Conrad Stafford Bain (February 4, 1923 – January 14, 2013) was a Canadian-American comedian and actor. His television credits include a leading role as
Phillip Drummond in the sitcom ''
Diff'rent Strokes
''Diff'rent Strokes'' is an American television sitcom, which aired on NBC from November 3, 1978, to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985, to March 7, 1986. The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and Willis Jackson, r ...
'', as Dr. Arthur Harmon on ''
Maude'', and as Charlie Ross in ''
Mr. President'' (1987–1988).
Early life
Conrad Bain was born in
Lethbridge
Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 Alberta municipal censuses, 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...
, Alberta, the son of Jean Agnes (née Young) and Stafford Harrison Bain,
who was a wholesaler. He was an identical twin. His twin, Bonard Bain, was also an actor. He studied at the
Banff School of Fine Arts before serving in the
Canadian Army
The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. He later studied in New York at the
American Academy of Dramatic Arts
The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a private performing arts conservatory with two locations, one in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related art ...
, graduating in 1948; one of his classmates was comedian
Don Rickles
Donald Jay Rickles (May 8, 1926 – April 6, 2017) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He became known primarily for his insult comedy. His film roles include ''Run Silent, Run Deep'' (1958) with Clark Gable, Carl Reiner's '' Enter La ...
. Bain became a
naturalized
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...
citizen of the United States in 1946.
Career
After a stint at the
Stratford Festival
The Stratford Festival is a theatre festival which runs from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shakespearean Festival ...
in Canada, Bain had further success as a stage actor in the 1956 revival of
Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of realism, earlier ...
's ''
The Iceman Cometh
''The Iceman Cometh'' is a play written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill in 1939. First published in 1946, the play premiered on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre on October 9, 1946, directed by Eddie Dowling, where it ran for 136 perfo ...
''.
[Conrad Bain](_blank)
at starpulse.com'' ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' reviewer noted that his role was "especially well acted." Bain's
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...
credits include ''
Candide
( , ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled ''Candide: or, All for the Best'' (1759); ''Candide: or, The ...
'', ''
Advise and Consent
Advice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in enacting formulae of bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts. It describes either of two situations: where a weak executive branch of a government enacts something previ ...
'', ''
An Enemy of the People
''An Enemy of the People'' (original Norwegian title: ''En folkefiende''), an 1882 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, followed his previous play, ''Ghosts'', which criticized the hypocrisy of his society's moral code. That response inclu ...
'', ''
Uncle Vanya
''Uncle Vanya'' ( rus, Дя́дя Ва́ня, r=Dyádya Ványa, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈvanʲə) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1898, and was first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre under the dir ...
'', and ''
On Borrowed Time
''On Borrowed Time'' is a 1939 film about the role death plays in life, and how humanity cannot live without it. It is adapted from Paul Osborn's 1938 Broadway hit play. The play, based on a novel by Lawrence Edward Watkin, has been revived twi ...
''.
Off Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
, he appeared in the original run of ''
Steambath
A steam bath is a steam-filled room for the purpose of relaxation and cleansing. It has a long history, going back to Greek and Roman times.
History
The origins of the steam bath come from the Roman bath, which began during the height of the R ...
''. While doing stage work in New York City, Bain also found work on television, appearing in the cult supernatural soap opera ''
Dark Shadows
''Dark Shadows'' is an American gothic soap opera that aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966, to April 2, 1971. The show depicted the lives, loves, trials, and tribulations of the wealthy Collins family of Collinsport ...
'' as the town innkeeper, Mr. Wells, during seasons 1 and 2. His character was killed off by werewolf Chris Jennings (
Don Briscoe
Cecil Donald Briscoe (March 20, 1940 – October 31, 2004) was an American stage and soap opera actor known for starring in the TV series ''Dark Shadows.''
Early life and education
Briscoe was born on March 20, 1940, in Scobey, Mississippi. He ...
).
In the early 1960s, Bain was one of the principal organizers of the
Actors Federal Credit Union
Actors Federal Credit Union (ActorsFCU) is an American federally chartered credit union—a cooperatively run, not-for-profit financial institution, owned and controlled by its members. Based in New York City, New York, ActorsFCU is regulated and ...
. In an article in the ''Credit Union Times'', he recalled that "the effort grew out of the fact that, at least in the world of financial services, actors and other performers got no respect and, more importantly, no access to credit."
He wrote:
Bain served as the credit union's first president.
![Nancyreagandiffrentstrokes](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Nancyreagandiffrentstrokes.jpg)
In the early 1970s, Bain appeared in New York–based films like ''
Lovers and Other Strangers
''Lovers and Other Strangers'' is a 1970 American romantic comedy film directed by Cy Howard, adapted from the 1968 Broadway play of the same name by Renée Taylor and Joseph Bologna. The cast includes Richard S. Castellano, Gig Young, Cloris Lea ...
'' and
Woody Allen
Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...
's ''
Bananas
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...
'' before achieving national recognition for his work in television.
He is best known for his roles as Dr. Arthur Harmon,
Bea Arthur
Beatrice Arthur (born Bernice Frankel; May 13, 1922 – April 25, 2009) was an American actress and comedian. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, Arthur began her career on stage in 1947, attracting critical acclaim before achieving ...
's title character's conservative nemesis, who married her best friend, Vivian, in ''
Maude'' (1972–78). He then starred in ''
Diff'rent Strokes
''Diff'rent Strokes'' is an American television sitcom, which aired on NBC from November 3, 1978, to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985, to March 7, 1986. The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and Willis Jackson, r ...
'' (1978–86) as Park Avenue millionaire
Phillip Drummond, who adopted two African-American orphaned boys from
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...
, Willis and Arnold, to live with him and his daughter, Kimberly, and housekeeper, Mrs. Garrett. In 1979, he played Phillip Drummond in an episode of ''
The Facts of Life''. In 1996, Bain reprised his role of Phillip Drummond alongside
Gary Coleman
Gary Wayne Coleman (February 8, 1968 – May 28, 2010) was an American actor and comedian. Coleman was the highest-paid child actor on television throughout the late 1970s and 1980s. He was rated first on a list of VH1's "100 Greatest Kid ...
as Arnold Jackson on the series finale of ''
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' is an American television sitcom created by Andy and Susan Borowitz for NBC. It aired from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart t ...
''.
Personal life
Bain had two sons and a daughter with Monica Sloan (1923–2009), to whom he wed in 1945; they remained married until her death in 2009. Bain's identical twin brother was actor
Bonar Bain
Bonar Stewart Bain (February 4, 1923 – February 18, 2005) was a Canadian actor and the identical twin brother of actor Conrad Bain.
Life and career
Bain once played a fictional "evil" twin to Conrad ("Hank Bain") in an episode of '' SCTV'', as ...
(1923–2005),
who once played Arnold Harmon, the twin brother of Conrad's ''
Maude'' character, Arthur Harmon.
Death
Bain died from complications following a
stroke
A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
on January 14, 2013, in
Livermore, California
Livermore (formerly Livermorès, Livermore Ranch, and Nottingham) is a city in Alameda County, California. With a 2020 population of 87,955, Livermore is the most populous city in the Tri-Valley. It is located on the eastern edge of Californ ...
, at the age of 89.
His body was cremated.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bain, Conrad Stafford
1923 births
2013 deaths
Canadian emigrants to the United States
Canadian Army personnel of World War II
Canadian male film actors
Canadian male television actors
Identical twin male actors
20th-century Canadian male actors
People from Lethbridge
People from Livermore, California
Male actors from Alberta
American twins
Canadian twins
20th-century American male actors
People educated at Western Canada High School
Naturalized citizens of the United States