Personal Info
Known For:
Acting
Birthday:
November 23, 1887
Place of Birth:
Camberwell, London, England, UK
Social Media
Boris Karloff
Biography
Boris Karloff (November 23, 1887 – February 2, 1969), whose real name was William Henry Pratt, was an English-born actor who emigrated to Canada in 1909. Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), and Son of Frankenstein (1939). His popularity following Frankenstein was such that for a brief time he was billed simply as "Karloff" or "Karloff the Uncanny". His best-known non-horror role is as the Grinch in the television special of Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Boris Karloff, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Filmography
| Year | Movie | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | The Last Repair Shop | The Monster (archive footage) (uncredited) |
| 2022 | Boris Karloff: The Rest of the Story | Self - Interviewee |
| 2021 | Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster | Self (archive footage) |
| 2021 | Hollywood in the Atomic Age: Monsters! Martians! Mad Scientists! | Self (archive footage) |
| 2015 | Jack Pierce: The Man Who Made the Monsters | Self (archive footage) |
| 2014 | Monster Madness: The Golden Age of the Horror Film | Various roles (archive footage) |
| 2013 | A Masque of Madness (Notes on Film 06-B, Monologue 02) | Self (archive footage) |
| 2013 | Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored | Self (archive footage) |
| 2012 | The Complete Bob Wilkins Creature Features | |
| 2008 | He Who Made Monsters: The Life and Art of Jack Pierce | Self (archive footage) |
| 2007 | Bela Lugosi: The Fallen Vampire | Himself (archive footage) |
| 2007 | Ian Rankin Investigates: Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde | Cabman John Gray (archive footage) |
| 2007 | Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman | Self (archive footage) |
| 2006 | Lugosi: The Dark Prince | Self (archive footage) |
| 2006 | Terror in the Tropics | Mr. Wong (archive footage) |
| 2006 | Karloff: The Gentle Monster | Self (archive footage) |
| 2004 | Monster Movie Trivia Quiz | |
| 2004 | The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made | Dr. Bernard Adrian (archive footage) |
| 2003 | The Mesmerist | (archive footage) |
| 2002 | The 'Frankenstein' Files: How Hollywood Made a Monster | Self (archive footage) |
| 2001 | Heroes of Horror | (archive footage) |
| 2000 | The American Nightmare | Self |
| 2000 | The Many Faces of Dracula | The Monster (archive footage) |
| 2000 | Mummy Dearest: A Horror Tradition Unearthed | Self (archive footage) |
| 1999 | Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man' | Self (archive footage) |
| 1998 | Universal Horror | (archive footage) |
| 1996 | The Universal Story | Self (archive footage) |
| 1994 | How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Special Edition | (voice - archive footage) |
| 1994 | Abbott and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld | Self (archive footage) |
| 1991 | Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook | Doctor Gustav Niemann (archive footage) |
| 1991 | Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook | The Monster / Gustav Niemann / Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde / etc. |
| 1990 | Abbott and Costello in the Movies | Archival |
| 1990 | Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To | (archive footage) |
| 1989 | Transylvania Twist | Man in Room (archive footage) |
| 1987 | Creepy Classics | Dr. Scarabus - (archive footage) |
| 1984 | Going Hollywood: The '30s | (archive footage) |
| 1983 | The Horror of It All | Frankenstein / Cabman John Gray (archive footage) |
| 1982 | Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers! | Self (archive footage) |
| 1980 | Monsters on the March (and a Pair of Marvels!) | |
