Claire Bloom

Claire Bloom was born Patricia Claire Blume on February 15, 1931 in London, England. She is the daughter of Elizabeth Grew and Edward Max Blume.




Claire Bloom began her training at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and the Central School of Speech and Drama.

Claire Bloom made her debut on BBC radio programmes. She made her stage debut in 1946, when she was 15, with the Oxford Repertory Theatre. Her London stage debut was in 1947 in the hit Christopher Fry play The Lady's Not For Burning.




Claire Bloom made her film debut in The Blind Goddess (1948).

In 1951, she was chosen by Charlie Chaplin to appear in his film Limelight. She received excellent reviews for her performance and this role made her a star.




Claire Bloom appeared in The Man Between (1953), Richard III (1955), Alexander the Great (1956), The Brothers Karamazov (1958), The Buccaneer (1958), The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962), The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965), and Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989).




In 1981, she provided the voice of Beauty in Beauty and the Beast.

Claire Bloom's Broadway debut was in King Richard II. She also appeared in Electra, A Doll's House, Hedda Gabler, and Romeo and Juliet. She was nominated for a Tony for Electra. She has won two Drama Desk Awards.

Claire Bloom received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Special for Brideshead Revisited (1981).

As with other maturing actress during the 1970s, Claire looked toward classy film roles in TV-movies like Backstairs at the White House (1979).

From 1993 to 1995, she played Orlena Grimaldi on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns.

Claire Bloom continues to appear in movies, television and on the stage. Her most recent role was on Doctor Who.

John Carradine

One of our most prolific character actor, during his 57 year career, John Carradine earned more than 300 film and television credits. It is dispute whether he or Donald Crisp appeared in more films than any other actor.




John Carradine was born Richmond Reed Carradine on February 5, 1906 in New York City, the son of of Genevieve Winifred, a surgeon, and William Reed Carradine, a correspondent for the Associated Press.

John Carradine made his film debut in 1930 in Bright Lights.

A favorite of director John Ford, John Carradine appeared in eleven of Ford's films: The Prisoner of Shark Island (1934), Mary of Scotland (1936), The Hurricane (1937) Submarine Patrol (1938), Four Men and a Prayer (1938), Stagecoach (1939), Drums Along the Mohawk (1939), The Grapes of Wrath (1940), The Last Hurrah (1958), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) and Cheyenne Autumn (1964).





A few of John Carradine's most notable film credits include The Invisible Man (1933),Captains Courageous (1937), Jesse James (1939), The Three Musketeers (1939), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939), Five Came Back (1939), The Return of Frank James (1940), Man Hunt (1941), The Adventures of Mark Twain (1944), The Court Jester (1955), The Ten Commandments (1956), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1956).




Four of John Carradine's five sons became actors: David Carradine, Robert Carradine, Keith Carradine, and Bruce Carradine.




John Carradine appeared in several episodes of Kung Fu with son David Carradine.

In The Long Riders (1981) he appeared with sons Keith, Robert and David.

John Carradine was known for playing dark evil sinister characters. However, in a very different role, John Carradine won a Daytime Emmy in 1985 for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Program for "Young People's Specials" for the episode "Umbrella Jack".

John Carradine also had a significant Broadway career. He made his Broadway debut in The Duchess of Malfi. His Broadway credits include Galileo, Volpone, Frankenstein, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Time of Your Life,
The Madwoman of Chaillot, The Leading Lady, and The Cup of Trembling.

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, John Carradine has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.




In 2003, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.




On November 27, 1988, John Carradine died of natural causes in Milan, Italy at age 82. His final words were: "Milan: What a beautiful place to die".