On This Day

Birthday of Boris Karloff

November 23rd 1887

11:27 23 November 2023

English actor Boris Karloff was born on this day in 1887 in Dulwich, London. Born William Henry Pratt, he chose the stage name Boris Karloff when he drifted into acting after leaving England for Canada in 1909. While trying to establish an acting career, he worked as a manual labourer for a number of years in the U.S. and Canada to make ends meet. After arriving in Hollywood he appeared in scores of silent films and early talkies before playing Frankenstein’s monster in James Whale’s ‘Frankenstein’ (1931), a role he would reprise again in ‘Bride of Frankenstein’ (1935) and ‘Son of Frankenstein’ (1939).

Karloff became synonymous with the horror genre for decades to come, starring in films including ‘The Mummy’ (1932), ‘The Old Dark House’ (1932), ‘The Ghoul’ (1933), ‘The Black Cat’ (1934), ’The Raven’ (1935), ‘The Body Snatcher’ (1945), ‘Isle of the Dead’ (1945), ‘Frankenstein 1970’ (1958), ‘The Raven’ (1963), ‘Black Sabbath’ (1963), ‘The Comedy of Terrors’ (1963), ‘The Sorcerers’ (1967), ‘Targets’ (1968) and ‘Curse of the Crimson Altar’ (1968).

Boris Karloff passed away in 1969 aged 81. His cremation took place in Godalming, England where he is commemorated by a plaque in the Garden of Remembrance. A true icon of horror cinema and Hollywood’s master of the macabre.