| 1979 | The Horror Show | (archive footage) |
| 1975 | Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? | Self (archive footage) |
| 1974 | Madhouse | (archive footage) |
| 1974 | The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute | Self (archive footage) |
| 1971 | Alien Terror | Prof. John Mayer |
| 1971 | Isle of the Snake People | Carl van Molder / Damballah |
| 1970 | Cauldron of Blood | Franz Badulescu |
| 1970 | Hatchet for the Honeymoon | Gorca (archive footage) |
| 1968 | The Movie Orgy | Self (archive footage) |
| 1968 | Curse of the Crimson Altar | Professor John Marsh |
| 1968 | Fear Chamber | Dr. Carl Mandel |
| 1968 | Macabre Serenade | Matthias Morteval |
| 1968 | Targets | Byron Orlok |
| 1967 | Mad Monster Party? | Baron Boris von Frankenstein (voice) |
| 1967 | The Sorcerers | Prof. Marcus Monserrat |
| 1967 | The Venetian Affair | Dr. Pierre Vaugiroud |
| 1966 | How the Grinch Stole Christmas! | Narrator / The Grinch (voice) |
| 1966 | The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini | The Corpse |
| 1966 | The Daydreamer | The Rat (voice) |
| 1966 | Doom of Dracula | The Madman (archive footage) |
| 1965 | Die, Monster, Die! | Nahum Witley |
| 1964 | The Comedy of Terrors | Amos Hinchley |
| 1964 | A Fool's World | Narrator |
| 1964 | Bikini Beach | Art Dealer |
| 1964 | Today's Teens | Narrator |
| 1964 | Horror!!! | Self |
| 1963 | The Terror | Baron Victor Frederick Von Leppe |
| 1963 | Black Sabbath | Gorca (segment "The Wurdalak") |
| 1963 | The Raven | Dr. Scarabus |
| 1962 | Little Lost Robot | Host |
| 1962 | Arsenic & Old Lace | Jonathan Brewster |
| 1962 | The Incredible Doktor Markesan | Dr. Konrad Markesan |
| 1962 | The Storm | |
| 1961 | Days of Thrills and Laughter | Self (archive footage) |
| 1960 | The Fatal Impulse | Self |
| 1958 | Frankenstein 1970 | Baron Viktor von Frankenstein |
| 1958 | Corridors of Blood | Dr. Thomas Bolton |
| 1958 | Grip of the Strangler | James Rankin |
| 1958 | Jack the Ripper | Host / Capt. John Elwood / Jonas Atterbury / Dr. Francis Mason |
| 1958 | Destination Nightmare | Host / Ira Perry / Pete Wade Sr. / Professor Charles Goncourt / Morgan Debs |
| 1958 | Heart of Darkness | Mr. Kurtz |
| 1957 | Voodoo Island | Phillip Knight |
| 1957 | The Lark | Bishop Cauchon |
| 1957 | The Juggler of Our Lady | Narrator (voice) |
| 1955 | Sting of Death | Mr. Mycroft |
| 1955 | A Connecticut Yankee | King Arthur |
| 1955 | Sabaka | General Pollegar |
| 1954 | The Island Monster | Don Gaetano |
| 1953 | Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Hyde |
| 1953 | Colonel March Investigates | Colonel March |
| 1952 | The Black Castle | Dr. Meissen |
| 1951 | The Strange Door | Voltan |
| 1949 | The Emperor's Nightingale | Narrator (English version) |
| 1949 | Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff | Swami Talpur |
| 1948 | Tap Roots | Tishomingo |
| 1947 | Lured | Charles van Druten |
| 1947 | The Secret Life of Walter Mitty | Dr. Hugo Hollingshead |
| 1947 | Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome | Gruesome |
| 1947 | Unconquered | Guyasuta, Chief of the Senecas |
| 1946 | Bedlam | George Sims |
| 1945 | The Body Snatcher | John Gray |
| 1945 | Isle of the Dead | Gen. Nikolas Pherides |
| 1944 | House of Frankenstein | Dr. Gustav Niemann |
| 1944 | The Mummy's Curse | Kharis in Flashback (archive footage / uncredited) |
| 1944 | The Climax | Dr. Friedrich Hohner |
| 1942 | The Boogie Man Will Get You | Prof. Nathaniel Billings |
| 1942 | Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood No. 6 | Himself |
| 1941 | Information Please: Series 2, No. 12 | Self |
| 1941 | The Devil Commands | Dr. Julian Blair |
| 1940 | Doomed to Die | James Lee Wong |
| 1940 | The Man with Nine Lives | Dr. Leon Kravaal |
| 1940 | Before I Hang | Dr. John Garth |
