Boris Karloff

Nov 23, 1887 - Feb 02, 1969 (81 years old) in Camberwell, London, England, UK

William Henry Pratt (November 23, 1887 – February 2, 1969), better known as Boris Karloff, 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!.

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Known For

Bones

Imhotep (archive footage) (uncredited)

Tony Awards

Self - Nominee

The Wild Wild West

Mr. Singh

Climax!

Dr. Philip Nestri

Robert Montgomery Presents

Bennett Kimball

Frankenstein

The Monster

Route 66

What's My Line?

Self

The Altar Stairs

Hugo

Cinema Circus

Himself

Credits

The Last Repair Shop 2024

The Monster (archive footage) (uncredited)

★ 7.5
The Dark Universe 2023

Frankenstein (archivo de imagen)

★ NR
Boris Karloff: The Rest of the Story 2022

Self - Interviewee

★ 10
Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster 2021

Self (archive footage)

★ 7
Hollywood in the Atomic Age: Monsters! Martians! Mad Scientists! 2021

Self (archive footage)

★ 4.7
Jack Pierce: The Man Who Made the Monsters 2015

Self (archive footage)

★ 10
Monster Madness: The Golden Age of the Horror Film 2014

Various roles (archive footage)

★ 7.5
A Masque of Madness (Notes on Film 06-B, Monologue 02) 2013

Self (archive footage)

★ NR
Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored 2013

Self (archive footage)

★ 5.5
The Complete Bob Wilkins Creature Features 2012

★ 10
He Who Made Monsters: The Life and Art of Jack Pierce 2008

Self (archive footage)

★ 8.4
Bela Lugosi: The Fallen Vampire 2007

Himself (archive footage)

★ 6.3
Ian Rankin Investigates: Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde 2007

Cabman John Gray (archive footage)

★ 8
Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman 2007

Self (archive footage)

★ 9
Lugosi: The Dark Prince 2006

Self (archive footage)

★ 7.6
Karloff: The Gentle Monster 2006

Self (archive footage)

★ 7.6
Terror in the Tropics 2006

Mr. Wong (archive footage)

★ NR
Bones 2005

Imhotep (archive footage) (uncredited)

★ 8.2
Monster Movie Trivia Quiz 2004

★ NR
The Mesmerist 2003

(archive footage)

★ 8
The 'Frankenstein' Files: How Hollywood Made a Monster 2002

Self (archive footage)

★ 7.7
Heroes of Horror 2001

(archive footage)

★ 9
The American Nightmare 2000

Self

★ 6.8
Mummy Dearest: A Horror Tradition Unearthed 2000

Self (archive footage)

★ 7
The Many Faces of Dracula 2000

The Monster (archive footage)

★ 3.5
Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man' 1999

Self (archive footage)

★ 6.9
Universal Horror 1998

(archive footage)

★ 7.1
The Universal Story 1996

Self (archive footage)

★ 7.7
Abbott and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld 1994

Self (archive footage)

★ 7
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Special Edition 1994

(voice - archive footage)

★ 8.1
Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook 1991

Doctor Gustav Niemann (archive footage)

★ 10
Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook 1991

The Monster / Gustav Niemann / Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde / etc.

★ 5.7
Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To 1990

(archive footage)

★ 9
Abbott and Costello in the Movies 1990

Archival

★ NR
Transylvania Twist 1989

Man in Room (archive footage)

★ 5.1
Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies 1988

★ NR
Creepy Classics 1987

Dr. Scarabus - (archive footage)

★ 6.3
Going Hollywood: The '30s 1984

(archive footage)

★ 10
The Horror of It All 1983

Frankenstein / Cabman John Gray (archive footage)

★ 8
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers! 1982

Self (archive footage)

★ 6
Monsters on the March (and a Pair of Marvels!) 1980

★ NR
The Horror Show 1979

(archive footage)

★ 3.8
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? 1975

Self (archive footage)

★ 6.1
Madhouse 1974

(archive footage)

★ 6.2
The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute 1974

Self (archive footage)

★ 7.7
Alien Terror 1971

Prof. John Mayer

★ 3.4
Isle of the Snake People 1971

Carl van Molder / Damballah

★ 3
Hatchet for the Honeymoon 1970

Gorca (archive footage)

★ 6.4
Cauldron of Blood 1970

Franz Badulescu

★ 4.1
Curse of the Crimson Altar 1968

Professor John Marsh

★ 5.2
The Name of the Game 1968

Mikhail Orlov

★ 6.8
Targets 1968

Byron Orlok

★ 7
Fear Chamber 1968

Dr. Carl Mandel

★ 4.3
Macabre Serenade 1968

Matthias Morteval

★ 3.9
The Movie Orgy 1968

Self (archive footage)

