About Me
Brought up in Dulwich and Enfield, Karloff was the youngest of eight children.
He never knew his father, Edward Pratt of the Indian Salt Revenue Services; he
died when Karloff was a baby. His mother also died when he was still young,
and he was largely brought up by his brothers and half-sister Emma. His eldest
brother, George, was an actor for a time, and this had an influence on the young
William Henry, who did his best to emulate his brother. He had also inherited a
sense of wander lust from his father, who had spent his final years living a romantic
life on far away islands. In 1909, Karloff sailed for Canada where he dug ditches,
laid rail track and tried acting with touring companies. The latter paid best, so he
decided to stick with it. In 1919, he moved to America and got his first movie jobs
as an extra. He worked steadily through the 20's, usually playing the villain, but not
getting any leading parts until Howard Hawks cast him as the murderous prison
barber in 'Criminal Code' (1931).
The quiet, gentle, watchful actor's sympathetic nature shone through the role that was
to make him a household name and a star, the 'monster' in 'Frankenstein' (1931). The overwhelming success of this part, to a certain degree, dictated the direction his career was to take. The majority of his movies tended to be in the horror/fantasy gendre,
hiding his scope as an actor. In later years, though, he used this typecasting to comic
effect. 'The Raven' (1963), also staring Peter Loree and Vincent Price, is an almost
cute, black comedy about two elderly, waring magicians (Karloff and Price) who, at
one point, zap Peter Loree, turning him into raspberry jam.
Karloff did make other genre movies during this time. He played a gangster in 'Scar
Face' (1932) with Paul Muni and George Raft. He made his soft voice with its English
Public School accent and slight lisp sound sinister and menacing. It could have
detracted, but it worked well. He was also the opera singer in 'Charley Chan at the
Opera' (1936) which was totally undubbed. One of his lesser known portrayals and
one of my personal favourites is the almost autobiographical movie 'Targets' (1968).
It was Peter Bogdanovich's first outing as a director and Karloff's last in a movie. He
plays an aging actor making a guest appearance at the re-release of one of his old
movies - 'The Terror' was used for the movie scenes. The cinema is itself terrorized
by a young sniper who is randomly shooting at the audience. The Karloff character
helps capture him during the final nerve-wracking scene.
Undoubtedly though, Karloff will be remembered for his horror movie roles, mainly 'Frankenstein', but also 'The Mummy', 'The Walking Dead' and 'The Old Dark House'. Surprisingly, from the master of horror, he read a collection of stories for children that
was released on record. They are compulsive listening with that quiet, lilting voice,
almost hypnotic in nature. He can also be heard as the voice of the Grinch in the
animated 'The Grinch Who Stole Christmas'.
Karloff was married three times. First in 1923 to Helen Vivian Soule, a dancer who was professionally known as 'Polly'. They divorced in 1929. By 1932, he was married to his second wife, Dorothy Stein, a librarian in the Los Angeles public school system. They divorced in 1945. His third wife was Evelyn Helmore, Daryll Zanuck's assistant story editor and fellow Londoner. Karloff had known her several years before marrying her in 1946. After his death, rumours erupted that Karloff had been married up to ten times. In fact, an entire sub-life based on stories began to emerge . To date, most remain unsubstantiated.
In many ways, Karloff was typical of the era and class into which he was born. He went
to a British Public School boy, and was a fanatic cricketer, gardener and gentleman. In
1951, he and Evelyn moved to New York, frequently traveling between there and their
other home in London. Very little is known about Karloff's private life, only what he
chose to make public. He preferred his films to speak for him, and, with them, he left us a rich legacy.
Béla Lugosi and Boris Karloff may never have been the close friends that we all hoped that were, but they were undeniably the two greatest horror actors in cinema history. Certainly Lon Chaney played three of the all-time classic horror characters, but he was not exclusively a horror actor – in fact, most of his parts were outside the genre. His son, Lon Chaney Jr, played more iconic horror characters than Lugosi or Karloff during his years at Universal, but he arguably played second fiddle to his more senior colleagues in the 1940s, with each of them having long since established themselves by the time of Chaney Jr’s arrival. In the late 1950s, Christopher Lee certainly matched Lugosi and Karloff character for character, but his performances and the films they were in failed to have the impact of the earlier classics. No, there is no actor who came before or since who has made his mark as deeply and greatly as Béla and Boris.
Lugosi was born Béla Ferenc Dezso Blasko on October 20, 1882, in Hungary. According to published accounts, he joined Budapest’s National Theater in 1913. Later, he appeared in several Hungarian films under the pseudonym Arisztid Olt. After World War I, he helped the Communist regime nationalize Hungary’s film industry. Soon after, he barely escaped government arrest and fled to the United States in 1920.
It has passed into legend that Lugosi performed Dracula live on stage in the 1920s, with the most famous production occurring on Broadway in New York in 1927. Hollywood soon beckoned, as Universal’s head of production, Carl Laemmle, Jr., had decided to make film versions of noted horror novels. Laemmle, Jr.’s first major acquisition to go into pre-production was the 1897 Bram Stoker classic, Dracula, though there was much speculation as to who would play the Count. Certainly, Lugosi had popularized the character on the stage, but he was not a film star at the time. Rumors abounded that Lon Chaney might be courted back to Universal from MGM, but much of this is pure speculation and not based on fact. Other actors were considered for the part, which ultimately went to the man who had made the role famous — Lugosi.
