John Carradine Dies at 82; Character Actor, Patriarch

MILAN, Italy —  John Carradine, the patriarch of an American acting family who appeared in more than 500 films including “The Grapes of Wrath,” has died at age 82 on a visit to Italy, a spokeswoman at a Milan hospital said today.

The spokeswoman at Fatebenefratelli Hospital, who declined to give her name, said Carradine died Sunday. She said he had been hospitalized since Thursday but she would not disclose the cause of death.

She said two of his sons, actors Keith and David, had come to Milan.

Carradine appeared in such classics as “Stagecoach” with John Wayne and “Grapes of Wrath” with Henry Fonda. He also played leads in numerous B-movies, often horror, and portrayed Count Dracula three times on the screen.

Hitchhiked Across U.S.

John Carradine was born Richmond Reed Carradine in New York City’s Greenwich Village on Feb. 5, 1906. His father was an attorney, poet and printer who become an Associated Press correspondent in London. His mother was a surgeon.

As a young man, Carradine hitchhiked his way across America, drawing sketches of people he met to pay for food, and ended up in Los Angeles aboard a banana train.

He became known as a lean character with gaunt features who strolled Hollywood Boulevard in a velvet suit and cape, reciting Shakespeare to anyone who would listen. He was known as “Bard of the Boulevard.”

He made his film debut in 1930 with the talkie remake of “Tol’able David.”

‘Never Made Big Money’

By 1935, he had changed his name to John Carradine, and his glorious voice attracted the attention of John Ford and other directors, making him one of Hollywood’s busiest character actors.

“I never made big money in Hollywood; I was paid in hundreds, the stars got thousands,” he said in a 1986 interview. “But I worked with some of the greatest directors in films and some of the greatest writers. They gave me freedom to do what I can do best, and that was gratifying.”

His pictures included “Captains Courageous,” “Jesse James,” “Drums Along the Mohawk,” “Stagecoach,” “The Three Musketeers,” “Cheyenne Autumn” and “The Kentuckian.” Included were a host of horror films, such as “House of Dracula” and “House of Frankenstein.”

Carradine married four times and was divorced twice.

His acting sons are David, best known for playing a half-Chinese priest in the television show “Kung Fu,” Robert, Keith and Bruce. Only Christopher Carradine, an architect, is not an actor.