Born William Henry Pratt, Boris Karloff (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969) was a much-beloved English character actor who worked in a variety of genres and whose career spanned fifty years (albeit all too often in films that were criminal wastes of his talents). He is mostly remembered, however, for his work in horror films (most particularly the Universal Horror cycles of the 1930s and '40s), in which his distinctively gaunt, heavy-browed appearance and sinister lisping voice were a definite advantage.
He was born as the youngest of nine siblings in Surrey (now London), England. Most of his brothers went into higher education and eventually all got jobs at different levels of the British diplomatic corps, and the young William was originally set to follow in their footsteps, studying for a time at King's College London; but he eventually dropped out of university and instead journeyed across the Atlantic to Canada, where he found occasional work as a farm laborer and did various odd jobs until happening upon acting. As he started acting in different theater troupes, he adapted his stage name of "Boris Karloff". From the stage, he drifted into acting in film as the new medium started gaining popularity, and eventually he ended up in Hollywood, where he acted in bit parts for years. Finally, at the age of 44, he had his major breakthrough as an actor, when he played the Monster in the 1931 version of Frankenstein. Karloff proved to be the breakout role of the film, and he since reprised the role several times, most notably in Bride of Frankenstein and Son of Frankenstein.
Among his other more famous roles are: the resurrected Egyptian villain Imhotep in The Mummy (1932), and supplying the narration for the classic Chuck Jones adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. In 1939, he appeared in the original run of the play Arsenic and Old Lace as a man whose plastic surgeon had watched too many horror movies; he was unable to appear in the film version because, ironically, his play contract had not yet run out.
His career in films waned somewhat in The '50s and Sixties, as he was reduced, more or less, to playing caricatures of himself in films such as Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953) and The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966). One of Karloff's biographers believes that he was gray-listed during this time as a result of his involvement in the Screen Actors Guild. He found more fulfilling work on television in this period; he starred in the series Colonel March of Scotland Yard, hosted (and sometimes acted in) the horror anthologies Thriller and The Veil, and guest starred on series such as The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. (in drag!), The Wild Wild West and Route 66.
Nearing the end of his career and life, he achieved a personal Crowning Moment of Awesome in the Peter Bogdanovich nail-biter Targets, playing... Byron Orlock, a veteran horror-movie actor nearing the end of his career and life. An earlier Real Life Crowning Moment Of Awesome occurred in Regina, Saskatchewan, in 1912, when as an unknown actor in a travelling theatre troupe he led fundraising efforts to help the victims of a devastating tornado— and ended up raising more money for the victims than the federal government.
Karloff was married six times, and had one daughter by his fifth wife. He died of pneumonia in 1969, at the age of 81.
In an ironic twist that the actor surely would have appreciated, for more than a decade after his death he continued to entertain readers of the eponymous Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery comic book from Gold Key/Whitman Comics as he was depicted introducing each issue, Rod Serling-style, becoming a Posthumous Character. His voice has enjoyed a similar afterlife; referenced and parodied so often over the years that, much like that of Peter Lorre, it now exists independent of him. Arguably the most notable examples are the kitch classic song "The Monster Mash" and the iconic, "They're coming to get you Barbara!" from Night of the Living Dead (1968). With that, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas airing like clockwork every holiday well into the 21st century, it often comes as a shock to younger people to learn he died over a half-century ago.
Boris Karloff has appeared in the following works:
- The Deadlier Sex, as Jules Borney (1920)
- The Courage Of Marge O Doone, as Tavish (1920)
- The Hope Diamond Mystery, as the priest of Kama-Sita and as Dakar (1921)
- Without Benefit Of Clergy, as by Ahmed Khan (1921)
- Cheated Hearts, as Nei Hamid (1921)
- The Cave Girl, as Baptise (1921)
- The Man From Downing Street, as Maharajah Jehan (1922)
- The Infidel, as the Nabob (1922)
- Two Arabian Knights, in a small role as a ship's purser (1927)
- The Criminal Code, as prison inmate Ned Galloway (1931)
- Five Star Final, as scumbag paparazzo reporter Isopod (1931)
- Frankenstein, as the Monster (1931) — The first time Karloff played the part.
- Scarface, as Gaffney (1932)
- The Old Dark House, as Morgan, the butler (1932)
- The Mask of Fu Manchu, in Yellowface as Dr. Fu Manchu (1932)
- The Mummy, as the Mummy, Imhotep, AKA Ardeth Bey (1932)
- The Ghoul, as Professor Morlant (1933)
- John Ford's The Lost Patrol, as Sanders (1934)
- The House of Rothschild, as Count Ledrantz (1934)
- The Black Cat, as Hjalmar Poelzig (opposite Bela Lugosi) (1934)
- Bride of Frankenstein, as the Monster (1935) — The second time Karloff played the part.
- The Raven, as Edmond Bateman (1935) — Note this is the first Karloff film of this name.
