Conrad Bain

File:Nancyreagandiffrentstrokes.jpg

The cast of Diff'rent Strokes with guest star Nancy Reagan in 1983

Conrad Stafford Bain (February 4, 1923 – January 14, 2013) was a Canadian-American actor. His television credits include a leading role as Phillip Drummond in the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes (1978–1986), as Dr. Arthur Harmon on Maude (1972–1978), and as Charlie Ross in Mr. President (1987–1988).

Biography

Early life

Conrad Bain was born in Lethbridge, Alberta, the son of Jean Agnes (née Young) and Stafford Harrison Bain, who was a wholesaler. He was an identical twin with actor Bonar Bain. He first appeared in a play in his senior year of high school, which sparked his interest in theatre.

Conrad studied at the Banff School of Fine Arts before serving in the Canadian Army during World War II. Bain became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1946. In 1948, he graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York; one of his classmates was comedian Don Rickles.

Career

After a stint at the Stratford Festival in Canada, Bain had further success as a stage actor in the 1956 revival of Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh. The New York Times reviewer noted that his role was "especially well acted." He performed in Candide at the Martin Beck Theatre from 1956 to 1957. In 1961, he performed in Advise and Consent. He performed in Hogan's Goat in 1965, The Kitchen in 1966, and Scuba Duba in 1967. In 1970, he performed in the original Off Broadway run of Steambath. In 1971, he performed in An Enemy of the People and in 1973, he performed in Uncle Vanya.

Bain also found work on television; in 1966 he appeared in the cult supernatural soap opera Dark Shadows as the town innkeeper, Mr. Wells, during seasons 1 and 2, before his character was killed.

In 1962, Bain was one of the principal organizers of the Actors Federal Credit Union, inspired by an actor who could not obtain credit at a local department store. Bain served as the credit union's first president.

In 1970, Bain appeared in the film Lovers and Other Strangers and in 1971, he appeared in Woody Allen's Bananas.

He was cast by producer Norman Lear as Dr. Arthur Harmon, Bea Arthur's title character's conservative nemesis, who married her best friend, Vivian, in Maude (1972–1978).

Based on his success in Maude, Bain was cast in Diff'rent Strokes (1978–1986) as Park Avenue millionaire Phillip Drummond, who adopted two African-American orphaned boys from Harlem, 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 as Arnold Jackson on the series finale of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

In 1987, Bain starred in Mr. President, a political sit-com. In 1991 and 1992, he performed in On Borrowed Time, his last Broadway theatre production.

Death

Bain died from a stroke on January 14, 2013, in Livermore, California, at the age of 89. His body was cremated.

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.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1967	The Borgia Stick	Lawyer	TV movie, Uncredited
1968	Madigan	Hotel Clerk
	A Lovely Way to Die	James Lawrence
	Star!	Salesman at Cartier's	Uncredited
	Coogan's Bluff	Madison Avenue Man
1969	Last Summer	Sidney	Uncredited
1970	Lovers and Other Strangers	Priest in Confessional
	I Never Sang for My Father	Rev. Sam Pell
1971	Fury on Wheels	Lester Jump	Alternate title: Jump
	A New Leaf	Professor Heinrich	Uncredited
	Bananas	Semple
	The Anderson Tapes	Dr. Rubicoff
	Who Killed Mary What's 'Er Name?	Val Rooney
	Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story	President Richard M. Nixon	Short film
1972	A Fan's Notes	Poppy
	Up the Sandbox	Dr. Gordon
1975	Twigs	Swede	TV movie
1979	C.H.O.M.P.S.	Ralph Norton
	A Pleasure Doing Business	Herb
1981	Child Bride of Short Creek	Frank King	TV movie
1990	Postcards from the Edge	Grandpa

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1952	Studio One in Hollywood	Dr. Caldwell	Episode: "The Hospital"
1956		Evans	Episode: "Family Protection"
1961	Naked City	Miller	Episode: "The Day the Island Almost Sank"
	The Defenders	D.A. Fred Monahan	Episode: "Gideon's Follies"
1965	The Trials of O'Brien	District Attorney	Episode: "Dead End on Flugel Street"
1966	Dark Shadows	Hotel Clerk	Episodes #1.1, #1.11, #1.61
1967	N.Y.P.D.	Manager	Episode: "Shakedown"
1968	Dark Shadows	Mr. Wells	Episode #1.632
1970	The Edge of Night	Dr. Charles Weldon #1	Unknown episodes
1972–1978	Maude	Dr. Arthur Harmon	Main cast (121 episodes)
1978	The Waverly Wonders	Tate Sr.	Episode: "Tate vs. Tate"
	Grandpa Goes to Washington	Robert Green	Episode: "Kelley at the Bat"
	The Love Boat	Les	Episode: "Till Death Do Us Part-Maybe/Locked Away/Chubs"
1978–1986	Diff'rent Strokes	Philip Drummond	Main cast (189 episodes)
1979	Hello, Larry		Episode: "The Trip: Part 2"
	The Facts of Life		Episode: "Rough Housing"
	Hello, Larry		Episode: "Feudin' and Fussin': Part 2"
			Episode: "Thanksgiving Crossover: Part 2"
1980	The Beatrice Arthur Special	Himself	TV special, Uncredited
	CHiPs		Episode: "The Great 5K Star Race and Boulder Wrap Party: Part 2"
1985	The Love Boat	Leslie Campbell	Episode: "Instinct/Unmade for Each Other/BOS"
		Charles Custers	Episode: "A Day in Port"
1987–1988	Mr. President	Charlie Ross	Main cast (24 episodes)
1993	The Adventures of the Black Stallion	Tobias Doyle	Episode: "Legends Never Die"
1996	The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air	Philip Drummond	Episode: "I, Done: Part 2"
2011	Unforgettable	Priest	Episode: "Trajectories", (uncredited and final appearance)

External links

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