
Boris Karloff
Biography
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!.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Boris Karloff, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Known For
Acting History
2025
Legacy of Screams: The Evolution of Horror Movies as Self - (archive footage)
2024The Last Repair Shop as The Monster (archive footage) (uncredited)
2023The Dark Universe as Frankenstein (archivo de imagen)
2023The Dark Universe as La Momia (archivo de imagen)
2022Boris Karloff: The Rest of the Story as Self - Interviewee
2021Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster as Self (archive footage)
2021Hollywood in the Atomic Age: Monsters! Martians! Mad Scientists! as Self (archive footage)
2015Jack Pierce: The Man Who Made the Monsters as Self (archive footage)
2014Monster Madness: The Golden Age of the Horror Film as Various roles (archive footage)
2013A Masque of Madness (Notes on Film 06-B, Monologue 02) as Self (archive footage)
2013Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored as Self (archive footage)
2012The Complete Bob Wilkins Creature Features
2008He Who Made Monsters: The Life and Art of Jack Pierce as Self (archive footage)
2007Bela Lugosi: The Fallen Vampire as Himself (archive footage)
2007Ian Rankin Investigates: Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde as Cabman John Gray (archive footage)
2007Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman as Self (archive footage)
2006Lugosi: The Dark Prince as Self (archive footage)
2006Karloff: The Gentle Monster as Self (archive footage)
2006Terror in the Tropics as Mr. Wong (archive footage)
2004Monster Movie Trivia Quiz
2003The Mesmerist as (archive footage)
2002The 'Frankenstein' Files: How Hollywood Made a Monster as Self (archive footage)
2001Heroes of Horror as (archive footage)
2000The American Nightmare as Self
2000Mummy Dearest: A Horror Tradition Unearthed as Self (archive footage)
2000The Many Faces of Dracula as The Monster (archive footage)
1999Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man' as Self (archive footage)
1998Universal Horror as (archive footage)
1996The Universal Story as Self (archive footage)
1994Abbott and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld as Self (archive footage)
1994How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Special Edition as (voice - archive footage)
1991Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook as The Monster / Gustav Niemann / Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde / etc.
1991Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook as Doctor Gustav Niemann (archive footage)
1990Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To as (archive footage)
1990Abbott and Costello in the Movies as Archival
1989Transylvania Twist as Man in Room (archive footage)
1988Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies
1987Creepy Classics as Dr. Scarabus - (archive footage)
1984Going Hollywood: The '30s as (archive footage)
1983The Horror of It All as Frankenstein / Cabman John Gray (archive footage)
1982Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers! as Self (archive footage)
1980Monsters on the March (and a Pair of Marvels!)
1979The Horror Show as (archive footage)
1975Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? as Self (archive footage)
1974Madhouse as (archive footage)
1974The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute as Self (archive footage)
1971Alien Terror as Prof. John Mayer
1971Isle of the Snake People as Carl van Molder / Damballah
1970Hatchet for the Honeymoon as Gorca (archive footage)
1968Curse of the Crimson Altar as Professor John Marsh
1968The Name of the Game as Mikhail Orlov
1968Targets as Byron Orlok
1968Fear Chamber as Dr. Carl Mandel
1968Macabre Serenade as Matthias Morteval
1968Cauldron of Blood as Franz Badulescu
1968The Movie Orgy as Self (archive footage)
1967The Sorcerers as Prof. Marcus Monserrat
1967Mad Monster Party? as Baron Boris von Frankenstein (voice)
1967The Venetian Affair as Dr. Pierre Vaugiroud
1966How the Grinch Stole Christmas! as Narrator / The Grinch (voice)
1966The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. as Mother Muffin
1966The Daydreamer as The Rat (voice)
1966The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini as The Corpse
1966Doom of Dracula as The Madman (archive footage)
1965Die, Monster, Die! as Nahum Witley
