The following information is taken from the A&E biography Boris Karloff - The Gentle Monster (1995). This post is a contribution to the Boris Karloff Blogathon. Go to Frankensteinia to see the links from over 100 different sites.
Born William Henry Pratt in a London suburb on November 23rd, 1887. Billy was the youngest of nine children. He had a mixed heritage from his parents roots in the British diplomatic service. His father met his mother while in India. His complexion was dark because his family was East Indian on his mother’s side. When Billy was five his father abandoned the family to live in France. Two years later his mother died. This biography did not mention who took care of him after his mother’s death, only that he did not have a pleasant family life. Nine year old Billy became interested in the theater after playing the Demon King in a parrish production of Cinderella. Some years later after seeing the flamboyant performance of Captain Hook in a London stage production of Peter Pan Billy knew he wanted to be an actor. Despite strong pressure to enter the diplomatic service Billy dropped out of Kings College in London. At the age of 21 he took his modest inheritance and sailed on The Empress of Britain away from his judgemental family.
On May 17, 1909 he arrived in Montreal Canada and worked his way west as a manual laborer. Within a year he reached British Columbia where he exaggerated his credentials and and was hired as an actor with a traveling stock company. It was here he adopted the stage name Boris Karloff. Karloff was a Russian name on his mother’s side and he chose Boris out of thin air. Boris Karloff was never his legal name. All legal papers were signed William Henry Pratt aka Boris Karloff. He emigrated to the United States in 1913 and eventually settled in Los Angeles, home of the rapidly expanding motion picture industry. His first confirmed screen employment was as an extra in the Douglas Fairbanks film His Majesty the American (1919). More screen work followed including a role as an Indian in The Last of the Mohicans (1920). Boris was not a steadily employed actor and was hungry most of the time. His favorite canned soup was Mulligatawny because he could separate the broth from the vegetables and make two meals from it. But, Boris had what he described as a fire in the belly for the craft. By 1924, Boris was working steadily in character roles and bit parts. He was usually cast as a villain. His dark complexion and eyes had him cast as everything from Arab sheiks and gangsters to a Moroccan bartender. His biggest role at the time was as The Mesmerist in The Bells (1926) opposite Lionel Barrymore. In 1928 studios began producing films with sound and even with a prominent lisp Boris had no difficulty showcasing his talent and versatility. In 1930 Karloff married his fourth wife, librarian Dorothy Stein.
In 1930 Universal Studios announced making a movie version of the hit Broadway play Dracula. Lon Chaney was originally cast as Dracula, but while preparing for the role he passed away from throat cancer. Universal decided to take a chance with Hungarian actor Bela Lugosi who had created the part on Broadway. The film was a sensation and Lugosi became a world wide star. He was being referred to as the next Lon Chaney. Universal announced Lugosi would star in their next monster movie adaptation Frankenstein. Much to everyone’s surprise Lugosi turned down the role of Frankenstein. According to Bela’s son, a script with virtually no dialogue wasn’t something his father wanted to do. The make-up and costume for Frankenstein would also be very heavy and his abilities as an actor wouldn’t be used as he thought they should. Frankenstein director James Whale was now looking for his monster. At the time 43 year old Karloff was attracting a lot of media attention for his portrayal of Galloway in Howard Hawk’s The Criminal Code. James Whale had found his monster.
The Frankenstein’s monster was designed by the legendary make-up artist Jack Pierce, with a few additions by Boris Karloff. Karloff added the protruding eyelids, and took out part of his teeth to leave the indent on the side of the monster’s face. Cheesecloth, putty, and toxic industrial chemicals were used to create monster’s look. It took over four hours to apply and had to be repeated from scratch everyday. After the monster’s face was applied, Boris was encased in a heavily padded costume weighing 65 pounds and his feet were dragging 30 pound weighted boots. During filming, Boris worsened a chronic back condition that would send him for spinal treatment at the hospital.
Frankenstein (1931) was a huge sensation that made Karloff world famous. Nothing like it had ever been seen before. After 25 years of playing small parts he was now a superstar. He was so famous that within a year he would be billed with his last name alone, an honor previously reserved for screen immortals like Valentino, Barrymore, and Garbo. Frankenstein was followed by the success of The Mummy (1932). Karloff’s portrayal of Im-ho-tep was another
legendary performance that would prove to stand the test of time. In 1933 he returned to England to film The Ghoul, the first British horror film of the talking era. During this trip he reunited with three of his surviving brothers who had no choice but to admit the black sheep of the family had done well for himself. Boris returned to Hollywood and sought out more diverse roles. By 1934 Universal Studios had both Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi under contract and wasted no time finding films to cast them in together. Karloff was dubbed by the press as more versatile than the heavily accented Lugosi. Rumors circled that Lugosi was resentful of Karloff and his steadily growing fame. Bela Lugosi Jr. said his father regretted turning down the Frankenstein role but never had any personal animosity towards Boris. The two men had nothing but respect for one another as actors.
