Boris Karloff was born 'William Henry Pratt' on November 23, 1887, in Camberwell, London, England and along with fellow actors Lon Chaney, Bela Lugosi and Vincent Price is recognized as one of the true icons of horror cinema.
Karloff's 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 appearing in a plethora of classic horror movies in the 30's and 40's.
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). 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) (TV).
Karloff 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. (IMDB)
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| Frankenstein (1931) |
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| Frankenstein (1931) |
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| Behind the Mask (1932) |
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| The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932) |
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| The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932) |
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| The Old Dark House (1932) |
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| The Mummy (1932) |
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| The Mummy (1932) |
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| The Ghoul (1933) Japanese poster |
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| The Black Cat (1934) |
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| The Black Cat (1934) |
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| The Lost Patrol (1934) |
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| The Lost Patrol (1934) |
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| Bride of Frankenstein (1935) |
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| Bride of Frankenstein (1935) |
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| Bride of Frankenstein (1935) |
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| The Raven (1935) |
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| The Raven (1935) |
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| Charlie Chan at the Opera (1936) |
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| The Invisible Ray (1936) |
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| The Invisible Ray (1936) |
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| The Man Who Lived Again (1936) |
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| The Walking Dead (1936) |
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| The Walking Dead (1936) |
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| Night Key (1937) |
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| Devil's Island (1939) |
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| Mr. Wong in Chinatown (1939) |
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| Son of Frankenstein (1939) |
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| Son of Frankenstein (1939) Belgian poster |
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| The Man They Could Not Hang (1939) |
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| Tower of London (1939) |
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| Before I Hang (1940) |
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| Black Friday (1940) |
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| The Man With Nine Lives (1940) |
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| The Man With Nine Lives (1940) |
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| The Ape (1940) |
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| You'll Find Out (1940) |
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| The Devil Commands (1941) |
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| The Boogie Man Will Get You (1942) |
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| House of Frankenstein (1944) |
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| The Climax (1944) |
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| The Body Snatcher (1945) |
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| The Body Snatchers (1945) |
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| The Body Snatcher (1945) |
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| Isle of the Dead (1945) |
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| Bedlam (1946) |
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| Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome (1947) |
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| Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff (1949) |
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| The Strange Door (1951) |
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| The Black Castle (1952) |
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| Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953) |
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| Corridors of Blood (1958) |
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| Frankenstein 1970 (1958) |
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| The Haunted Strangler (1958) |
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| Black Sabbath (1963) |
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| Black Sabbath (1963) |
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| Black Sabbath (1963) Spanish poster |
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| The Raven (1963) |
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| The Comedy of Terrors (1963) |
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| The Terror (1963) |
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| Die Monster Die (1965) |
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| The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966) |
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| The Sorcerers (1967) |
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| Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968) |
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| Targets (1968) |
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