History Creator / BorisKarloff

* ''Creator/AbbottAndCostello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'', as Dr. Henry Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953)

* ''Creator/AbbottAndCostello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff'', as Swami Talpur (1949) -- Dire as it is, it's better than the next outing with the comedy duo.

* ''Film/CorridorsOfBlood'', as Dr Bolton (1958)
* ''[[Film/HeartOfDarkness1958 Heart of Darkness]]'', as the first screen Kurtz (1958) -- An episode of ''Series/Playhouse90''.

* ''Series/OutOfThisWorld1962'', as the HorrorHost (1962)

* ''The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini'', as Hiram Stokely, a corpse (1966) -- This time Tommy Kirk (of ''Film/CatalinaCaper'' infamy) is the beach boy.

* ''The Incredible Invasion'', as Professor John Mayer (1971)

* ''Film/BlackSabbath'' (1963) -- Karloff was the host of this anthology as well as the lead in one of the segments.

* ''{{Film/Juggernaut}}'', as Dr. Victor Sartorius (1936)

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 occasionally worked as a farm labourer and did various odd jobs until happening upon acting. As he started acting in different theater troupes, he adapted his [[StageNames 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 ''[[Film/{{Frankenstein 1931}} Frankenstein]]''. Karloff proved to be the breakout role of the film, and he since reprised the role several times, most notably in ''Film/BrideOfFrankenstein'' and ''Film/SonOfFrankenstein''.

* ''[[Film/{{Tower of London}}]]'', as Mord, UsefulNotes/RichardIII's torturer (1939)

* ''{{Film/Tower of London}}'', as Mord, UsefulNotes/RichardIII's torturer (1939)

* ''[[Film/TowerOfLondon]]'', as Mord, UsefulNotes/RichardIII's torturer (1939)

* ''{{Film/Tower of London}}'', as Mord, UsefulNotes/RichardIII's torturer (1939)

* ''[[Film/TowerofLondon]]'', as Mord, UsefulNotes/RichardIII's torturer (1939)

* ''Film/TowerOfLondon'', as Mord, UsefulNotes/RichardIII's torturer (1939)

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 occasionally worked as a farm labourer and did various odd jobs until happening upon acting. As he started acting in different theater troupes, he adapted his [[StageNames stage name]] of "Boris Karloff". From the stage, he eventually drifted into acting on film as the new medium started gaining popularity, and eventually he ended up in Hollywood, where he acted in bit part 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 ''[[Film/{{Frankenstein 1931}} Frankenstein]]''. Karloff proved to be the breakout role of the film, and he since reprised the role several times, most notably in ''Film/BrideOfFrankenstein'' and ''Film/SonOfFrankenstein''.

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 leves 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 occasionally worked as a farm labourer and did various odd jobs until happening upon acting. As he started acting in different theater troupes, he adapted his [[StageNames stage name]] of "Boris Karloff". From the stage, he eventually drifted into acting on film as the new medium started gaining popularity, and eventually he ended up in Hollywood, where he acted in bit part 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 ''[[Film/{{Frankenstein 1931}} Frankenstein]]''. Karloff proved to be the breakout role of the film, and he since reprised the role several times, most notably in ''Film/BrideOfFrankenstein'' and ''Film/SonOfFrankenstein''.

[-[[caption-width-right:310:"When I was nine I played the Demon King in ''Literature/{{Cinderella}}'' and it launched me on a long and happy life of being a monster."]]-]

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 leves of the British diplomatic corps, and the young Willaim was originally set to follow in their footsteps, and studied for time at King's College London, but he eventually dropped out of university, and instead journeyed over the Atlantic to Canada where he occasionally worked as a farm labourer and did various odd jobs until happening upon acting. As he started acting in different theater troupes, he chose his stage name of Boris Karloff. From theater, he eventually drifted into acting on film as the medium started gaining popularity, and eventually he ended up in Hollywood, where he acted in bit part 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 ''[[Film/{{Frankenstein 1931}} Frankenstein]]''. Karloff proved to be the breakout role of the film, and he since reprised the role several times, most notably in ''Film/BrideOfFrankenstein'' and ''Film/SonOfFrankenstein''.

[[quoteright:308:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/boris_karloff.jpg]]
[-[[caption-width-right:308:"When I was nine I played the Demon King in ''Literature/{{Cinderella}}'' and it launched me on a long and happy life of being a monster."]]-]

In an ironic twist the actor 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/Western Comics as he was depicted introducing each issue, Creator/RodSerling-style, becoming a PosthumousCharacter. His voice has enjoyed a similar afterlife; referenced and parodied so often over the years that, much like that of Creator/PeterLorre, 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 ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead''. 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.

