Conrad Stafford Bain 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.
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." Bain's Broadway theatre credits include Candide, Advise and Consent, An Enemy of the People, Uncle Vanya, and On Borrowed Time. Off Broadway, he appeared in the original run of Steambath. While doing stage work inNew 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. 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." He wrote: Bain served as the credit union's first president. 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. 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. He then starred as Park Avenue millionaire Phillip Drummond in Diff'rent Strokes, in which he 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, 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, 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. His body was cremated.
