Conrad Bain

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Conrad Bain

Bain on the set of Diff'rent Strokes in 1983
Born Conrad Stafford Bain
February 4, 1923 (1923-02-04) (age 89)
Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
Residence Livermore, California
Nationality Canadian-American
Education Banff School of Fine Arts
Alma mater American Academy of Dramatic Arts
Occupation Actor
Years active 1956–2011
Known for Phillip Drummond,
Dr. Arthur Harmon
Home town New York City, NY
Television Diff'rent Strokes,
Maude
Spouse Monica Sloan (1945–2009; her death)
4 children
Children 4
Relatives Bonar Bain

Conrad Stafford Bain (born February 4, 1923) is a Canadian-American actor. His television credits include a leading role as Phillip Drummond in the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes and as Dr. Arthur Harmon on Maude.

Contents

[edit] Personal life

Bain was born in Lethbridge, Alberta, the son of Jean Agnes Young and Stafford Harrison Bain, who was a wholesaler.[1] He studied at the Banff School of Fine Arts before serving in the Canadian Army during World War II.[2] He then studied in New York at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, where his classmates included actor Charles Durning and comedian Don Rickles; he became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1946 before graduating in 1948.[3]

Bain has three sons and a daughter with Monica Sloan, to whom he was married until her death in 2009. His identical twin brother is Bonar Bain,[4] who once played the brother of his Maude character, Dr. Arthur Harmon.

Conrad Bain now lives in an independent living center in Livermore, California, called Heritage Estates.[citation needed]

[edit] Career

After a stint at the Stratford (Ontario) Shakespeare Festival, Bain had further success as a stage actor in the 1956 Broadway revival of Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh.[5] The New York Times reviewer noted that his role was "especially well acted."[6] Bain's other Broadway theatre credits include Candide, Advise and Consent, An Enemy of the People, Uncle Vanya, and On Borrowed Time.[4] On Off Broadway, he appeared in the original run of Steambath. While doing stage work in New York City, Bain also found work on television appearing in the soap opera Dark Shadows as the town inkeeper, Mr. Wells, during season 1 and 2. His character was killed off by werewolf Chris Jennings (Don Briscoe).

In the early 1970s, Bain appeared in New York-based films like Lovers and Other Strangers and Woody Allen's Bananas before achieving national recognition for his work in television.[5] He is best known for his roles as Dr. Arthur Harmon, Bea Arthur's conservative nemesis, who married her best friend Vivian, in Maude (1972–78) and as Park Avenue millionaire Phillip Drummond in Diff'rent Strokes (1978–86). In 1996, Bain reprised his role of Phillip Drummond on the series finale of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

[edit] Actor

[edit] References

  1. ^ Conrad Bain Biography (1923-)
  2. ^ Conrad Bain at northernstars.ca.
  3. ^ Americada (The Newsletter of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Spring 2003.
  4. ^ a b Conrad Bain at the Internet Broadway Database
  5. ^ a b Conrad Bain at starpulse.com
  6. ^ Brooks Atkinson, "O'Neill Tragedy Revived," The New York Times, May 9, 1956.

[edit] External links

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