BORIS KARLOFF BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Boris Karloff, born Henry William Pratt in East Dulwish, London, England on November 23, 1887, the youngest of nine children, was most famous for being an English actor who appeared as the monster in "Frankenstein" at the age of 44.  He was thought of as the black sheep of his family growing up. No one deemed him for success.  He was married six times and had one daughter, Sara Karloff Cotten.  In 1907, he won admission to the University of London, King's College, London, England and his original goal in life was to become a diplomat like his father.  School was not his forte and he had always dreamt of becoming an actor but was ridiculed by his family.  However, at the age of 21, in 1909 he eloped with his first wife, Olive Wilton, and left England to go live in Canada.  

He worked as a laborer and then joined various touring companies and slowly was becoming known as a skilled actor. It was at this time he chose to change his name to Boris Karloff.   Within eight years he had already done forty-five silent films working for Universal Studios.  "The Last of The Mohicans", "Forbidden Cargo", and a division of the "Tarzan" series were among those early films.  During his 12 year acting period, from 1919 to 1931, he had roles in various films such as "Cheated Hearts", "The Infidel", "The Altar Stairs", "Omar, The Tentmaker", "The Prisoner", "Dynamite Dan", "Lady Robinhood", "The Golden Web", and many more.  His first significant hit film was Howard Hawks' "The Criminal Code" in 1931.  He was making a weekly salary of $750 and had clearly earned this as in 1932 alone he completed 9 films.  It was perhaps on the film "The Criminal Code" where James Whale took first notice of Boris Karloff.  An actor by the name of Bela Lugosi turned down the part of the monster in "Frankenstein" and therefore the role went to Boris Karloff.  His performance earned him critical acclaim and was the biggest jump in his acting career.  From there on out Boris appeared in dozens of similar films.

There were only a few times during his acting career that he varied slightly from horror films and emerged in films such as "The Lost Patrol".  He also appeared on Broadway in 1941 in "Arsenic and Old Lace" and as Captain Hook in "Peter Pan" in 1950.  He also did a film in 1968 titled "Targets", directed by Peter Bogdanovich which was also one of his all time greatest.  He is also remembered for his voice-over work, such as the 1965 cartoon version of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" where Karloff narrated and played The Grinch. 

Boris Karloff was known within the film industry as a kind man with a gentle manner.  He also played a big role in the foundation of SAG (Screen Actors Guild) in 1933.  In 1956 he was a Tony actor Drama Nominee and in 1967 he won a Grammy for best recording for children.  Boris loved children and was actively involved in charities benefiting children; he would dress up every year as Santa Claus and go to the children's hospital in Baltimore and visit with the physically disabled children.  Despite his monster persona, children adored him.  He even succeeded in having a lifetime acting career, despite his strong "lisp". His last work, made in Mexico in 1968, was a trio of low budget films, "The Incredible Invasions" being the last to be released in 1971. 

In 1958 Boris Karloff hosted a horror suspense anthology series for television "The Veil" that never aired but is able to be viewed in its entirety.

Karloff battled emphysema for quite a few years before passing away at a Sussex hospital in England on February 2nd, 1969. He was cremated following a requested low key service.  He chose to retain his British citizenship in 1955 and only travel to America for work.  He also never actually legally changed his name to Boris Karloff, but signed all documents as William H. Pratt aka Boris Karloff.

Karloff has been remembered in various ways for his contribution to film and television.  He was awarded two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; one at 1737 Vine street for Motion Pictures and the other at 6664 Hollywood Boulevard for Television.  He was even featured by the US Postal service as Frankenstein's monster and the Mummy in its series "Classical Monster Movie Stamps" issued in September 1997.  Most important however, is that Boris Karloff will always be remembered as the King of Horror and it is unlikely that an actor of his caliber will follow in his foot steps in years to come.