★ 6.4
The Sorcerers 1967

Prof. Marcus Monserrat

★ 6.1
Mad Monster Party? 1967

Baron Boris von Frankenstein (voice)

★ 6.6
The Venetian Affair 1967

Dr. Pierre Vaugiroud

★ 4.4
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! 1966

Narrator / The Grinch (voice)

★ 7.5
The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. 1966

Mother Muffin

★ 6.6
The Daydreamer 1966

The Rat (voice)

★ 4.6
The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini 1966

The Corpse

★ 5
Doom of Dracula 1966

The Madman (archive footage)

★ NR
Die, Monster, Die! 1965

Nahum Witley

★ 5.6
The Wild Wild West 1965

Mr. Singh

★ 7.5
Shindig! 1964

Self - Guest Host / Singer

★ 6.2
Bikini Beach 1964

Art Dealer

★ 5.6
Today's Teens 1964

Narrator

★ NR
The Comedy of Terrors 1964

Amos Hinchley

★ 6.5
Horror!!! 1964

Self

★ 1
A Fool's World 1964

Narrator

★ 2.6
Black Sabbath 1963

Gorca (segment "The Wurdalak")

★ 7.2
The Terror 1963

Baron Victor Frederick Von Leppe

★ 5.2
Corridors of Blood 1963

Dr. Thomas Bolton

★ 6.1
The Raven 1963

Dr. Scarabus

★ 6.3
Lizard's Leg and Owlet's Wing 1962

★ NR
Little Lost Robot 1962

Host

★ 7
Out of This World 1962

★ 4.3
The Incredible Doktor Markesan 1962

Dr. Konrad Markesan

★ 7
Arsenic & Old Lace 1962

Jonathan Brewster

★ 6.5
The Storm 1962

★ NR
The Grim Reaper 1961

Self

★ NR
Days of Thrills and Laughter 1961

Self (archive footage)

★ 5.5
The Fatal Impulse 1960

Self

★ 1
Route 66 1960

★ 6.3
Thriller 1960

Clayton Mace

★ 6.6
Heart of Darkness 1958

Mr. Kurtz

★ NR
Frankenstein 1970 1958

Baron Viktor von Frankenstein

★ 5.3
Grip of the Strangler 1958

James Rankin

★ 5.9
Destination Nightmare 1958

Host / Ira Perry / Pete Wade Sr. / Professor Charles Goncourt / Morgan Debs

★ 5.5
Jack the Ripper 1958

Host / Capt. John Elwood / Jonas Atterbury / Dr. Francis Mason

★ 6
Shirley Temple's Storybook 1958

Narrator (voice) / Father Knickerbocker

★ 6.2
The Veil 1958

★ 7.6
The Juggler of Our Lady 1957

Narrator (voice)

★ 6.5
Suspicion 1957

Judge Winthrop Gelsey

★ 5.9
DuPont Show of the Month 1957

★ 6.8
The Lux Show 1957

Self

★ 6
The Lark 1957

Bishop Cauchon

★ NR
Voodoo Island 1957

Phillip Knight

★ 4.3
Rendezvous in Black 1956

Ward Allen

★ NR
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show 1956

Self

★ 6
The Rosemary Clooney Show 1956

Self

★ NR
Telephone Time 1956

★ 6.3
Tony Awards 1956

Self - Nominee

★ 5.9
Colonel March of Scotland Yard 1956

Colonel March Of Scotland Yard

★ 7.3
This Is Your Life 1955

Self

★ 6.4
A Connecticut Yankee 1955

King Arthur

★ 4
Sting of Death 1955

Mr. Mycroft

★ NR
Sabaka 1955

General Pollegar

★ 4.1
Climax! 1954

Dr. Philip Nestri

★ 3.3
The George Gobel Show 1954

Self

★ 7.3
The Island Monster 1954

Don Gaetano

★ 3
The United States Steel Hour 1953

George Redford

★ 6.2
Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 1953

Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Hyde

★ 6.3
Colonel March Investigates 1953

Colonel March

★ 6
General Electric Theater 1953

Mr. Blue Ocean

★ 6.4
The Black Castle 1952

Dr. Meissen

★ 6.3
Hallmark Hall of Fame 1951

Cauchon

★ 8.6
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars 1951

Charles Brandon

★ 7.2
Tales of Tomorrow 1951

★ 6
The Strange Door 1951

Voltan

★ 6.1
Down You Go 1951

Self

★ NR
Lux Video Theatre 1950

Sir Arthur Strangeways

★ 6.3
What's My Line? 1950

Self

★ 6.9
Robert Montgomery Presents 1950

Bennett Kimball

★ 5.6
Starring Boris Karloff 1949

★ NR
Lights Out 1949

★ 5.8
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff 1949

Swami Talpur

★ 6.5
The Emperor's Nightingale 1949

Narrator (English version)

