Colin Clive (20 January 1900 – 25 June 1937) was an English stage and screen actor best remembered for his portrayal of Dr. Henry Frankenstein in James Whale's two Universal Frankenstein films Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein.
Colin Glenn Clive-Greig was born in Saint-Malo, France, to an English colonel, Colin Philip Greig, and his wife, Caroline Margaret Lugard Clive. He attended Stonyhurst College and subsequently Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where an injured knee disqualified him from military service and contributed to his becoming a stage actor.
Clive created the role of Steve Baker, the white husband of racially mixed Julie LaVerne, in the first London production of Show Boat; the production featured Cedric Hardwicke and Paul Robeson. Clive first worked with James Whale in the Savoy Theatre production of Journey's End and subsequently joined the British community in Hollywood, repeating his stage role in the film version.
Hollywood
Clive's first screen role, in Journey's End (1930), was also directed by James Whale. Clive played the tormented alcoholic Captain Stanhope, a character that (much like Clive's other roles) mirrored his personal life. He was an in-demand leading man for a number of major film actresses of the era, including Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Corinne Griffith and Jean Arthur. He starred as Edward Rochester in the 1934 adaptation of Jane Eyre opposite Virginia Bruce. He was a descendant of Clive of India and appeared in a featured role in a film biography of his ancestor in 1935.
Personal life
Clive was rumored to be bisexual. He married Jeanne de Casalis in June 1929, though they were estranged for several years before his death.
Death
Colin Clive suffered from severe chronic alcoholism and died from complications of tuberculosis in 1937 at age 37.
Clive's alcoholism was apparent to his co-stars, as he was often seen napping on set and sometimes was so intoxicated that he had to be held upright for over-the-shoulder shots. Clive was tormented by the medical threat of amputating his long-damaged leg.
Forrest J Ackerman recalled visiting Clive's body in the funeral parlour: "As I recall, he had a dressing gown on and he was calmly lying there. And he looked very much like that scene in Bride". Over 300 mourners turned out. One of the pallbearers was Peter Lorre.
