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William Henry Pratt, better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor who was primarily known for his roles in horror films. He portrayed Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939). He also appeared as Imhotep in The Mummy (1932).
Birth Name
William Henry Pratt
Born
Wednesday, 23 November 1887
Died
Sunday, 02 February 1969
Actor Filmography
| Title | Character | Year |
|---|
| Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster | Self - Interviewee / Self (archive footage) | 2021 |
| Shadowlands | Baron Victor Frederick Von Leppe | 2018 |
| Hollywood Insider | Self | 2018 |
| Daughter of Frankenstein: A Conversation with Sara Karloff | Morgan | 2017 |
| Jack Pierce, the Maker of Monsters | Self (archive footage) | 2015 |
| Pop Culture Beast's Halloween Horror Picks | Cabman John Gray / Byron Orlok | 2014 |
| Monster Madness: The Golden Age of the Horror Film | The Monster / Sanders / Morgan / Hjalmar Poelzig / Imhotep / Dr. Fu Manchu / Cabman John Gray / Doctor Gustav Niemann | 2014 |
| A Masque of Madness (Notes on Film 06-B, Monologue 02) | (archive footage) / Self (archive footage) | 2013 |
| Dante's Domicile | Baron Victor Frederick Von Leppe / Eric | 2013 |
| The Complete Bob Wilkins Creature Features | 2012 |
Actor Filmography
| Title | Character | Year |
|---|
| Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster | Self - Interviewee / Self (archive footage) | 2021 |
| Shadowlands | Baron Victor Frederick Von Leppe | 2018 |
| Hollywood Insider | Self | 2018 |
| Daughter of Frankenstein: A Conversation with Sara Karloff | Morgan | 2017 |
| Jack Pierce, the Maker of Monsters | Self (archive footage) | 2015 |
| Pop Culture Beast's Halloween Horror Picks | Cabman John Gray / Byron Orlok | 2014 |
| Monster Madness: The Golden Age of the Horror Film | The Monster / Sanders / Morgan / Hjalmar Poelzig / Imhotep / Dr. Fu Manchu / Cabman John Gray / Doctor Gustav Niemann | 2014 |
| A Masque of Madness (Notes on Film 06-B, Monologue 02) | (archive footage) / Self (archive footage) | 2013 |
| Dante's Domicile | Baron Victor Frederick Von Leppe / Eric | 2013 |
| The Complete Bob Wilkins Creature Features | 2012 | |
| Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel | Dr. Scarabus | 2011 |
| Prophets of Science Fiction | The Monster in 'Frankenstein' | 2011 |
| These Amazing Shadows | The Monster (clip from Frankenstein (1931)) | 2011 |
| A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss | The Monster / Morgan / Cabman John Gray | 2010 |
| Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy | Self | 2010 |
| Happy Tears | Imhotep | 2009 |
| He Who Made Monsters: The Life and Art of Jack Pierce | Self | 2008 |
| One for the Fire: The Legacy of 'Night of the Living Dead' | John Ellman | 2008 |
| The Fallen Vampire | Himself (archive footage) / Self | 2007 |
| Cinemassacre's Monster Madness | The Monster / Imhotep / ? / Hjalmar Poelzig / Edmond Bateman / Frankenstein Monster in Dream Sequence / Dr. Scarabus / Dr. Henryk Savaard / Doctor Gustav Niemann / Cabman John Gray / Baron Victor von Frankenstein / Baron Victor Frederick Von Leppe / Eric / Morgan / Kharis / Kharis in flashback, bandaging sequence | 2007 |
| Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman | Self / Self (archive footage) | 2007 |
| Lugosi, the Dark Prince | Self / Self (archive footage) | 2006 |
| Karloff, the Gentle Monster | Self (archive footage) | 2006 |
| Terror in the Tropics | Mr. Wong / Mr. Wong (archive footage) | 2006 |
| Bones | Imhotep | 2005 |
| Edgar G. Ulmer: The Man Off-Screen | (archive footage) | 2004 |
| Monster Movie Trivia Quiz | (archive footage) | 2004 |
| Hit Celebrity TV Commercials | Self - for A-1 Steak Sauce | 2004 |
| The Mesmerist | (archive footage) | 2003 |
| Extra Weird | Self | 2003 |
| Hollywood Rivals | Self | 2001 |
| Star Trek: Enterprise | Frankenstein's Monster | 2001 |
