Boris Karloff

Son of Edward John Pratt Jr. and his third wife Eliza Sarah Millard, he was born in Camberwell (London), and grew up in Enfield. Orphan in his youth, he attended classes at Enfield Grammar School before moving on to Uppingham School, Merchant Taylors' School, and finally the University of London. Karloff's first goal was to join the diplomatic service; his brother John Henry Pratt became a famous and distinguished diplomat. In 1909, Pratt traveled to Canada, changing his name. For health reasons, he did not fight in the First World War.

Once he arrived in Hollywood, California, Karloff participated in numerous silent films, before appearing as Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein (1931), the film that made him a star. A year later he played another iconic character, Imhotep, in The Mummy.

Boris Karloff's first role on the silver screen was as a $5-a-day extra as a Mexican soldier in the 1919 silent film, His Magistry the American.

His height and the success of Frankenstein, typecast him in the horror genre (where he made numerous films for Universal Pictures), although he participated in other genres such as John Ford's The Lost Patrol in 1934. Karloff played Frankenstein's monster twice more; The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939), with Lugosi as the mad Igor.

Precisely with Lugosi he coincided in two other important titles The Black Cat (1934) and The Raven (1935). The long make-up sessions with collodion and cotton he had to undergo under the direction of make-up artist Jack Pierce are well known, as well as the uncomfortable costume and platform shoes that caused him back injuries that he would carry with him for the rest of his life.

As for his theatrical career, on the Broadway stage he premiered in 1941 the play Arsenic and Old Lace in which he played a homicidal gangster, who in the development of the show was often confused with Karloff himself. He reprised the character in the 1962 television version. He also appeared in The Linden Tree, by J. B. Priestley, Peter Pan, in the character of Captain Hook and in The Lark (1955), by Jean Anouilh, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award.

Despite the roles that made him famous, Karloff was known in real life as a generous gentleman, especially with children. It is said that during the filming of the first “Frankenstein” the crew feared that the little actress Marilyn Harris would run away terrified at the sight of Boris, but this was not the case because they hit it off as soon as they saw each other. In his later years he acted several times on television (he appeared in the series The CIPOL Girl in 1966, in which he played the role of a woman, “Mama Muffin”, in the episode “The Mother Muffin Affair”) and never left the theater.

Karloff never minded being typecast as an actor in horror films, on the contrary, he considered it a wonderful opportunity to show his talents and was always grateful for it. During his last years he filmed a series of films of little repercussion, being three of them broadcasted after his death (The Corpse Collector in 1970; Sinister Invasion and The Living Dead in 1971). Boris Karloff died of pneumonia at King Edward VII Hospital, Midhurst, at the age of eighty-one, and was later cremated.

For his contribution, Boris Karloff was awarded two stars on the legendary Walk of Fame, at 1737 Vine Street (for his films) and 6664 Hollywood Boulevard (for television). He is considered one of the great classic horror film actors, alongside Béla Lugosi (as Dracula) and Lon Chaney Jr. (as a werewolf).

This collection embodies his many guest appearances and roles in various old time radio programs including Bergen & McCarthy, Creeps by Night, Duffy's Tavern, Inner Sanctum, Information Please, Jack Benny Program, Lights Out, Martin and Lewis, NBC University Theater, Suspense, Theater Guild on the Air and many others.