Boris Karloff

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Boris Karloff and Zita Johann in The Mummy (1932), directed by Karl Freund.

Boris Karloff

British actor

Also known as: Charles Edward Pratt, William Henry Pratt

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Nov 21, 2024 • Article History

Quick Facts

Original name:: William Henry Pratt

Born:: November 23, 1887, London, England

Died:: February 2, 1969, Midhurst, West Sussex (aged 81)

Also Known As:: Charles Edward Pratt; William Henry Pratt

Awards And Honors:: Grammy Award (1967); Grammy Award (1968): Best Recording for Children

Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In):: "The Incredible Invasion" (1971); "La muerte viviente" (1971); "El coleccionista de cadáveres" (1970); "Fear Chamber" (1968); "House of Evil" (1968); "Curse of the Crimson Altar" (1968); "The Name of the Game" (1968); "The Red Skelton Show" (1956–1968); "Targets" (1968); "The Sorcerers" (1967); "Mad Monster Party?" (1967); "I Spy" (1967); "The Venetian Affair" (1966); "The Girl from U.N.C.L.E." (1966); "The Wild Wild West" (1966); "The Daydreamer" (1966); "The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini" (1966); "Die, Monster, Die!" (1965); "Bikini Beach" (1964); "The Comedy of Terrors" (1963); "I tre volti della paura" (1963); "The Terror" (1963); "The Raven" (1963); "Route 66" (1962); "The Dickie Henderson Show" (1962); "Theatre '62" (1962); "The DuPont Show of the Month" (1960); "Playhouse 90" (1956–1960); "General Electric Theater" (1955–1959); "The Gale Storm Show: Oh! Susanna" (1959); "Corridors of Blood" (1958); "The Veil" (1958); "Frankenstein 1970" (1958); "Grip of the Strangler" (1958); "Studio One" (1951–1958); "Shirley Temple's Storybook" (1958); "Telephone Time" (1958); "Suspicion" (1957); "Lux Video Theatre" (1951–1957); "Voodoo Island" (1957); "Climax!" (1954–1956); "Colonel March of Scotland Yard" (1954–1956); "The Alcoa Hour" (1956); "The United States Steel Hour" (1955); "The Elgin Hour" (1955); "The Best of Broadway" (1955); "Sabaka" (1954); "Il mostro dell'isola" (1954); "Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1953); "Suspense" (1949–1953); "Tales of Tomorrow" (1952–1953); "Robert Montgomery Presents" (1951–1953); "Hollywood Opening Night" (1953); "The Black Castle" (1952); "Schlitz Playhouse of Stars" (1952); "Curtain Call" (1952); "CBS Television Workshop" (1952); "The Strange Door" (1951); "Lights Out" (1950); "Masterpiece Playhouse" (1950); "Starring Boris Karloff" (1949); "Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff" (1949); "The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre" (1949); "The Emperor's Nightingale" (1949); "The Ford Theatre Hour" (1949); "Tap Roots" (1948); "Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome" (1947); "Unconquered" (1947); "Lured" (1947); "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" (1947); "Bedlam" (1946); "Isle of the Dead" (1945); "The Body Snatcher" (1945); "House of Frankenstein" (1944); "The Climax" (1944); "The Boogie Man Will Get You" (1942); "The Devil Commands" (1941); "You'll Find Out" (1940); "The Ape" (1940); "Before I Hang" (1940); "Doomed to Die" (1940); "The Man with Nine Lives" (1940); "Black Friday" (1940); "British Intelligence" (1940); "The Fatal Hour" (1940); "Tower of London" (1939); "The Man They Could Not Hang" (1939); "Mr. Wong in Chinatown" (1939); "The Mystery of Mr. Wong" (1939); "Son of Frankenstein" (1939); "Devil's Island" (1939); "Mr. Wong, Detective" (1938); "The Invisible Menace" (1938); "West of Shanghai" (1937); "Night Key" (1937); "Charlie Chan at the Opera" (1936); "The Man Who Changed His Mind" (1936); "Juggernaut" (1936); "The Walking Dead" (1936); "The Invisible Ray" (1936); "The Black Room" (1935); "The Raven" (1935); "Bride of Frankenstein" (1935); "Gift of Gab" (1934); "The Black Cat" (1934); "The House of Rothschild" (1934); "The Lost Patrol" (1934); "The Ghoul" (1933); "The Mummy" (1932); "The Mask of Fu Manchu" (1932); "The Old Dark House" (1932); "Night World" (1932); "The Miracle Man" (1932); "Scarface" (1932); "The Cohens and Kellys in Hollywood" (1932); "Behind the Mask" (1932); "Tonight or Never" (1931); "Frankenstein" (1931); "The Guilty Generation" (1931); "Graft" (1931); "I Like Your Nerve" (1931); "Five Star Final" (1931); "The Public Defender" (1931); "Young Donovan's Kid" (1931); "Cracked Nuts" (1931); "King of the Wild" (1931); "The Criminal Code" (1930); "The Utah Kid" (1930); "The Sea Bat" (1930); "The Bad One" (1930); "The King of the Kongo" (1929); "Behind That Curtain" (1929); "The Phantom of the North" (1929); "Anne Against the World" (1929); "Two Sisters" (1929); "The Devil's Chaplain" (1929); "The Fatal Warning" (1929); "The Little Wild Girl" (1928); "Burning the Wind" (1928); "Vultures of the Sea" (1928); "The Vanishing Rider" (1928); "The Love Mart" (1927); "Two Arabian Knights" (1927); "Soft Cushions" (1927); "The Phantom Buster" (1927); "The Meddlin' Stranger" (1927); "Tarzan and the Golden Lion" (1927); "The Princess from Hoboken" (1927); "Let It Rain" (1927); "Flaming Fury" (1926); "Flames" (1926); "The Golden Web" (1926); "The Bells" (1926); "Her Honor, the Governor" (1926); "The Greater Glory" (1926); "Perils of the Wild" (1925); "Lady Robinhood" (1925); "Parisian Nights" (1925); "The Prairie Wife" (1925); "Forbidden Cargo" (1925); "Dynamite Dan" (1924); "Riders of the Plains" (1924); "The Hellion" (1924); "The White Panther" (1924); "The Prisoner" (1923); "Omar the Tentmaker" (1922); "The Woman Conquers" (1922); "The Altar Stairs" (1922); "The Infidel" (1922); "The Man from Downing Street" (1922); "The Cave Girl" (1921); "Cheated Hearts" (1921); "Without Benefit of Clergy" (1921); "The Hope Diamond Mystery" (1921); "The Courage of Marge O'Doone" (1920); "The Deadlier Sex" (1920); "The Prince and Betty" (1919); "The Lightning Raider" (1919)