Filmography

1916 The Dumb Girl of Portici
 
1918 The Lightning Raider
 
1919 The Masked Rider
 
1919 His Majesty, the American
 
1919 The Prince and Betty
 
1920 The Deadlier Sex
 
1920 The Courage of Marge O'Doone
 
1920 The Last of the Mohicans
 
1921 The Hope Diamond Mystery
 
1921 Without Benefit of Clergy
 
1921 Cheated Hearts
 
1921 The Cave Girl
 
1922 The Man from Downing Street
 
1922 The Infidel
 
1922 The Altar Stairs
 
1923 Omar the Tentmaker
 
1923 A Woman Conquers
 
1923 The Gentleman from America
 
1923 The Prisoner
 
1924 Riders of the Plains
 
1924 The Hellion
 
1924 Dynamite Dan
 
1925 Parisian Nights
 
1925 Forbidden Cargo
 
1925 The Prairie Wife
 
1925 Perils of the Wild
 
1925 Never the Twain Shall Meet
 
1925 Lady Robinhood
 
1926 The Greater Glory
 
1926 Her Honor, the Governor
 
1926 The Bells
 
1926 The Nickel-Hopper
 
1926 The Golden Web
 
1926 The Eagle of the Sea
 
1926 Flames
 
1926 Old Ironsides
 
1926 Flaming Fury
 
1926 Valencia
 
1926 The Man in the Saddle
 
1927 Tarzan and the Golden Lion
 
1927 Let It Rain
 
1927 The Meddlin' Stranger
 
1927 The Princess from Hoboken
 
1927 The Phantom Buster
 
1927 Soft Cushions
 
1927 Two Arabian Knights
 
1927 The Love Mart
 
1928 The Vanishing Rider
 
1928 Burning the Wind
 
1928 Vultures of the Sea
 
1928 The Little Wild Girl
 
1929 The Devil's Chaplain
 
1929 The Fatal Warning
 
1929 The Phantom of the North
 
1929 Two Sisters
 
1929 Anne Against the World
 
1929 Behind That Curtain
 
1929 The King of the Kongo
 
1929 The Unholy Night
 
1930 The Bad One
 
1930 The Sea Bat
 
1930 The Utah Kid
 
1930 The Mother's Cry
 
1931 Sous les verrous
 
1931 The Criminal Code
 
1931 King of the Wild
 
1931 Cracked Nuts
 
1931 Young Donovan's Kid
 
1931 Smart Money
 
1931 The Public Defender
 
1931 I Like Your Nerve
 
1931 Graft
 
1931 Five Star Final
 
1931 The Yellow Ticket
 
1931 The Mad Genius
 
1931 The Guilty Generation
 
1931 Frankenstein
 
1931 Tonight or Never
 
1932 Behind the Mask
 
1932 Alias the Doctor
 
1932 Business and Pleasure
 
1932 Scarface
 
1932 The Miracle Man
 
1932 Night World
 
1932 The Old Dark House
 
1932 The Mask of Fu Manchu
 
1932 The Mummy
 
1933 The Ghoul
 
1934 The Lost Patrol
 
1934 The House of Rothschild
 
1934 The Black Cat
 
1934 Gift of Gab
 
1935 Bride of Frankenstein
 
1935 The Raven
 
1935 The Black Room
 
1936 The Invisible Ray
 
1936 The Walking Dead
 
1936 Juggernaut
 
1936 The Man Who Changed His Mind
 
1936 Charlie Chan at the Opera
 
1937 Night Key
 
1937 West of Shanghai
 
1938 The Invisible Menace
 
1938 Mr. Wong, Detective
 
1939 Devil's Island
 
1939 Son of Frankenstein
 
1939 The Mystery of Mr. Wong
 
1939 Mr. Wong in Chinatown
 
1939 The Man They Could Not Hang
 
1939 Tower of London
 
1940 The Fatal Hour
 
1940 British Intelligence
 
1940 Black Friday
 
1940 The Man with Nine Lives
 
1940 Doomed to Die
 
1940 Before I Hang
 
1940 The Ape
 
1940 You'll Find Out
 
1941 The Devil Commands
 
1942 The Boogie Man Will Get You
 
1944 The Climax
 
1944 House of Frankenstein
 
1945 The Body Snatcher
 
1945 Isle of the Dead
 
1946 Bedlam
 
1947 The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
 
1947 Lured
 
1947 Unconquered
 
1947 Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome
 
1948 Tap Roots
 
1948 The Emperor's Nightingale
 
1949 Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff
 
1951 The Strange Door
 
1952 Colonel March Investigates
 
1952 The Black Castle
 
1953 Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
 
1954 The Island Monster
 
1954 The Hindu
 
1957 Voodoo Island

1958 The Veil
 
1958 The Juggler of Our Lady
 
1958 The Haunted Strangler
 
1958 Corridors of Blood
 
1963 Black Sabbath
 
1963 The Terror
 
1963 The Raven
 
1964 Bikini Beach
 
1964 The Comedy of Terrors
 
1965 Die, Monster, Die!
 
1966 The Daydreamer
 
1966 The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini
 
1966 How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
 
1967 The Venetian Affair
 
1967 Mad Monster Party?
 
1967 The Sorcerers
 
1968 Targets
 
1968 Curse of the Crimson Altar
 
1968 The Fear Chamber
 
1968 House of Evil
 
1971 The Incredible Invasion
 
1971 Isle of the Snake People