Boris Karloff

Boris Karloff, born William Henry Pratt on 23 November 1887 in Peckham, London, was an English actor whose career spanned stage, film, radio, and television. The youngest of nine children, he was raised largely by elder siblings following the deaths of both parents. His father, Edward John Pratt, served in the Indian Civil Service and was of Anglo-Indian heritage, and his mother also carried some Indian ancestry. A maternal great-aunt, Anna Leonowens, was the woman whose experiences at the royal court of Siam formed the basis of the novel Anna and the King of Siam. Karloff grew up in Enfield, Middlesex, and was educated at Enfield Grammar School, Uppingham School, and Merchant Taylors' School before enrolling at King's College London with the intention of entering the British Consular Service. In 1909, he left without a degree and emigrated to Canada, where he worked as a farm laborer, truck driver, and in various other occupations across Saskatchewan and British Columbia before discovering stage acting in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.

He formally began performing with the Jeanne Russell Company in 1911, appearing in towns across western Canada including Kamloops and Prince Albert. During this period he adopted the stage name Boris Karloff, choosing "Boris" for its exotic sound and claiming "Karloff" as a family name, though his daughter Sara later denied knowledge of any Slavic ancestry by that name. One motivation for the name change was to avoid embarrassment to his brothers, several of whom were members of the British Foreign Service. While building his acting career, Karloff supported himself through physically demanding labor, including a year of track-laying, ditch-digging, and land-clearing for the B.C. Electric Railway Company at $2.50 per day, work that left him with chronic back problems. He cycled through numerous theatrical stock companies across the United States, including the Harry St. Clair Players and the Billie Bennett Touring Company, before eventually making his way to Hollywood.

In Hollywood, Karloff spent years in small and uncredited roles before his 82nd film, Frankenstein (1931), established him as a major star. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster became one of the most recognized performances in cinema history, and he reprised the role in Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939). That same decade he also played Imhotep in The Mummy (1932). Over the course of his screen career he appeared in 174 films. In 1966 he voiced the Grinch and narrated the animated television special Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, a performance that earned him a Grammy Award. For his contributions to both film and television, Karloff received two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on 8 February 1960.

Alongside his film work, Karloff maintained an active presence on the Broadway stage. Originally from Camberwell, England, he appeared on Broadway from 1941 to 1955, taking on roles in Arsenic and Old Lace, Peter Pan, The Shop at Sly Corner, and The Lark. His stage work earned him a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Play in 1956. Karloff died on 2 February 1969.