they were small roles but he did a fine job in them. (1933) 'The Invisible Man' he was had an uncredited role of Informer Suggesting Ink. The following year the classic (1934) 'The Black Cat' another uncredited roll as Oclt Organist. In 1935 another classic (1935) 'The Bride of Frankenstein' as Hunter at Hermit's Cottage. In 1939, they butler Barryman in the Classic (1939) 'The Hound of the Baskervilles'

Carradine did a considerable amount of stage work as he felt it was the only way he could work with the classic drama content. He would start and tour with his own Shakespearean company in the 1940s, playing Hamlet and Macbeth. 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, a part, he said, which Tennessee Williams wrote for him.

In the 1940's, brought some some more nice genre pieces. Carradine played Dr. Max Heinrich von Aldermann in (1943) 'Revenge of the Zombies'. He was Doctor Drury in (1944) 'The Invisible Man's Revenge'. The following year brought (1944) 'The Mummy's Ghost' as Yousef Bey and also (1944) 'House of Frankenstein' as Dracula/Baron Latos. The Next year another Count Dracula in (1945) 'House of Dracula'.

In 1944 he was divorced to Ardanelle and David was 7 years old. Carradine left California to avoid court action in the alimony settlement. The couple battled for child custody and alimony (at one point Carradine was jailed). Carradine married his second wife Sonia Sorel, who he worked with in (1944) 'Blackbeard' on August 13, 1944. Sonia was the daughter of San Francisco brewer, Henry Henius, granddaughter of biochemist Max Henius, and a great-niece of the historian Johan Ludvig Heiberg. She had adopted the stage name of Sorel. David joined John and his new wife Sonia in New York. Over the next few years John would send David would spend time between boarding schools, foster homes and reform school.

In 1946 Carradine would make his Broadway Debut (October 15, 1946 - November 16, 1946) in John Webster's 'The Duchess of Malfi' he played The Cardinal - Ferdinand's brother.

On January 23, 1947 Christopher John Carradine was born to John and Sonia, their first child together. John was in the Broadway Play (December 07, 1947 - December 14, 1947) 'Galileo' where he played Inquisitor.

In 1948 John did 4 plays on Broadway, (January 08, 1948 - January 18, 1948) 'Volpone' he played Voltore.
The play (April 20, 1948 - May 15, 1948) 'The Cup of Trembling' he played Walter Fowler.
The play (October 18, 1948 - October 23, 1948) 'The Leading Lady' he played Benjy.
The play (December 27, 1948 - January 07, 1950 and June 13, 1950 - June 25, 1950) Jean Giraudoux's 'The Madwoman of Chaillot' he played The Ragpicker.

During the run of 'The Madwoman of Chaillot' Keith Ian Carradine August 08, 1949 was born to John and Sonia, their second child together.

On March 24, 1954 Robert Reed Carradine was born to John and Sonia, their third and last child together.

In 1955, his next Broadway Play (January 19, 1955 - January 30, 1955) 'The Time of Your Life' where he would play Kit Carson.

In 1956 he portrayed the Biblical hero Aaron in Cecil B. DeMille's (1956) The Ten Commandments.

On March 06, 1957 John and Sonia Sorel divorced. Another custody battle insued, This resulted in their sons being placed in a home for abused children as wards of the court. Eventually, Carradine won custody of the children. For the next eight years, Sonia was not permitted to see the children. On August 30, 1957, John married his third wife Doris (Erving Rich) Grimshaw. Doris had a son from a previous marriage, Dale, and a son from a later relationship, Michael, both of whom, along with Sonia Sorel's son, Michael Bowen, are sometimes counted among John Carradine's eight sons. Doris was a studio typist who typed the script to the (1948) 'The Treasure of the Sierra Madre'. She went on to play in a few roles in film and television including the part of Mrs. Claus in the classic bad Christmas Film (1964) 'Santa Claus Conquers the Martians'. Doris died in 1971 in a fire in her apartment in Oxnard, California. The fire was caused by a burning cigarette. She had been rescued from a similar fire just two weeks earlier. She had already been divorced from Carradine for 6 years.

In 1962 the Broadway Play (May 08, 1962 - August 29, 1964) 'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum' he played Lycus- a buyer and seller of courtesans (his Broadway musical debut).
On December 10, 1964 John and Doris divorced.

Carradine made recurring appearances as Herman's Boss, Mr. Gateman, in 'The Munsters' (Lily Referred to him as DaDa Gateman in an episode). Carradine also appeared in both of Irwin Allen's classic 1960's science-fiction TV series 'Lost In Space' and 'Land Of The Giants.'

From (1966) 'Billy the Kid Versus Dracula'
as Count Dracula (posing as James Underhill)

On July 03, 1975 John married his forth wife Emily Cisneros.

In 1981 the Broadway Play (January 04, 1981 - January 04, 1981) 'Frankenstein' he played DeLacey in the expensive one-night flop.

In 1982, Carradine was the voice of the Great Owl in the animated feature (1982) 'The Secret of NIMH.'

In 1985, Carradine won a Daytime Emmy Award for his performance as an eccentric old man who lives by the railroad tracks in the (1984) 'Young People's Special, Umbrella Jack'.

He appeared in dozens of low-budget horror films from the 1940s onwards, in order to finance a touring classical theatre company. He sang the theme song to one film in which he appeared briefly, Red Zone Cuba. He also made more than one hundred television appearances, including CBS's My Friend Flicka, Johnny Ringo (as 'The Rain Man'), and Place the Face, NBC's Cimarron City as the foreboding Jared Tucker in the episode 'Child of Fear' and on William Bendix's Overland Trail in the 1960 episode 'The Reckoning,' on ABC's Harrigan and Son, Sugarfoot, The Rebel, and The Legend of Jesse James, and on the syndicated adventure series, 'Rescue 8', with Jim Davis.

From (1981) 'The Howling' Carradine as Erle Kenton

On November 27, 1988, retired and suffering from painful and crippling arthritis, John Carradine died from multiple organ failure at Fatebenefratelli Hospital in Milan, Italy. Hours before he was stricken, he had climbed the 328 steep steps of Milan's Gothic cathedral, the Duomo. According to David Carradine, he had just finished a film in South Africa and was about to begin a European tour.

There was a Requiem Mass for John Carradine at St. Thomas the Apostle Hollywood. Jane Fonda was among those in attendance. An Irish wake followed and eventually he was buried at sea.

Carradine has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6240 Hollywood Blvd. In 2003, and he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Carradine had 5 sons, David, Keith, Robert, Bruce became actors and Christopher is an architect and vice president of Walt Disney Imagineering.

The Legends of Horror - From (1983) House of the Long Shadows
Christopher Lee, John Carradine, Peter Cushing, Vincent Price