Conrad Bain

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

Conrad Bain
Bain as Arthur Harmon in Maude, 1975.
Born	Conrad Stafford Bain (1923-02-04)February 4, 1923 Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
Died	January 14, 2013(2013-01-14) (aged 89) Livermore, California, U.S.
Education	Banff School of Fine Arts
Alma mater	American Academy of Dramatic Arts
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1952–1996
Known for	Dr. Arthur Harmon on Maude, Phillip Drummond on Diff'rent Strokes
Television	Diff'rent Strokes, Maude
Spouse(s)	Monica Sloan ​ ( m. 1945; died 2009)
Children	3
Relatives	Bonar Bain (brother, deceased)
Signature

Early life

Conrad Bain was born in Lethbridge, Alberta, the son of Jean Agnes (née 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 later studied in New York at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, graduating in 1948; one of his classmates was comedian Don Rickles. Bain became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1946.[3]

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.[4] The New York Times reviewer noted that his role was "especially well acted."[5] Bain's Broadway theatre credits include Candide, Advise and Consent, An Enemy of the People, Uncle Vanya, and On Borrowed Time.[6] 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 cult supernatural soap opera Dark Shadows as the town innkeeper, Mr. Wells, during seasons 1 and 2. His character was killed off by werewolf Chris Jennings (Don Briscoe).

In the early 1960s, Bain was one of the principal organizers of the Actors Federal Credit Union. 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."[7]

It was at a meeting of the Actors' Equity [Union] where a member stood up and asked why we didn't do something about actors not being able to get any credit, much less a mortgage or anything like that. Someone else stood up and echoed what the first member said, pointing out that the issue really was one of equity and actors didn't have any when it came to the banks.[7]

He wrote:

Remember this: no share payment is too small. The main objective should be to establish a consistent habit of saving. In return, you can have the security of knowing that there is a place to turn to when you need a loan, a place where you will be met with dignity and respect, rather than suspicion and prejudice.[7]

Bain served as the credit union's first president.[8]

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.[4] He is best known for his roles as Dr. Arthur Harmon, Bea Arthur's title character's conservative nemesis, who married her best friend, Vivian, in Maude (1972–78). He then starred in Diff'rent Strokes (1978–86) 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 along with Gary Coleman as Arnold Jackson on the series finale of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Personal life

Bain had two sons and a daughter with Monica Sloan (1923-2009), to whom he was married in 1945 until her death in 2009. On an episode of "Tattletales", a question was asked of Monica as to whether she would like to live to 150 years old if in good health. Her answer was "No, 86 is my destiny". Bain's identical twin brother was actor Bonar Bain (1923-2005),[6] who once played Arnold Harmon, the twin brother of Conrad's Maude character, Arthur Harmon. Two of Bain's fellow co-stars, Gary Coleman and Rue McClanahan died within a week of each other in 2010.

Death

Bain died from complications following a stroke on January 14, 2013, in Livermore, California, three weeks before his 90th birthday.[9] His body was cremated.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1967	The Borgia Stick	Lawyer	TV Movie, Uncredited
1968	Madigan	Hotel Clerk
1968	A Lovely Way to Die	James Lawrence
1968	Star!	Salesman at Cartier's	Uncredited
1968	Coogan's Bluff	Madison Avenue Man
1969	Last Summer	Sidney	Uncredited
1970	Lovers and Other Strangers	Priest in Confessional	Uncredited
1970	I Never Sang for My Father	Rev. Sam Pell
1971	Fury on Wheels	Lester Jump	Alternate title: Jump
1971	A New Leaf	Professor Heinrich	Uncredited
1971	Bananas	Semple
1971	The Anderson Tapes	Dr. Rubicoff
1971	Who Killed Mary What's 'Er Name?	Val Rooney
1971	Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story	President Richard M. Nixon	Short film
1972	A Fan's Notes	Poppy
1972	Up the Sandbox	Dr. Gordon
1975	Twigs	Swede	TV movie
1979	C.H.O.M.P.S.	Ralph Norton
1979	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	Studio One in Hollywood	Evans	Episode: "Family Protection"
1961	Naked City	Miller	Episode: "The Day the Island Almost Sank"
1961	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"
1978	Grandpa Goes to Washington	Robert Green	Episode: "Kelley at the Bat"
1978	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"
1979	The Facts of Life		Episode: "Rough Housing"
1979	Hello, Larry		Episode: "Feudin' and Fussin': Part 2"
1979	Hello, Larry		Episode: "Thanksgiving Crossover: Part 2"
1980	The Beatrice Arthur Special	Himself	TV special, Uncredited
1980	CHiPs	Himself	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"
1985	The Love Boat	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", (final appearance)

References

1. Conrad Bain profile at FilmReference.com
2. Conrad Bain Archived 2007-02-02 at the Wayback Machine at northernstars.ca.
3. Americada The place the great Philip Drummond who married Maggie McKinney Dixie carter Newsletter of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts Archived 2007-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, Spring 2003.
4. Conrad Bain at starpulse.com
5. Brooks Atkinson, “O'Neill Tragedy Revived,” The New York Times, May 9, 1956.
6. Conrad Bain at the Internet Broadway Database
7. Morrison, David (February 7, 2007). "Actors FCU's ATM Policy is Just One Effort to Serve Unique Acting Population". Credit Union Times. Retrieved 2014-11-12.
8. "Actors Federal Credit Union Celebrates Its 40th Anniversary". Local 802afm. July 2002. Archived from the original on 2012-04-28. Retrieved 2014-11-12.
9. "'Diff'rent Strokes' dad Conrad Bain dies at age 89; co-star Todd Bridges calls him 'father figure'". Fox News. Retrieved 16 January 2013.

External links

• Conrad Bain on IMDb
• Conrad Bain at the TCM Movie Database
• Conrad Bain at the Internet Broadway Database
• Conrad Bain at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Conrad Bain at AllMovie
• Conrad Bain at Find a Grave