★ 5.3
Suspense 1949

Toff

★ 4.9
Studio One 1948

Skaggs

★ 5
Tap Roots 1948

Tishomingo

★ 6.7
Unconquered 1947

Guyasuta, Chief of the Senecas

★ 6.3
Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome 1947

Gruesome

★ 5.3
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty 1947

Dr. Hugo Hollingshead

★ 6.8
Lured 1947

Charles van Druten

★ 6.3
Bedlam 1946

George Sims

★ 6.5
Isle of the Dead 1945

Gen. Nikolas Pherides

★ 6
The Body Snatcher 1945

John Gray

★ 7
The Mummy's Curse 1944

Kharis in Flashback (archive footage / uncredited)

★ 5.5
House of Frankenstein 1944

Dr. Gustav Niemann

★ 6
The Climax 1944

Dr. Friedrich Hohner

★ 5.4
The Boogie Man Will Get You 1942

Prof. Nathaniel Billings

★ 6.1
Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood No. 6 1942

Himself

★ 6
The Devil Commands 1941

Dr. Julian Blair

★ 6.2
Information Please: Series 2, No. 12 1941

Self

★ NR
You'll Find Out 1940

Judge Spencer Mainwaring

★ 5.5
The Ape 1940

Dr. Bernard Adrian

★ 4.8
The Mummy's Hand 1940

Kharis (archive footage / uncredited)

★ 5.7
Before I Hang 1940

Dr. John Garth

★ 6.1
Doomed to Die 1940

James Lee Wong

★ 5.5
The Man with Nine Lives 1940

Dr. Leon Kravaal

★ 6.2
Black Friday 1940

Dr. Ernest Sovac

★ 6
The Fatal Hour 1940

James Lee Wong

★ 5.6
Tower of London 1939

Mord

★ 6
British Intelligence 1939

Valdar

★ 5.7
The Man They Could Not Hang 1939

Dr. Henryk Savaard

★ 6.6
Mr. Wong in Chinatown 1939

Mr. James Lee Wong

★ 5.3
The Mystery of Mr. Wong 1939

James Lee Wong

★ 5.7
Son of Frankenstein 1939

The Monster

★ 6.7
Devil's Island 1939

Dr. Charles Gaudet

★ 5.4
Mr. Wong, Detective 1938

James Lee Wong

★ 5.5
The Invisible Menace 1938

Jevries

★ 3.8
Breakdowns of 1937 1937

Self

★ 6
West of Shanghai 1937

"General" Wu Yen Fang

★ 5.4
Night Key 1937

David Mallory

★ 6.1
Cinema Circus 1937

Himself

★ NR
Charlie Chan at the Opera 1936

Gravelle

★ 6.8
The Man Who Changed His Mind 1936

Dr. Laurence

★ 6
Juggernaut 1936

Dr. Victor Sartorius

★ 4.2
The Walking Dead 1936

John Ellman

★ 6.2
The Invisible Ray 1936

Dr. Janos Rukh

★ 6.3
The Black Room 1935

Baron Gregor de Berghman / Anton de Berghman

★ 6.4
Hollywood Hobbies 1935

Himself

★ 6
Bride of Frankenstein 1935

The Monster

★ 7.5
Gift of Gab 1934

Himself

★ 1
The Black Cat 1934

Hjalmar Poelzig

★ 6.7
The House of Rothschild 1934

Count Ledrantz

★ 6.2
The Lost Patrol 1934

Sanders

★ 6.5
Screen Snapshots No. 11 1934

Himself

★ NR
The Ghoul 1933

Prof. Morlant

★ 5.5
The Mummy 1932

Imhotep / Ardath Bey

★ 6.8
Boo 1932

Frankenstein's Monster (edited from "Frankenstein")

★ 5.1
The Mask of Fu Manchu 1932

Dr. Fu Manchu

★ 5.4
The Old Dark House 1932

Morgan

★ 6.7
Skyscraper Souls 1932

Man Approaching Ticket Counter

★ 5.3
Night World 1932

'Happy' MacDonald

★ 6.7
Scarface 1932

Gaffney

★ 7.4
The Miracle Man 1932

Nikko

★ 5.7
The Cohens and Kellys in Hollywood 1932

Boris Karloff

★ NR
Behind the Mask 1932

Jim Henderson

★ 5.8
Business and Pleasure 1932

Sheik Ali-Ben Joseph

★ 4.5
Frankenstein 1931

The Monster

★ 7.5
The Guilty Generation 1931

Tony Ricca

★ 6.1
The Yellow Ticket 1931

Drunken Orderly

★ 4.7
The Mad Genius 1931

Fedor's Father (uncredited)

