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 orphaned African-American 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. Producer Norman Lear later praised Bain's understated comic skill, saying he had "a very rare comedic spine" and could be both a straight man or quietly funny.
In 1987, Bain starred in Mr. President, a political sitcom. In 1991 and 1992, he performed in On Borrowed Time, his last Broadway theatre production.