Nearing the end of his career and life, he achieved a personal [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMoments Crowning Moment of Awesome]] in the Creator/PeterBogdanovich nail-biter ''Film/{{Targets}}'', playing... Byron Orlock, a veteran horror-movie actor nearing the end of his career and life. An earlier RealLife 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.

His career in films waned somewhat in TheFifties and [[TheSixties Sixties]], as he was reduced, more or less, to [[AdamWesting 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 [[TheHollywoodBlacklist 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 ''Series/ColonelMarchOfScotlandYard'', hosted (and sometimes acted in) the [[GenreAnthology horror anthologies]] ''Series/{{Thriller}}'' and ''Series/TheVeil'', and guest starred on series such as ''Series/TheGirlFromUNCLE'' (in drag!), ''Series/TheWildWildWest'' and ''Series/{{Route 66}}''.

His career in films waned somewhat in TheFifties and [[TheSixties Sixties]], as he was reduced, more or less, to [[AdamWesting 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 suggests that he was "[[HollywoodBlacklist 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 ''Series/ColonelMarchOfScotlandYard'', hosted (and sometimes acted in) the [[GenreAnthology horror anthologies]] ''Series/{{Thriller}}'' and ''Series/TheVeil'', and guest starred on series such as ''Series/TheGirlFromUNCLE'' (in drag!), ''Series/TheWildWildWest'' and ''Series/{{Route 66}}''.

His career in films waned somewhat in TheFifties and [[TheSixties Sixties]], as he was reduced, more or less, to [[AdamWesting 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). He found more fulfilling work on television in this period; he starred in the series ''Series/ColonelMarchOfScotlandYard'', hosted (and sometimes acted in) the [[GenreAnthology horror anthologies]] ''Series/{{Thriller}}'' and ''Series/TheVeil'', and guest starred on series such as ''Series/TheGirlFromUNCLE'' (in drag!), ''Series/TheWildWildWest'' and ''Series/{{Route 66}}''.

[[caption-width-right:308:"When I was nine I played the Demon King in ''Literature/{{Cinderella}}'' and it launched me on a long and happy life of being a monster."]]

[[quoteright:285:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/boris_karloff.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:285:"When I was nine I played the demon king in ''Literature/{{Cinderella}}'' and it launched me on a long and happy life of being a monster."]]

Born William Henry Pratt, [[StageNames Boris Karloff]] (23 November 1887 -– 2 February 1969) was a much-beloved English-born character actor who worked in a [[HeAlsoDid variety of genres]] and whose career spanned fifty years (albeit all too often in films that were [[MoneyDearBoy criminal wastes]] of his talents). He is most remembered, however, for his work in {{horror}} films (perhaps most particularly the Franchise/UniversalHorror cycles of the 1930s and 1940s), where his distinctively sinister lisping voice and gaunt, heavy-browed appearance were a definite advantage.

In an ironic twist the actor 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/Western Comics as he was depicted introducing each issue, Creator/RodSerling-style, becoming a PosthumousCharacter. His voice has enjoyed a similar afterlife; referenced and parodied so often over the years that, much like that of Creator/PeterLorre, 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 ''film/NightOfTheLivingDead''. 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.

In an ironic twist the actor 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/Western Comics as he was depicted introducing each issue, Creator/RodSerling-style, becoming a PosthumousCharacter. Between this and the fact ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas'' continued to air 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.

Born William Henry Pratt, [[StageNames Boris Karloff]] (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969) was a much-beloved English-born character actor who worked in a [[HeAlsoDid variety of genres]] and whose career spanned fifty years (albeit all too often in films that were [[MoneyDearBoy criminal wastes]] of his talents). He is most remembered, however, for his work in {{horror}} films (perhaps most particularly the Franchise/UniversalHorror cycles of the 1930s and 1940s), where his distinctively sinister lisping voice and gaunt, heavy-browed appearance were a definite advantage.

Among his more famous roles: the Monster in the 1931 version of ''[[Film/{{Frankenstein 1931}} Frankenstein]]'' and ''Film/BrideOfFrankenstein'', the resurrected Egyptian villain Imhotep in ''Film/TheMummy1932'', and supplying the narration for the classic Creator/ChuckJones adaptation of ''WesternAnimation/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas''. In 1939, he appeared in the original run of the play ''Theatre/{{Arsenic and Old Lace}}'' as [[CastingGag 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.