1965The Wild Wild West as Mr. Singh
1964Shindig! as Self - Guest Host / Singer
1964Bikini Beach as Art Dealer
1964Today's Teens as Narrator
1964The Comedy of Terrors as Amos Hinchley
1964Horror!!! as Self
1964A Fool's World as Narrator
1963Black Sabbath as Gorca (segment "The Wurdalak")
1963The Terror as Baron Victor Frederick Von Leppe
1963Corridors of Blood as Dr. Thomas Bolton
1963The Raven as Dr. Scarabus
1962Lizard's Leg and Owlet's Wing
1962Little Lost Robot as Host
1962Out of This World as Host
1962The Incredible Doktor Markesan as Dr. Konrad Markesan
1962Arsenic & Old Lace as Jonathan Brewster
1962The Storm
1961The Grim Reaper as Self
1961Days of Thrills and Laughter as Self (archive footage)
1960The Fatal Impulse as Self
1960Route 66
1960Thriller as Clayton Mace
1960Thriller as Self - Host
1960Thriller as Dr. Albert Farnham
1960Thriller as Dr. Thorne
1960Thriller as Doktor Konrad Markesan
1960Thriller as Pop Jenkins / Col. Jackson Beauregard Finchess
1958Heart of Darkness as Mr. Kurtz
1958Frankenstein 1970 as Baron Viktor von Frankenstein
1958Grip of the Strangler as James Rankin
1958Jack the Ripper as Host / Capt. John Elwood / Jonas Atterbury / Dr. Francis Mason
1958Destination Nightmare as Host / Ira Perry / Pete Wade Sr. / Professor Charles Goncourt / Morgan Debs
1958Shirley Temple's Storybook as Narrator (voice) / Father Knickerbocker
1958The Veil
1957The Juggler of Our Lady as Narrator (voice)
1957Suspicion as Judge Winthrop Gelsey
1957DuPont Show of the Month
1957The Lux Show as Self
1957The Lark as Bishop Cauchon
1957Voodoo Island as Phillip Knight
1956Rendezvous in Black as Ward Allen
1956The Dinah Shore Chevy Show as Self
1956The Rosemary Clooney Show as Self
1956Telephone Time
1956Tony Awards as Self - Nominee
1956Colonel March of Scotland Yard as Colonel March Of Scotland Yard
1955This Is Your Life as Self
1955A Connecticut Yankee as King Arthur
1955Sting of Death as Mr. Mycroft
1955Sabaka as General Pollegar
1954Climax! as Dr. Philip Nestri
1954Climax! as Vicar Tellworth
1954The George Gobel Show as Self
1954The Island Monster as Don Gaetano
1953The United States Steel Hour as George Redford
1953Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Hyde
1953Colonel March Investigates as Colonel March
1953General Electric Theater as Mr. Blue Ocean
1953General Electric Theater as Henry E. Church
1952The Black Castle as Dr. Meissen
1951Hallmark Hall of Fame as Cauchon
1951Hallmark Hall of Fame as Jonathan Brewster
1951Schlitz Playhouse of Stars as Charles Brandon
1951The Red Skelton Show as Professor Townsend (Spy)
1951Tales of Tomorrow
1951The Strange Door as Voltan
1951Down You Go as Self
1950Lux Video Theatre as Sir Arthur Strangeways
1950Lux Video Theatre as Montgomery Royle
1950Lux Video Theatre as Larkin
1950What's My Line? as Self
1950Robert Montgomery Presents as Bennett Kimball
1950Robert Montgomery Presents
1949Starring Boris Karloff
1949Lights Out
1949Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff as Swami Talpur
1949The Emperor's Nightingale as Narrator (English version)
1949Suspense as Toff
1949Suspense
1949Suspense as Bronson
1949Suspense as Rasputin
1948Studio One as Skaggs
1948Studio One as Professor Koernig
1948Studio One as King Arthur
1948Tap Roots as Tishomingo
1947Unconquered as Guyasuta, Chief of the Senecas
1947Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome as Gruesome
1947The Secret Life of Walter Mitty as Dr. Hugo Hollingshead
1947Lured as Charles van Druten
1946Bedlam as George Sims
1945Isle of the Dead as Gen. Nikolas Pherides
1945The Body Snatcher as John Gray
1944The Mummy's Curse as Kharis in Flashback (archive footage / uncredited)
1944House of Frankenstein as Dr. Gustav Niemann
1944The Climax as Dr. Friedrich Hohner
1942The Boogie Man Will Get You as Prof. Nathaniel Billings
1942Hedda Hopper’s Hollywood No. 6 as Himself
1941The Devil Commands as Dr. Julian Blair
1941Information Please: Series 2, No. 12 as Self
1940You'll Find Out as Judge Spencer Mainwaring
1940The Ape as Dr. Bernard Adrian
1940The Mummy's Hand as Kharis (archive footage / uncredited)
1940Before I Hang as Dr. John Garth
1940Doomed to Die as James Lee Wong
1940The Man with Nine Lives as Dr. Leon Kravaal
1940Black Friday as Dr. Ernest Sovac
1940The Fatal Hour as James Lee Wong
1939Tower of London as Mord
1939British Intelligence as Valdar
1939The Man They Could Not Hang as Dr. Henryk Savaard
1939Mr. Wong in Chinatown as Mr. James Lee Wong
