Boris Karloff(1887-1969)
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Along with fellow actors Lon Chaney,
Bela Lugosi and
Vincent Price, Boris Karloff is
recognized as one of the true icons of horror cinema, and the actor
most closely identified with the general public's perception of the
"monster" from the classic
Mary Shelley book, "Frankenstein".
William Henry Pratt was born on November 23, 1887, in Camberwell,
London, England, the son of Edward John Pratt Jr., the Deputy
Commissioner of Customs Salt and Opium, Northern Division, Indian Salt
Revenue Service, and his third wife, Eliza Sarah Millard.
He was educated at London University in anticipation that he would
pursue a diplomatic career; however, he emigrated to Canada in 1909 and
joined a touring company based out of Ontario and adopted the stage
name of "Boris Karloff." He toured back and forth across the USA for
over ten years in a variety of low-budget theater shows and eventually
ended up in Hollywood, reportedly with very little money to his name. Needing cash
to support himself, Karloff secured occasional acting work in the
fledgling silent film industry in such pictures as
The Deadlier Sex (1920),
Omar the Tentmaker (1922),
Dynamite Dan (1924) and
Tarzan and the Golden Lion (1927),
in addition to a handful of serials (the majority of which sadly
haven't survived). Karloff supplemented his meager film income by
working as a truck driver in Los Angeles, which allowed him enough time
off to continue to pursue acting roles.
His big break came in 1931 when he was cast as "the monster" in the
Universal production of
Frankenstein (1931), directed by
James Whale, one of the studio's few
remaining auteur directors. The aura of mystery surrounding Karloff was
highlighted in the opening credits, as he was listed as simply "?". The
film was a commercial and critical success for Universal, and Karloff
was instantly established as a hot property in Hollywood. He quickly
appeared in several other sinister roles, including
Scarface (1932) (filmed before
Frankenstein (1931)), the
black-humored
The Old Dark House (1932),
as the namesake Oriental villain of the
Sax Rohmer novels in
The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932),
as undead Im-Ho-Tep in
The Mummy (1932) and the misguided
Prof. Morlant in The Ghoul (1933). He
thoroughly enjoyed his role as a religious fanatic in
John Ford's
The Lost Patrol (1934),
although contemporary critics described it as a textbook example of
overacting.
He donned the signature make-up, neck bolts and asphalt spreader's
boots again to play Frankenstein's monster in the sensational
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
and the less thrilling
Son of Frankenstein (1939).
Karloff, on loan to Fox, appeared in one of the best of the
Warner Oland Chan entries,
Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936),
before beginning his own short-lived Mr. Wong detective series. He was
a wrongly condemned doctor in
Devil's Island (1938),
shaven-headed executioner "Mord the Merciless" in
Tower of London (1939), another
misguided scientist in The Ape (1940),
a crazed scientist surrounded by monsters, vampires and werewolves in
House of Frankenstein (1944),
a murderous cabman in
The Body Snatcher (1945) and
a Greek general fighting vampirism in the
Val Lewton thriller
Isle of the Dead (1945).
While Karloff continued appearing in a plethora of films, many of them
were not up to the standards of his previous efforts, including
appearances in two of the hokey Bud Abbott
and Lou Costello monster movies (he
had appeared with them in an earlier superior effort,
Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet the Killer Boris Karloff (1949),
which theater owners often added his name to the marquee), the low
point of the Universal-International horror movie cycle. During the
1950s he was a regular guest on many high-profile TV shows including
The Milton Berle Show (1948),
Tales of Tomorrow (1951),
The Veil (1958),
The Donald O'Connor Show (1954),
The Red Skelton Hour (1951)
and
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show (1956),
to name but a few, and he appeared in a mixed bag of films including
Sabaka (1954) and
Voodoo Island (1957). On Broadway
he appeared as the murderous Brewster brother in the hit, "Arsenic and
Old Lace" (his role, or the absence of him in it, was amusingly
parodied in the film version) and a decade later he enjoyed a long run
in "Peter Pan," perfectly cast as "Captain Hook."
His career experienced something of a revival in the 1960s thanks to
hosting the TV anthology series
Thriller (1960) and indie director
Roger Corman, with Karloff contributing
wonderful performances in
The Raven (1963),
The Terror (1963), the ultra-eerie
Black Sabbath (1963)
and the H.P. Lovecraft-inspired
Die, Monster, Die! (1965).
Karloff's last great role was as an aging horror movie star confronting
a modern-day sniper in the
Peter Bogdanovich film
Targets (1968). In 1970, he played the blind sculptor Franz Badulescu in Cauldron of Blood (1968), written, produced, and directed by Edward Mann, who had also come to the art of film from stage theater. His TV career was capped
off by achieving Christmas immortality as the narrator of
Chuck Jones's perennial animated
favorite,
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966).
Three low-budget Mexican-produced horror films starring an ailing
Karloff were released in the two years after his death; however, they
do no justice to this actor. In retrospect, he never took himself
too seriously as an actor and had a tendency to downplay his acting
accomplishments. Renowned as a refined, kind and warm-hearted
gentleman, with a sincere affection for children and their welfare,
Karloff passed away on February 2, 1969 from emphysema. Respectful of his Indian roots and in true Hindu fashion, he was cremated
at Guildford Crematorium, Godalming, Surrey, England, where he is
commemorated by a plaque in Plot 2 of the Garden of Remembrance.