| 1940 | Black Friday | Dr. Ernest Sovac |
| 1940 | The Ape | Dr. Bernard Adrian |
| 1940 | The Mummy's Hand | Kharis (archive footage / uncredited) |
| 1940 | You'll Find Out | Judge Spencer Mainwaring |
| 1940 | The Fatal Hour | James Lee Wong |
| 1939 | Son of Frankenstein | The Monster |
| 1939 | Devil's Island | Dr. Charles Gaudet |
| 1939 | The Man They Could Not Hang | Dr. Henryk Savaard |
| 1939 | Tower of London | Mord |
| 1939 | British Intelligence | Valdar |
| 1939 | Mr. Wong in Chinatown | Mr. James Lee Wong |
| 1939 | The Mystery of Mr. Wong | James Lee Wong |
| 1938 | Mr. Wong, Detective | James Lee Wong |
| 1938 | The Invisible Menace | Jevries |
| 1937 | Night Key | David Mallory |
| 1937 | Cinema Circus | Himself |
| 1937 | West of Shanghai | "General" Wu Yen Fang |
| 1937 | Breakdowns of 1937 | Self |
| 1936 | The Man Who Changed His Mind | Dr. Laurence |
| 1936 | Juggernaut | Dr. Victor Sartorius |
| 1936 | The Walking Dead | John Ellman |
| 1936 | The Invisible Ray | Dr. Janos Rukh |
| 1936 | Charlie Chan at the Opera | Gravelle |
| 1935 | Bride of Frankenstein | The Monster |
| 1935 | The Black Room | Baron Gregor de Berghman / Anton de Berghman |
| 1935 | The Raven | Edmond Bateman |
| 1935 | Hollywood Hobbies | Himself |
| 1934 | The Black Cat | Hjalmar Poelzig |
| 1934 | The Lost Patrol | Sanders |
| 1934 | The House of Rothschild | Count Ledrantz |
| 1934 | Gift of Gab | Himself |
| 1934 | Screen Snapshots No. 11 | Himself |
| 1933 | The Ghoul | Prof. Morlant |
| 1932 | Scarface | Gaffney |
| 1932 | The Mask of Fu Manchu | Dr. Fu Manchu |
| 1932 | The Old Dark House | Morgan |
| 1932 | Business and Pleasure | Sheik Ali-Ben Joseph |
| 1932 | Behind the Mask | Jim Henderson |
| 1932 | The Mummy | Imhotep, alias Ardath Bey |
| 1932 | Night World | 'Happy' MacDonald |
| 1932 | The Miracle Man | Nikko |
| 1932 | Skyscraper Souls | Man Approaching Ticket Counter |
| 1932 | Boo | Frankenstein's Monster (edited from "Frankenstein") |
| 1932 | The Cohens and Kellys in Hollywood | Boris Karloff |
| 1931 | Frankenstein | The Monster |
| 1931 | King of the Wild | Mustapha |
| 1931 | Five Star Final | T. Vernon Isopod |
| 1931 | The Criminal Code | Ned Galloway |
| 1931 | Smart Money | Sport Williams |
| 1931 | Tonight or Never | Waiter |
| 1931 | The Mad Genius | Fedor's Father (uncredited) |
| 1931 | The Vanishing Legion | The Voice (voice) |
| 1931 | The Public Defender | The Professor |
| 1931 | Graft | Terry |
| 1931 | The Guilty Generation | Tony Ricca |
| 1931 | Cracked Nuts | Boris - First Revolutionary |
| 1931 | The Yellow Ticket | Drunken Orderly |
| 1931 | I Like Your Nerve | Luigi - Pacheco's Butler |
| 1931 | Young Donovan's Kid | Cokey Joe |
| 1930 | The Bad One | Monsieur Gaston |
| 1930 | The Sea Bat | Corsican |
| 1930 | The Utah Kid | Henchman Baxter |
| 1929 | Burning the Wind | Pug Doran |
| 1929 | The Devil's Chaplain | Boris |
| 1929 | Two Sisters | Cecil |
| 1929 | The Fatal Warning | Mullins |
| 1929 | The Unholy Night | Abdul Mohammed Bey - the Hindu Lawyer (uncredited) |
| 1929 | Anne Against the World | |
| 1929 | Behind That Curtain | Beetham's Manservent |
| 1929 | The King of the Kongo | Scarface Macklin |
| 1929 | The Phantom of the North | Jules Gregg |
| 1928 | The Vanishing Rider | The Villain |
| 1928 | Sharp Shooters | Cafe Proprietor (uncredited) |
| 1928 | Vultures of the Sea | Grouchy |
| 1928 | The Little Wild Girl | Maurice Kent |
| 1927 | Let It Rain | Crook |
| 1927 | The Princess from Hoboken | Pavel |
| 1927 | The Meddlin' Stranger | Al Meggs |
| 1927 | Soft Cushions | The Chief Conspirator |
| 1927 | Tarzan and the Golden Lion | Owaza |
| 1927 | Two Arabian Knights | Purser |
| 1927 | The Phantom Buster | Ramon |
| 1927 | The Love Mart | Fleming |
| 1926 | The Golden Web | Dave Sinclair |
| 1926 | Flames | Blackie Blanchette |
