Boris Karloff, the Man Behind the Monster
Boris Karloff was born William Henry Pratt in England in 1887. The youngest of nine children, he was bow-legged from a bout of rickets, had a lisp and stuttered. All his brothers were members of the British Foreign Service and his great aunt, Anna Leonowens, was the inspiration for the musical The King And I. He moved to Hollywood in 1919 and took small roles in more than 70 silent films, often playing exotic Indians or Arab villains due to his dark skin tone (his background was Anglo-Indian). He supplemented his meager film income by working as a truck driver.
In 1931, Universal hired Director James Whale to helm a film version of Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein. Bela Lugosi was hired to play the role of the monster, but after playing Dracula he had second thoughts for fear of being typecast as the “monster guy.” Producer Carl Laemmle, Jr. agreed to release Lugosi from the contract if he could find a suitable replacement. Lugosi scouted acting agencies for weeks until he found Karloff’s head shot.
At the age of 44 Karloff took on the role that made him a star. The Frankenstein costume had a heavy back brace and four-inch platform boots weighing 13 pounds each. The bulky costume caused Karloff back pain for the rest of his life but also brought him immediate fame. “My dear old monster,” Karloff would write. “I owe everything to him. He’s my best…