- The Black Room, as Baron Gregor de Berghman, AKA Anton de Berghman (1935)
- The Invisible Ray, as Dr. Janos Rukh (1936)
- The Walking Dead, as John Ellman (1936)
- Juggernaut, as Dr. Victor Sartorius (1936)
- The Man Who Changed His Mind, as Dr. Laurience (1936)
- Charlie Chan at the Opera, as the mad opera singer, Gravelle (1936) — No, he did not sing; he was dubbed.
- West Of Shanghai, as General Wu Yen Fang (1937)
- The Invisible Menace, as Mr. Jevries, AKA Dolman (1938)
- Mr. Wong, Detective, as Mr. James Lee Wong (1938) — Karloff would play the part three more times.
- Devil's Island, as Dr. Charles Gaudet (1939)
- Son of Frankenstein, as the Monster (1939) — The third and last time Karloff played the part.
- The Mystery of Mr. Wong, as Mr. James Lee Wong (1939)
- Mr. Wong in Chinatown, as Mr. James Lee Wong (1939)
- The Man They Could Not Hang, as Dr. Henryk Savaard (1939)
- Tower of London, as Mord, Richard III's torturer (1939)
- Doomed To Die, as Mr. James Lee Wong (1940) — The fourth and last time Karloff played the part.
- The Fatal Hour, as John Jasper (1940)
- British Intelligence, as Valdar (1940)
- Black Friday, as Dr. Ernest Sovac (1940)
- The Man with Nine Lives, as Dr. Leon Kravaal (1940)
- Before I Hang, as Dr. John Garth (1940)
- The Ape, as Dr. Bernard Adrian (1940)
- You'll Find Out, as Judge Spencer Mainwaring (1940) — A Kay Kyser musical, in which Karloff appears with Bela Lugosi and Peter Lorre
- The Devil Commands, as Dr. Julian Blair (1941)
- The Boogie Man Will Get You, as Prof. Nathaniel Billings (1942)
- The Climax, as Dr. Friedrich Hohner (1944)
- House of Frankenstein, as Dr. Gustav Niemann (1944) — In this outing, Karloff is the mad scientist, while Glenn Strange plays the Monster.
- The Body Snatcher, as Cabman John Gray (1945). The first of three movies he made with Val Lewton.
- Isle of the Dead, as Gen. Nikolas Pherides (1945) — Second film with Val Lewton
- Bedlam, as George Sims, master of the Bedlam insane asylum (1946) — Third film with Val Lewton
- The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947), as Dr. Hugo Hollingshead (1947)
- Unconquered, as Guyasuta, chief of the Seneca Indians (1947) — No, really. It's a Gary Cooper Western.
- Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome, as Gruesome (1947)
- Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff, as Swami Talpur (1949) — Dire as it is, it's better than the next outing with the comedy duo.
- The Boris Karloff Mystery Playhouse, as the Horror Host (1949)
- The Strange Door, as Voltan (1951)
- The Black Castle, as Dr Meissen (1952)
- Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, as Dr. Henry Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953)
- Colonel March of Scotland Yard, as Colonel March (1954-1956)
- Frankenstein 1970, as Baron Victor von Frankenstein (1958)
- Corridors of Blood, as Dr. Bolton (1958)
- Heart of Darkness, as the first screen Kurtz (1958) — An episode of Playhouse 90.
- The Veil, as Horror Host, plus various roles (1958)
- Out of This World, as the Horror Host (1962)
- The Raven, as Dr. Scarabus (1963) — The second of Karloff's films with this title, this is an American-International comedy-horror romp, in which Karloff plays an over-the-top villain opposite Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Jack Nicholson. Notably spawned the following:
- The Terror, as Baron Victor Frederick von Leppe (1963) — Famous for being filmed in four days with five different directors (though this has been disputed) on the set of The Raven when that film finished ahead of schedule. Jack Nicholson co-stars.
- The Comedy of Terrors, as Amos Hinchley (1963) — Another American-International comedy-horror outing with Price and Lorre, this time adding Basil Rathbone to the mix.
- Bikini Beach, as the Art Collector (1963) — Bet you never dreamed that Karloff co-starred with Frankie and Annette, did you?
- Black Sabbath (1963) — Karloff was the host of this anthology as well as the lead in one of the segments.
- Die, Monster, Die!, as Nahum Witley (1965)
- The Daydreamer, as the Rat (1966)
- The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini, as Hiram Stokely, a corpse (1966) — This time Tommy Kirk (of Catalina Caper infamy) is the beach boy.
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, as the Grinch — and read by Boris Karloff, too! The producers also wanted him to sing "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch", but he declined, believing his singing voice wasn't up to par for the song (which was instead performed by Thurl Ravenscroft, though a clerical error left him off the credits, and both men having deep voices led to a long-standing belief that Karloff had sung it.) (1966) (TV)
- Mad Monster Party?, as Dr. Boris von Frankenstein (1967) — A Rankin/Bass Productions Stop Motion puppetry cartoon.
- Curse of the Crimson Altar, as Professor Walsh (1968)
- Targets, as Byron Orlock (1968)
- The Incredible Invasion, as Professor John Mayer (1971)