1939The Mystery of Mr. Wong as James Lee Wong
1939Son of Frankenstein as The Monster
1939Devil's Island as Dr. Charles Gaudet
1938Mr. Wong, Detective as James Lee Wong
1938The Invisible Menace as Jevries
1937Breakdowns of 1937 as Self
1937West of Shanghai as "General" Wu Yen Fang
1937Night Key as David Mallory
1937Cinema Circus as Himself
1936Charlie Chan at the Opera as Gravelle
1936The Man Who Changed His Mind as Dr. Laurence
1936Juggernaut as Dr. Victor Sartorius
1936The Walking Dead as John Ellman
1936The Invisible Ray as Dr. Janos Rukh
1935The Black Room as Baron Gregor de Berghman / Anton de Berghman
1935The Raven as Edmond Bateman
1935Hollywood Hobbies as Himself
1935Bride of Frankenstein as The Monster
1934Gift of Gab as Himself
1934The Black Cat as Hjalmar Poelzig
1934The House of Rothschild as Count Ledrantz
1934The Lost Patrol as Sanders
1934Screen Snapshots No. 11 as Himself
1933The Ghoul as Prof. Morlant
1932The Mummy as Imhotep / Ardath Bey
1932Boo as Frankenstein's Monster (edited from "Frankenstein")
1932The Mask of Fu Manchu as Dr. Fu Manchu
1932The Old Dark House as Morgan
1932Skyscraper Souls as Man Approaching Ticket Counter
1932Night World as 'Happy' MacDonald
1932Scarface as Gaffney
1932The Miracle Man as Nikko
1932The Cohens and Kellys in Hollywood as Boris Karloff
1932Behind the Mask as Jim Henderson
1932Business and Pleasure as Sheik Ali-Ben Joseph
1931Frankenstein as The Monster
1931The Guilty Generation as Tony Ricca
1931The Yellow Ticket as Drunken Orderly
1931The Mad Genius as Fedor's Father (uncredited)
1931Five Star Final as T. Vernon Isopod
1931Graft as Terry
1931I Like Your Nerve as Luigi - Pacheco's Butler
1931The Public Defender as The Professor
1931Smart Money as Sport Williams
1931Young Donovan's Kid as Cokey Joe
1931The Vanishing Legion as The Voice (voice)
1931Cracked Nuts as Boris - First Revolutionary
1931King of the Wild as Mustapha
1931Tonight or Never as Waiter
1931The Criminal Code as Ned Galloway
1930The Utah Kid as Henchman Baxter
1930The Sea Bat as Corsican
1930The Bad One as Monsieur Gaston
1929The Unholy Night as Abdul Mohammed Bey - the Hindu Lawyer (uncredited)
1929The King of the Kongo as Scarface Macklin
1929Behind That Curtain as Beetham's Manservent
1929The Phantom of the North as Jules Gregg
1929Anne Against the World
1929Two Sisters as Cecil
1929The Devil's Chaplain as Boris
1929The Fatal Warning as Mullins
1929Burning the Wind as Pug Doran
1928The Little Wild Girl as Maurice Kent
1928Vultures of the Sea as Grouchy
1928The Vanishing Rider as The Villain
1928Sharp Shooters as Cafe Proprietor (uncredited)
1927The Love Mart as Fleming
1927Two Arabian Knights as Purser
1927Soft Cushions as The Chief Conspirator
1927The Phantom Buster as Ramon
1927The Meddlin' Stranger as Al Meggs
1927Tarzan and the Golden Lion as Owaza
1927The Princess from Hoboken as Pavel
1927Let It Rain as Crook
1926Old Ironsides as Saracen Guard (uncredited)
1926Flaming Fury as Gaspard
1926The Nickel-Hopper as Dance Hall Masher
1926The Eagle of the Sea as Pirate (uncredited)
1926Flames as Blackie Blanchette
1926The Golden Web as Dave Sinclair
1926The Bells as The Mesmerist
1926Her Honor, the Governor as Snipe Collins
1926The Man in the Saddle as Robber (uncredited)
1926The Greater Glory as Scissors Grinder
1925Without Mercy as Madame Gordon's 2nd Henchman (uncredited)
1925Parisian Nights as Pierre
1925Never the Twain Shall Meet
1925Perils of the Wild
1925Lady Robinhood as Cabraza
1925The Prairie Wife as Diego
1925Forbidden Cargo as Pietro Castillano
1924Dynamite Dan as Tony Garcia
1924Riders of the Plains
1924The Hellion as The Outlaw
1924The White Panther as Shere Ali's Aide (as Karloff Boris)
1923The Prisoner as Prince Kapolski
1922Omar the Tentmaker as Imam Mowaffak
1922The Altar Stairs as Hugo
1922The Woman Conquers as Raoul Maris
1922The Man from Downing Street as Maharajah Jehan
1922The Infidel as The Nabob
1922Nan of the North as Undetermined Role (uncredited)
1921The Cave Girl as Baptiste
1921Cheated Hearts as Nei Hamid
1921Without Benefit of Clergy as Ahmed Khan
1921The Hope Diamond Mystery as Priest of Kama-Sita / Dakar
1920The Last of the Mohicans as Indian (uncredited)
1920The Courage of Marge O'Doone as Tavish
1920The Woman and the Puppet as (uncredited)
1920The Deadlier Sex as Jules Borney
1919The Prince and Betty as Undetermined Role
1919His Majesty, the American as Henchman in cloth cap
1919The Lightning Raider