Karloff was well known for his many acts of personal generosity. He was very liberal and had deep convictions about social and political matters. Karloff was well aware of the grueling demands put on screen actors and was an activist of actor’s rights. He was a key organizer of the Screen Actor’s Guild at a time when it was professionally dangerous to be involved in a union. The group met in secret and used public telephones to speak to one another. Boris was always very proud of his involvement in SAG.
In 1935, Boris put on the monster make-up again in The Bride of Frankenstein. One of the rare Hollywood sequels that is considered superior to it’s original. Director James Whale conceived the film as a sardonic black comedy, while Universal Studios advertising campaign made much of the fact that in this version the monster talks. The film was an international success. However, the tide of the world market was changing. With war looming over Europe, public opinion became concerned with what effect horror movies would have on national morale. Nervous Hollywood executives avoided producing the types of films that had made Boris Karloff a star. His Hollywood assignments were cut in half for nearly three years. The monster boom of the early 1930′s had gone bust. But, nothing stays dead forever. On August 5, 1938 the owner of a near bankrupt Los Angeles theater attempted a desperate stunt and booked Dracula (1930) and Frankenstein(1931) as a double feature. It started a sensation and Boris Karloff, now 50, agreed to put on the monster makeup again in The Son of Frankenstein (1938). Boris felt the film was a pale comparison to it’s predecessors. Any disappointment he had with the film was offset by the birth of his first and only child Sara Jane. Sara Jane was born on her father’s birthday making her one of the more expensive presents he ever received.
Boris became increasingly dissatisfied with the types of roles he was receiving, and was anxious for some new challenges. He accepted an offer to star in his first Broadway play, a black comedy called Arsenic and Old Lace. His role as Jonathan Brewster a homicidal dead ringer for an actor named Boris Karloff was tailor made. Arsenic and Old Lace became one of the longest running plays in the history of the American theater, and it established Boris Karloff as a legitimate actor and a major star. Despite his return to Universal in the successful film The Climax (1944) his Hollywood offerings were still limited to low budget films. In House of Frankenstein (1944) he didn’t play the monster, instead he played the monster’s maker Dr. Gustav Niemann. Boris was very pleased after signing with RKO studios and producer Val Luten. He starred in a series of tightly budgeted but highly effective suspense thrillers. The first was The Body Snatcher (1945) where Boris played a homicidal grave robber, it was also the last time he was paired onscreen with friend Bela Lugosi. This followed with Isle of the Dead (1945) and Bedlam (1946). Karloff’s frustrations as the Hollywood bogeyman were overshadowed with an event in his personal life. He divorced his wife Dorothy and the day after his divorce was finalized he married her best friend Evelyn . Boris then returned to his first love, the stage. He gave several highly acclaimed performances on Broadway including the role of Captain Hook that had inspired him to be an actor.
Movie monsters became even more popular when Universal started releasing some of their classic horror films to television in a package called Shock Theater. Shock Theater created a monster craze unlike anything seen before. Late night horror hosts like Vampira ruled the airwaves, Bobby (Boris) Pickett recorded the hit song Monster Mash, Aurora Plastics issued a line of do it yourself monster kits, and the magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland was flying off the shelves across the country. Now in his 70′s Karloff was in more demand than ever. From appearances in fright film Frankenstein -1970 (filmed in 1958) to a weekly television suspense series. He also showed the lighter side of his personality on numerous TV variety shows. In 1962 Karloff put the Frankenstein monster costume and make-up on one last time and joined Peter Lorre and Lon Chaney Jr. in a Halloween episode of TVs Route 66. In theaters Karloff starred with Vincent Price and Peter Lorre in The Raven (1963) and The Comedy of Terrors (1963). Both comedy films that spoofed his horror image. But, in Mario Bava’s Black Sabbath Karloff played a hungry vampire and proved he could still provide genuine scares.
Boris was a cultural icon. His likeness was made into puppets and toy robots. He starred in commercials for everything from A1 steak sauce to Ronson lighters. In 1967 he gave one of the best known performances of his career as the voice of the Grinch who stole Christmas. Based on the book by Dr. Seuss and adapted by director and animator Chuck Jones How The Grinch Stole Christmas was an instant classic that earned Boris Karloff a Grammy. Boris told his agent Arthur Kennard to accept the award for him. When he finally came to Arthur’s office he commented the Grammy looked like a doorstop and placed it on the floor in front of the door and left it there.
For the last 10 years of his life Boris was suffering from emphasema and crippling arthritis. His friends encouraged him to consider retiring but for him that was out of the question. On set he had a wheelchair and oxygen tank nearby. Yet, he still had one more great role coming his way. Targets (1968), directed by Peter Bogdanovich, a shocking story of contemporary violence spotlighted Karloff as a fading horror actor caught in the crossfire of a random killer. Boris felt that the real horror was happening on the streets not up on the screen. The way man was treating man was the real horror in today’s world, and that was what Targets was really about.
Boris loved to work and he did so almost up until the day he died. Following a television appearance in The Name of the Game (1968) with Gene Barry he returned to his London home where he was soon hospitalized with a respiratory infection. He died on February 2, 1969. Legions of fans around the world mourned him. But he will never die, his memory lives on when each new generation discovers his films.