★ 6.3
Five Star Final 1931

T. Vernon Isopod

★ 6.6
Graft 1931

Terry

★ 4.5
I Like Your Nerve 1931

Luigi - Pacheco's Butler

★ 5.9
The Public Defender 1931

The Professor

★ 6
Smart Money 1931

Sport Williams

★ 6.9
Young Donovan's Kid 1931

Cokey Joe

★ NR
The Vanishing Legion 1931

The Voice (voice)

★ 9
Cracked Nuts 1931

Boris - First Revolutionary

★ 7
King of the Wild 1931

Mustapha

★ 3.2
Tonight or Never 1931

Waiter

★ 5.9
The Criminal Code 1931

Ned Galloway

★ 6
The Utah Kid 1930

Henchman Baxter

★ 3
The Sea Bat 1930

Corsican

★ 4.3
The Bad One 1930

Monsieur Gaston

★ 6.3
The Unholy Night 1929

Abdul Mohammed Bey - the Hindu Lawyer (uncredited)

★ 5.3
The King of the Kongo 1929

Scarface Macklin

★ 7
Behind That Curtain 1929

Beetham's Manservent

★ 3.7
The Phantom of the North 1929

Jules Gregg

★ NR
Anne Against the World 1929

★ NR
Two Sisters 1929

Cecil

★ 6
The Devil's Chaplain 1929

Boris

★ NR
The Fatal Warning 1929

Mullins

★ 3
Burning the Wind 1929

Pug Doran

★ NR
The Little Wild Girl 1928

Maurice Kent

★ NR
Vultures of the Sea 1928

Grouchy

★ NR
The Vanishing Rider 1928

The Villain

★ NR
Sharp Shooters 1928

Cafe Proprietor (uncredited)

★ NR
The Love Mart 1927

Fleming

★ NR
Two Arabian Knights 1927

Purser

★ 5.8
Soft Cushions 1927

The Chief Conspirator

★ NR
The Phantom Buster 1927

Ramon

★ NR
The Meddlin' Stranger 1927

Al Meggs

★ NR
Tarzan and the Golden Lion 1927

Owaza

★ 4.9
The Princess from Hoboken 1927

Pavel

★ NR
Let It Rain 1927

Crook

★ NR
Old Ironsides 1926

Saracen Guard (uncredited)

★ 6.2
Flaming Fury 1926

Gaspard

★ NR
The Nickel-Hopper 1926

Dance Hall Masher

★ 7
The Eagle of the Sea 1926

Pirate (uncredited)

★ NR
Flames 1926

Blackie Blanchette

★ NR
The Golden Web 1926

Dave Sinclair

★ NR
The Bells 1926

The Mesmerist

★ 6.2
Her Honor, the Governor 1926

Snipe Collins

★ NR
The Man in the Saddle 1926

Robber (uncredited)

★ NR
The Greater Glory 1926

Scissors Grinder

★ NR
Without Mercy 1925

Madame Gordon's 2nd Henchman (uncredited)

★ NR
Parisian Nights 1925

Pierre

★ 1
Never the Twain Shall Meet 1925

★ 6
Perils of the Wild 1925

★ NR
Lady Robinhood 1925

Cabraza

★ NR
The Prairie Wife 1925

Diego

★ NR
Forbidden Cargo 1925

Pietro Castillano

★ NR
Dynamite Dan 1924

Tony Garcia

★ 5
Riders of the Plains 1924

★ NR
The Hellion 1924

The Outlaw

★ NR
The White Panther 1924

Shere Ali's Aide (as Karloff Boris)

★ NR
The Prisoner 1923

Prince Kapolski

★ NR
Omar the Tentmaker 1922

Imam Mowaffak

★ NR
The Altar Stairs 1922

Hugo

★ NR
The Woman Conquers 1922

Raoul Maris

★ NR
The Man from Downing Street 1922

Maharajah Jehan

★ NR
The Infidel 1922

The Nabob

★ NR
Nan of the North 1922

Undetermined Role (uncredited)

★ NR
The Cave Girl 1921

Baptiste

★ NR
Cheated Hearts 1921

Nei Hamid

★ NR
Without Benefit of Clergy 1921

Ahmed Khan

★ NR
The Hope Diamond Mystery 1921

Priest of Kama-Sita / Dakar

★ NR
The Last of the Mohicans 1920

Indian (uncredited)

★ 6.2
The Courage of Marge O'Doone 1920

Tavish

★ NR
The Deadlier Sex 1920

Jules Borney

★ 5
The Prince and Betty 1919

Undetermined Role

★ 7.5
His Majesty, the American 1919

Henchman in cloth cap

★ 5.8
The Lightning Raider 1919

★ NR

Boris Karloff

Known For

Credits

Images