Boris Karloff (born November 23, 1887, London, England—died February 2, 1969, Midhurst, West Sussex) was an English actor who became internationally famous for his sympathetic and chilling portrayal of the monster in the classic horror film Frankenstein (1931).

Karloff, the youngest of nine children born to Edward and Eliza Pratt, deliberately failed a consular service exam in order to pursue a career in acting. He sailed to Canada in 1909 and the following year joined a touring theatre troupe. A motion-picture extra as well as a stage actor from 1918, he played minor roles in silent films until he earned recognition for his portrayal of a convict-turned-killer—a part he had played on Broadway in 1930—in the sound film The Criminal Code (1931). When Bela Lugosi turned down the role of the monster in Universal Pictures’s adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, one of Hollywood’s first important horror films, Karloff was hired for the part. The film was a sensation, and Karloff’s tender, sympathetic performance received so much critical praise that he became an overnight sensation.

When the actor starred in a succession of frightening films such as The Old Dark House (1932) and The Mummy (1932), the name “Karloff” became synonymous with horror and the macabre; for a few Universal films of the period, he was billed only by his surname. He reprised the role of Frankenstein’s monster twice, in the highly regarded sequels Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939), and teamed with fellow horror star Lugosi for several films, including The Black Cat (1934), The Raven (1935), and The Body Snatcher (1945). Karloff also scored a major success on Broadway in the comedy Arsenic and Old Lace (1941) and frequently performed on radio in the 1940s in such chilling programs as Lights Out and Inner Sanctum.

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Karloff continued acting in the horror genre for the rest of his career, although he took other roles, including that of Mr. Wong in a Monogram Studios detective series of the 1930s and ’40s and that of an Indian chief in Cecil B. DeMille’s Unconquered (1947). More typically, he played mad doctors and scientists, as in Black Friday (1940) and House of Frankenstein (1944). He also had another stage success in 1950, as Captain Hook in the Broadway revival of Peter Pan.

The popularity of horror films waned throughout the 1940s, and Karloff began working in television as early as 1949. He guest-starred in many anthology shows and hosted several shows of his own, including the popular Thriller (1960–62). His most famous television performance was in the animated special How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966), for which he provided the voices of both the Grinch and the narrator. He later won a Grammy Award for his audio recording of the Dr. Seuss story.

When the horror genre began to reemerge in the 1960s, Karloff’s career flourished once again. Films such as The Raven (1963), The Comedy of Terrors (1963), and Die, Monster, Die! (1965) introduced the septuagenarian Karloff to a new generation of film fans. Though sick and in constant pain, he made a memorable and dignified appearance as an aging horror star in Peter Bogdanovich’s first film, Targets (1968). In this, as in most of his films, Karloff, with his soft voice and gentle demeanour, proved that horror was most effectively conveyed via understatement and quiet dignity.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.