Most fans know that Boris Karloff was born William Henry Pratt on November 23, 1887, in Camberwell in South London. By 1930, Karloff was a working actor, getting parts in the play and stage versions of The Criminal Code. His performance as a killer in that film garnered him due attention. When he was at Universal in the spring of 1931 making Graft, James Whale had been brought aboard a troubled new production that Universal was fashioning as their grand follow-up to Dracula. It seems that Lugosi and Robert Florey, the original director for the new production, could not spark the magic that Laemmle, Jr. was hoping for, especially in light of how successful Dracula became. Laemmle Jr. was unconvinced with a Lugosi-Pierce makeup test for the film, and was even less impressed with Florey’s test footage. Of course, this new film was Frankenstein.
Contrary to some beliefs, in the mid-1930s, there was no real Lugosi-Karloff “horror cycle.†For one, there never was a Dracula sequel with Lugosi (the formidable Dracula’s Daughter did come out in 1936). In fact, though he did play a vampire in several stage and film projects in the 1930s and 1940s, Lugosi only played Count Dracula on screen once more – in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein in 1948, long after the Laemmle regime had ended. The real horror cycle, with numerous Frankenstein, Mummy, and Invisible Man sequels, didn’t fully begin until the late 1930s - early 1940s.
While Lugosi was making Murders in the Rue Morgue, Karloff's next horror role was in The Old Dark House (directed by James Whale in 1932), and at the end of that same year he appeared in another classic horror role — as Im Ho Tep and Ardath Bey, two versions of the Mummy. Notably, in 1934, Karloff and Lugosi teamed for the first time in The Black Cat (directed by Edward G. Ulmer), based on the story by Edgar Allan Poe. Though Karloff’s career seemed to vault higher than Lugosi’s during the 1930s the two made several more films together at Universal including The Raven (directed by Louis Friedlander, 1935) and The Invisible Ray (directed by Lambert Hillyer, 1936). Naturally, these pairings became very popular among fans and cinema enthusiasts alike.
By 1940, with the Laemmles out of the studio, Universal put Lugosi and Karloff together in Son of Frankenstein, again featuring Karloff as the Monster and this time with Lugosi as Ygor, ostensibly his best screen role since Dracula. It might be said that the two horror legends’ film careers were beginning to decline around this time, but they were paired again at their most famous studio when Universal cast them both in Black Friday (directed by Universal regular Arthur Lubin). It was the final time that they would share the screen together in a Universal film.
Lugosi’s career dwindled in the 1950s as he ended up appearing in Ed Wood’s notoriously low budget films. He died in Los Angeles on August 16, 1956. Twelve years and many films later, Karloff caught bronchitis during February of 1968 while in California. He died in England on February 2, 1969. Nevertheless, the two men left a legacy for all time. Their mark is permanently imprinted on the films in which they appeared, the horror genre in general, and the rich overall history of screen characters. Now, we celebrate them in 2005 as the icons that they were, bringing great enjoyment to anyone who has ever watched one of their performances, with four of their best collaborations at last packaged on DVD.
The Lugosi-Karloff films – The Black Cat, The Raven, The Invisible Ray, Black Friday – plus Murders in the Rue Morgue – are at last on DVD from Universal Studios Home Video entitled The Bela Lugosi Collection.
Boris Karloff
born: 23-11-1887
birth place: London, England
died: 02-02-1969
Born William Henry Pratt, the son of a diplomat, he was educated at London University. Karloff's initial goal in life was to become a diplomat like his father.
But in 1909, Karloff, then twenty one, and still known as William Pratt, eloped with Olive Wilton, the first of his five wives, and left England for Canada.
After working as a labourer, he joined a series of touring theatre companies, where he became known as a skilled character actor, often donning heavy makeup and playing men many years older. At this time he changed his name to something more in keeping with his new vocation.
Within eight years, Karloff had appeared in forty five silent films for Universal Studios, among them 'The Last of the Mohicans', 'Forbidden Cargo' and an instalment in the popular 'Tarzan' series.
When Bela Lugosi refused to take a role in which he would have his face hidden by makeup and have no lines, the role of The Monster in 'Frankenstein' went to Boris Karloff. From then on, Karloff was in dozens of similar films.
He departed from the horror genre only a few times, once in the 1934 film, 'The Lost Patrol', and a few times on stage - for example, as Captain Hook in 'Peter Pan'. In the 1968 film, 'Targets', he parodied his earlier career.
He is also well known for providing the voice to the 1965 cartoon version of 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas'.
Karloff was known within the film industry for his great kindness and gentleness of manner; he was also central to the foundation of the Screen Actors Guild.
After battling emphysema for a number of years, Boris Karloff died at his home in England in February 1969.
"My house here in Beverly Hills, California"
Horror film favorite Boris Karloff played the scariest of monsters, yet he gave the beasts a sense of humanity. He also had a long and varied film career, playing such diverse characters as Fu Manchu, a Hindu servant, an Indian chief, a butler, a sheik, a detective, a racketeer, a murderer, and of course, Frankenstein. Born in London, Boris grew up to be a great fan of cricket and gardening. Many actors achieve popular status among fans, but Boris has been elevated to cult hero, and remains one of the great character players in movie history.
