Since the 1940s, he has claimed that he was the disowned son of the great horror film actor
Boris Karloff and has appeared as a comedian in nightclub vaudeville acts, promoted in their ads as "Tony Karloff, Son of Boris Karloff". There is no mention of which of Karloff's many ex-wives (or, most likely, lovers, since Karloff was never known to be faithful to any of his wives, according to Canada historian Greg Nesteroff's newsletter) his mother would be.