| 1926 | Flaming Fury | Gaspard |
| 1926 | The Nickel-Hopper | Dance Hall Masher |
| 1926 | The Bells | The Mesmerist |
| 1926 | The Eagle of the Sea | Pirate (uncredited) |
| 1926 | Old Ironsides | Saracen Guard (uncredited) |
| 1926 | The Greater Glory | Scissors Grinder |
| 1926 | Her Honor, the Governor | Snipe Collins |
| 1926 | The Man in the Saddle | Robber (uncredited) |
| 1925 | Forbidden Cargo | Pietro Castillano |
| 1925 | Perils of the Wild | |
| 1925 | Lady Robinhood | Cabraza |
| 1925 | Never the Twain Shall Meet | |
| 1925 | Without Mercy | Madame Gordon's 2nd Henchman (uncredited) |
| 1925 | The Prairie Wife | Diego |
| 1925 | Parisian Nights | Pierre |
| 1924 | The White Panther | Shere Ali's Aide (as Karloff Boris) |
| 1924 | The Hellion | The Outlaw |
| 1924 | Riders of the Plains | |
| 1924 | Dynamite Dan | Tony Garcia |
| 1923 | The Prisoner | Prince Kapolski |
| 1922 | Nan of the North | Undetermined Role (uncredited) |
| 1922 | The Man from Downing Street | Maharajah Jehan |
| 1922 | The Infidel | The Nabob |
| 1922 | Omar the Tentmaker | Imam Mowaffak |
| 1922 | The Woman Conquers | Raoul Maris |
| 1922 | The Altar Stairs | Hugo |
| 1921 | Cheated Hearts | Nei Hamid |
| 1921 | The Cave Girl | Baptiste |
| 1921 | The Hope Diamond Mystery | Priest of Kama-Sita / Dakar |
| 1921 | Without Benefit of Clergy | Ahmed Khan |
| 1920 | The Courage of Marge O'Doone | Tavish |
| 1920 | The Last of the Mohicans | Indian (uncredited) |
| 1920 | The Deadlier Sex | Jules Borney |
| 1919 | The Lightning Raider | |
| 1919 | The Prince and Betty | Undetermined Role |
| 1919 | His Majesty, the American | Henchman in cloth cap |
| Year | TV Show | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Bones | Imhotep (archive footage) (uncredited) |
| 1968 | The Name of the Game | Mikhail Orlov |
| 1966 | The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. | |
| 1965 | The Wild Wild West | Mr. Singh |
| 1964 | Shindig! | Self - Guest Host / Singer |
| 1962 | Out of This World | |
| 1960 | Route 66 | |
| 1960 | Thriller | Clayton Mace |
| 1960 | Thriller | Self - Host |
| 1960 | Thriller | Dr. Thorne |
| 1960 | Thriller | Dr. Albert Farnham |
| 1960 | Thriller | Pop Jenkins / Col. Jackson Beauregard Finchess |
| 1960 | Thriller | Doktor Konrad Markesan |
| 1958 | The Veil | |
| 1958 | Shirley Temple's Storybook | Narrator (voice) / Father Knickerbocker |
| 1957 | DuPont Show of the Month | |
| 1957 | Suspicion | Judge Winthrop Gelsey |
| 1957 | The Lux Show | Self |
| 1956 | The Dinah Shore Chevy Show | Self |
| 1956 | Colonel March of Scotland Yard | Colonel March Of Scotland Yard |
| 1956 | Telephone Time | |
| 1956 | The Rosemary Clooney Show | Self |
| 1955 | This Is Your Life | Self |
| 1954 | Climax! | Dr. Philip Nestri |
| 1954 | The George Gobel Show | Self |
| 1954 | Climax! | Vicar Tellworth |
| 1953 | General Electric Theater | Mr. Blue Ocean |
| 1953 | General Electric Theater | Henry E. Church |
| 1953 | The United States Steel Hour | George Redford |
| 1951 | Hallmark Hall of Fame | Cauchon |
| 1951 | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars | Charles Brandon |
| 1951 | Down You Go | Self |
| 1951 | Tales of Tomorrow | |
| 1951 | Hallmark Hall of Fame | Jonathan Brewster |
| 1951 | The Red Skelton Show | Professor Townsend (Spy) |
| 1950 | Lux Video Theatre | Sir Arthur Strangeways |
| 1950 | Robert Montgomery Presents | Bennett Kimball |
| 1950 | Lux Video Theatre | Montgomery Royle |
| 1950 | Lux Video Theatre | Larkin |
| 1950 | Robert Montgomery Presents | |
| 1950 | What's My Line? | Self |
| 1949 | Suspense | Toff |
| 1949 | Lights Out | |
| 1949 | Starring Boris Karloff | |
| 1949 | Suspense | |
| 1949 | Suspense | Bronson |
| 1949 | Suspense | Rasputin |
| 1948 | Studio One | Skaggs |
| 1948 | Studio One | Professor Koernig |
| 1948 | Studio One | King Arthur |