The Life and Career of John Carradine
A Movie and TV Horror Master
Overview
He was born Richmond Reed Carradine on February 5, 2006, in New York City, and he died of natural causes on November 27, 1988, in Milan, Italy. He was known as Hollywood’s “Bard of Boulevard,” the “Master of Horror,” and “The Voice.” His stage name was John Carradine, and this is his story.
A Closer Look
The son of a reporter/artist and a surgeon, John Carradine grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York. He attended Christ Church School and Graphic Art School, studied sculpture, and later journeyed the South marketing his sketches.
In 1925, Carradine made his acting debut in the play Camille in a New Orleans theatre. Two years later, he arrived on the Los Angeles theatre scene and applied for a job as a scenic designer to film directing legend Cecil B. DeMille, who rejected his designs but gave him voice work in several movies. In 1929, Carradine was cast in his first co-starring role with Boris Karloff came during a ten-week run of Window Panes in Figueroa, California. In 1930, he made his on-screen debut in Tol’able David, billed as Peter Richmond. Five years later, he officially changed his name from John Peter Richmond to John Carradine.
And then came “Dracula”
