This Is Your Life: Boris Karloff Interview (1957)

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Boris Karloff (23 November 1887 -- 2 February 1969), whose real name was William Henry Pratt, was an English-born actor who emigrated to Canada in 1909.

Karloff starred as Frankenstein's monster in Universal's Frankenstein film series, and as the Chinese detective Mr. Wong.

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.

Once Karloff arrived in Hollywood, he made dozens of silent films, but work was sporadic, and he often had to take up manual labor such as digging ditches and driving a cement truck to earn a living. His role as Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein (1931) made him a star. A year later, he played another iconic character, Imhotep in The Mummy.

The 5'11" (1.8 m) brown-eyed Karloff played a wide variety of roles in other genres besides horror. He was memorably gunned down in a bowling alley in the 1932 film Scarface. He played a religious World War I soldier in the 1934 John Ford epic The Lost Patrol. Karloff gave a string of lauded performances in 1930s Universal horror movies, including several with his main rival for heir to Lon Chaney, Sr.'s horror throne, Béla Lugosi. Karloff was chosen over Lugosi for the role of the monster in Frankenstein, making his subsequent career possible. Karloff played Frankenstein's monster in two other films, Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939), which also featured Lugosi. Karloff would revisit the Frankenstein mythos in film several times afterward. The first would be as the villainous Dr. Niemann in House of Frankenstein (1944), where Karloff would be contrasted with Glenn Strange's portrayal of the Monster.

Karloff returned to the role of the "mad scientist" in 1958's Frankenstein 1970, as Baron Victor von Frankenstein II, the grandson of the original inventor. The finale reveals that the crippled Baron has given his own face (i.e. Karloff's) to the Monster. The actor appeared at a celebrity baseball game as the Monster in 1940, hitting a gag home run and making catcher Buster Keaton fall into an acrobatic dead faint as the Monster stomped into home plate. Norman Z. McLeod filmed a sequence in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty with Karloff in the Monster make-up, but it was deleted. Karloff donned the headpiece and neck bolts for the final time in 1962 for a Halloween episode of the TV series Route 66, but he was playing "Boris Karloff," who, within the story, was playing "the Monster."

While the long, creative partnership between Karloff and Lugosi never led to a close mutual friendship, it produced some of the actors' most revered and enduring productions, beginning with The Black Cat. Follow-ups included Gift of Gab (1934), The Raven (1935), The Invisible Ray (1936), Black Friday (1940), You'll Find Out (also 1940), and The Body Snatcher (1945). During this period, he also starred with Basil Rathbone in Tower of London (1939).

From 1945 to 1946, Karloff appeared in three films for RKO produced by Val Lewton: Isle of the Dead, The Body Snatcher, and Bedlam. In a 1946 interview with Louis Berg of the Los Angeles Times, Karloff discussed his three-picture deal with RKO, his reasons for leaving Universal Pictures and working with producer Lewton. Karloff left Universal because he thought the Frankenstein franchise had run its course. The latest installment was what he called a "'monster clambake,' with everything thrown in—Frankenstein, Dracula, a hunchback and a 'man-beast' that howled in the night. It was too much. Karloff thought it was ridiculous and said so." Berg continues, "Mr. Karloff has great love and respect for Mr. Lewton as the man who rescued him from the living dead and restored, so to speak, his soul."

During this period, Karloff was also a frequent guest on radio programs, whether it was starring in Arch Oboler's Chicago-based Lights Out productions (most notably the episode "Cat Wife") or spoofing his horror image with Fred Allen or Jack Benny.

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[mralmeister1]

Mr. Karloff was a class act of an actor as well as a man. No matter how bad the pr ;ow budget the movie he was always glad to be working and gave the role his all.

[Jimi1927]

Just as Laurel & Hardy defined comedy, Boris Karloff defined horror. These men were pure class.

[mikemasterton]

Never seen before.Thankyou.

[SolidMike84]

"Mean" Gene Okerlund (WWF/WWE) sounds alot like James Edwards

[Gamolmann]

First thing I remember Karloff in? Narrator for How The Grinch Stole Christmas.

[TheVirgoClown]

It's so cool to see Boris was such a warm and personable guy

[ashleywetherall]

Isn't strange that all the great horror stars were all considered the nicest of people. The evidence is in the film above.

[backcreekqurtet]

the talent, the voice, the charm, the humility, the generosity, Boris Karloff was the complete package

[karmadhyana]

I saw this when it aired on a special many years ago, and fell in love with him. Such a wonderful smile, a kind face, a humble gent whose legacy was bringing us THE most iconic monster role as Frankenstein's monster. I do not think that there is another human being who could have brought such sheer, naked vulnerability to what most would consider a terrifying beast. It is obvious that his own beautiful nature seeped into his portrayal, which made the performance so perfect. Big big love.

[luridplanet]

What a nice man, superior actor

[yettihunter69]

@papawx3

yeah, if he didn't smoke he'd still be alive :]