Boris Karloff

Boris Karloff was married five times. While the first three of his marriages were short-lived, his fourth marriage to Dorothy Stine in 1930 spanned 16 years. He had one daughter, Sara Karloff, from this marriage. His last marriage was to Evelyn Hope Helmore in 1946. The couple remained together till his death.

Since 1940, every year on Christmas, he dressed as Father Christmas and distributed gifts to physically disabled children.

After retirement, he spent his life in England at his country cottage in the Hampshire village of Bramshott. In 1944, he faced acute arthritic problems and underwent a spinal operation.

Boris Karloff was born as William Henry Pratt on November 23, 1887, at Forest Hill Road, Camberwell, London, to Edward John Pratt, Jr. and Eliza Sarah Millard. He had eight elder siblings including his brother, Sir John Thomas Pratt, who became a British diplomat. When his mother passed away, his elder siblings brought him up. Later, his brothers considered him the "black sheep of the family" for pursuing a career in acting.

As a young boy, he was bow-legged, had a speech defect, and stuttered. While he eventually overcame his stutter, his lisp could not be controlled and was noticeable in his films.

He grew up in Enfield, the County of Middlesex, and attended Enfield Grammar School, Uppingham School, and Merchant Taylors' School. He also went to King's College, London, where he took subjects that would help him pursue a career with the British Government's Consular Service. However, in 1909, he dropped out of university and eloped to Canada with his girlfriend Grace Harding, whom he married later.

In Canada, Pratt worked as a farm laborer and did other odd jobs before he started performing small roles in plays. During this time, he started using Boris Karloff as his stage name. In 1911, he joined Jeanne Russell Company and performed at different towns. He later joined Harry St. Clair Co. and performed in an opera house for a year.

He worked in acting companies like Billie Bennett Touring Company and Maud Amber Players in California as well. While he was struggling to establish his acting career, he also worked as a manual laborer to make both ends meet. As a result, he suffered from back problems throughout his life.

After he moved to Hollywood, he appeared in several silent films, but since work was not regular, he had to continue doing labor work. Some of his initial films were ‘The Masked Rider’ in 1919, ‘The Hope Diamond Mystery’ in 1920, and ‘King of the Wild’ in 1930. In these films, he was usually cast as a villain.

In 1931, his role in the movie ‘The Criminal Code’ brought him to prominence. In the American crime film, he reprised a role he had played on stage. That year, he played another major supporting role as an unethical newspaper reporter in ‘Five Star Final’.

The year 1931 proved to be a breakthrough year for Boris Karloff when James Whale discovered him after he had already appeared in around 80 films. Whale cast him in his movie ‘Frankenstein’ in 1931—a role that launched him into stardom. While playing the role, he spent long hours donning the makeup of Frankenstein's monster.

Boris Karloff was best known for his roles in horror films, especially the Frankenstein movies which made him a star. Despite the fact that his face was hidden by makeup, his powerful performance earned him critical acclaim and made him a sensation.

His roles as the villain in dark films like ‘Scarface’ and ‘The Old Dark House’, the sci-fi horror film ‘The Mask of Fu Manchu,’ and the horror film ‘The Mummy’ were highly applauded. These negative roles earned him the reputation of being a formidable actor in the horror genre and critics started comparing him with actors like Vincent Price and Lugosi.