This Is Your Life - Boris Karloff (1/3)

First Karloff reveals that he changed his name to Boris Karloff when he first went on stage in 1910 because he didn't think his birth name, William Henry Pratt, would work as an actor. The first guest is Jeffrey Taylor, a schoolmate from 1907. It seems Karloff preferred playing cricket to academics.

Karloff left King's college in London in 1909 following his mother's death and relocated in Canada where he did a variety of menial jobs until he made his stage debut in "The Devil." After a long stint of touring with stock companies, Karloff arrived in Los Angeles where he worked as an extra. His film debut came with "Criminal Code" in 1931. His big break came with "Frankenstein" also released in 1931.

This is a great retrospective of Karloff's career, including a discussion of his performance in the play "Arsenic and Old Lace."

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[ChristTheBaptiste]

Thanks for uploading this great show, i grew up watching this is your life & loved it. But it was great to see Boris Karloff as himself, what a great guy.

[hwy61media]

@ChristTheBaptiste You're welcome. He was a great man with a lot of humility. -Michael

[nickellicker]

I originally bought "This Is Your Life" on DVD because of the Boris Karloff episode...His initial surprise and his humble nature on the program was extremely touching, but by far, my favorite segment was with Geoffrey Taylor, his schoolmate of 50 years previous..It would have been interesting to be a fly on the wall at the party afterwards and listen to their conversation after all those years...Thank you for this wonderful posting, and it's a mainstay in my Playlist...

[hwy61media]

@nickellicker Thank you for taking the time to make several interesting comments on this episode. I appreciate it. -Michael

[SEMAT56]

Karloff is reason I got interested in acting, he's the backbone for my interest in it

[hwy61media]

@SEMAT56 He's an excellent role model!

[auntbecky]

isn't it ironic how so many acting "villians" were truly the most descent and gentle people.

[raider8sox]

One of my most favorite actors ever!!!

[GrayFox4212]

Boris Karloff was my great great uncle. WOOOOOOO!

[WanderLink]

Boris Karloff was a famous dolphin right?

[CAS2411]

im sitting next to boris right now actually

[MyMerlin1]

This Is Your Wife

[fosterfd63]

One of the greatest actors of the 20 century .

[jar1997]

Thanks for posting this gem. It was great to see the man behind the makeup. Mr Karloff was a true gentleman. According ti the IMDB, this episode of "This is your Life" originally aired on November 20, 1957.

[nickellicker]

@TheTrippybutterfly Yes, it's called "This is Your Life - The Ultimate Collection," which features 18 episodes, including Karloff, Vincent Price, Laurel & Hardy, Lou Costello among others. It costs about $20 USD at Amazon. There are also two episode DVDs, but this one is the best deal...

[Weezydropsthebomb]

Well, it's weird how I watched this video.. First time ever seeing this show, randomly and by complete coincidence, and they talk about Minot, ND. A city I grew up, near.

[Weezydropsthebomb]

I've heard of this show, several times, never actually watched it.. So far it's pretty good.