Bela Lugosi and
Vincent Price, Boris Karloff is
recognized as one of the true icons of horror cinema, and the actor
most closely identified with the general public's perception of the
"monster" from the classic
Mary Shelley book, "Frankenstein".
William Henry Pratt was born on November 23, 1887, in Camberwell,
London, England, the son of Edward John Pratt Jr., the Deputy
Commissioner of Customs Salt and Opium, Northern Division, Indian Salt
Revenue Service, and his third wife, Eliza Sarah Millard.
He was educated at London University in anticipation that he would
pursue a diplomatic career; however, he emigrated to Canada in 1909 and
joined a touring company based out of Ontario and adopted the stage
name of "Boris Karloff." He toured back and forth across the USA for
over ten years in a variety of low-budget theater shows and eventually
ended up in Hollywood, reportedly with very little money to his name. Needing cash
to support himself, Karloff secured occasional acting work in the
fledgling silent film industry in such pictures as
The Deadlier Sex (1920),
Omar the Tentmaker (1922),
Dynamite Dan (1924) and
Tarzan and the Golden Lion (1927),
in addition to a handful of serials (the majority of which sadly
haven't survived). Karloff supplemented his meager film income by
working as a truck driver in Los Angeles, which allowed him enough time
off to continue to pursue acting roles.
His big break came in 1931 when he was cast as "the monster" in the
Universal production of
Frankenstein (1931), directed by
James Whale, one of the studio's few
remaining auteur directors. The aura of mystery surrounding Karloff was
highlighted in the opening credits, as he was listed as simply "?". The
film was a commercial and critical success for Universal, and Karloff
was instantly established as a hot property in Hollywood. He quickly
appeared in several other sinister roles, including
Scarface (1932) (filmed before
Frankenstein (1931)), the
black-humored
The Old Dark House (1932),
as the namesake Oriental villain of the
Sax Rohmer novels in
The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932),
as undead Im-Ho-Tep in
The Mummy (1932) and the misguided
Prof. Morlant in The Ghoul (1933). He
thoroughly enjoyed his role as a religious fanatic in
John Ford's
The Lost Patrol (1934),
although contemporary critics described it as a textbook example of
overacting.
He donned the signature make-up, neck bolts and asphalt spreader's
boots again to play Frankenstein's monster in the sensational
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
and the less thrilling
Son of Frankenstein (1939).
Karloff, on loan to Fox, appeared in one of the best of the
Warner Oland Chan entries,
Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936),
before beginning his own short-lived Mr. Wong detective series. He was
a wrongly condemned doctor in
Devil's Island (1938),
shaven-headed executioner "Mord the Merciless" in
Tower of London (1939), another
misguided scientist in The Ape (1940),
a crazed scientist surrounded by monsters, vampires and werewolves in
House of Frankenstein (1944),
a murderous cabman in
The Body Snatcher (1945) and
a Greek general fighting vampirism in the
Val Lewton thriller
Isle of the Dead (1945).
While Karloff continued appearing in a plethora of films, many of them
were not up to the standards of his previous efforts, including
appearances in two of the hokey Bud Abbott
and Lou Costello monster movies (he
had appeared with them in an earlier superior effort,
Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet the Killer Boris Karloff (1949),
which theater owners often added his name to the marquee), the low
point of the Universal-International horror movie cycle. During the
1950s he was a regular guest on many high-profile TV shows including
The Milton Berle Show (1948),
Tales of Tomorrow (1951),
The Veil (1958),
The Donald O'Connor Show (1954),
The Red Skelton Hour (1951)
and
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show (1956),
to name but a few, and he appeared in a mixed bag of films including
Sabaka (1954) and
Voodoo Island (1957). On Broadway
he appeared as the murderous Brewster brother in the hit, "Arsenic and
Old Lace" (his role, or the absence of him in it, was amusingly
parodied in the film version) and a decade later he enjoyed a long run
in "Peter Pan," perfectly cast as "Captain Hook."
His career experienced something of a revival in the 1960s thanks to
hosting the TV anthology series
Thriller (1960) and indie director
Roger Corman, with Karloff contributing
wonderful performances in
The Raven (1963),
The Terror (1963), the ultra-eerie
Black Sabbath (1963)
and the H.P. Lovecraft-inspired
Die, Monster, Die! (1965).
Karloff's last great role was as an aging horror movie star confronting
a modern-day sniper in the
Peter Bogdanovich film
Targets (1968). In 1970, he played the blind sculptor Franz Badulescu in Cauldron of Blood (1968), written, produced, and directed by Edward Mann, who had also come to the art of film from stage theater. His TV career was capped
off by achieving Christmas immortality as the narrator of
Chuck Jones's perennial animated
favorite,
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966).
Three low-budget Mexican-produced horror films starring an ailing
Karloff were released in the two years after his death; however, they
do no justice to this actor. In retrospect, he never took himself
too seriously as an actor and had a tendency to downplay his acting
accomplishments. Renowned as a refined, kind and warm-hearted
gentleman, with a sincere affection for children and their welfare,
Karloff passed away on February 2, 1969 from emphysema. Respectful of his Indian roots and in true Hindu fashion, he was cremated
at Guildford Crematorium, Godalming, Surrey, England, where he is
commemorated by a plaque in Plot 2 of the Garden of Remembrance.