| Schlock! The Secret History of American Movies | Self | 2001 |
| Heroes of Horror | Various Roles (Archive Footage) / Self / Frankenstein's Monster / Narrator & The Grinch / Prof. Morlant / Byron Orlok / Gorca | 2001 |
| The American Nightmare | Self | 2000 |
| Angela's Ashes | Imhotep | 2000 |
| The Many Faces of Dracula | The Monster / The Monster (archive footage) | 2000 |
| Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man' | (archive footage) / Archive Footage | 1999 |
| The Frankenstein Files: How Hollywood Made a Monster | The Monster / Mad Scientist / Himself (Archival) | 1999 |
| Universal Horror | Self / (archive footage) | 1998 |
| History's Mysteries | Monster | 1998 |
| 100 Years of Horror | Self | 1996 |
| 100 Years of Horror: The Frankenstein Family | Self | 1996 |
| Empire of the Censors | Self | 1995 |
| How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Special Edition | (voice) (archive footage) / (voice - archive footage) | 1994 |
| Abbott and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld | (archive footage) | 1994 |
| In Search of Dr. Seuss | The Grinch | 1994 |
| It's Alive: The True Story of Frankenstein | (archive footage) | 1994 |
| Natural Born Killers | The Monster | 1994 |
| EBN: Commercial Entertainment Product | Frankenstein's Monster | 1992 |
| Hooray for Horrorwood | Self | 1991 |
| Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook | The Monster / Doctor Gustav Niemann / Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Hyde / Baron Victor von Frankenstein / Gustav Niemann / Dr. Jekyll / etc. | 1991 |
| The Horror Hall of Fame | Inductee | 1990 |
| Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home to | Self / (archive footage) | 1990 |
| Transylvania Twist | Self / Man in Room | 1990 |
| Classic Movie Bloopers | Self | 1990 |
| Shocker | The Monster | 1989 |
| Father Dowling Mysteries | Imhotep | 1989 |
| Murphy Brown | Self / opening credits | 1988 |
| Monsters & Maniacs | Self | 1988 |
| Biography | Self / (archive footage) | 1987 |
| Bloopermania | Self | 1987 |
| American Masters | Fu Manchu | 1986 |
| Horrible Horror | Gruesome, In clips from 'Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome' / Gruesome in 'Dick Tracey Meets Gruesome' | 1986 |
| Moonlighting | Frankenstein's Monster | 1985 |
| Terror in the Aisles | The Monster / The Monster (Archive Footage) | 1984 |
| Going Hollywood: The '30s | (archive footage) | 1984 |
| The Horror of It All | Frankenstein / Cabman John Gray / Cabman John Gray (archive footage) | 1983 |
| Living Legends | Cabman John Gray | 1979 |
| The Horror Show | (archive footage) | 1979 |
| Brother Can You Spare a Dime | Self / Self (archive footage) | 1975 |
| Madhouse | Clip from 'The Raven' / (archive footage) | 1974 |
| Alien Terror | Prof. John Mayer | 1971 |
| Isle of the Snake People | Carl van Molder / Damballah / Karl Van Molder | 1971 |
| Hatchet for the Honeymoon | Gorca / Gorca (archive footage) | 1970 |
| McCloud | Hjalmar Poelzig | 1970 |
| Cauldron of Blood | Franz Badulescu | 1970 |
| The Crimson Cult | Professor John Marsh | 1968 |
| The Name of the Game | Mikhail Orlov | 1968 |
| Targets | Byron Orlok | 1968 |
| Macabre Serenade | Matthias Morteval | 1968 |
| Fear Chamber | Dr. Carl Mandel / Dr. Karl Mantell | 1968 |
| The Movie Orgy | Self (archival footage) | 1968 |
| Mad Monster Party? | Baron Boris von Frankenstein / Baron Boris von Frankenstein (voice) | 1967 |
| The Sorcerers | Prof. Marcus Monserrat | 1967 |
| How the Grinch Stole Christmas! | The Grinch / Narrator / The Grinch (voice) | 1966 |
| The Venetian Affair | Dr. Pierre Vaugiroud | 1966 |
| The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. | Mother Muffin | 1966 |
| The Daydreamer | The Rat (voice) / The Rat | 1966 |
| The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini | The Corpse | 1966 |
| Hollywood My Home Town | Self | 1965 |
| Die, Monster, Die! | Nahum Witley | 1965 |
| The Wild Wild West | Mr. Singh | 1965 |
| I Spy | Don Ernesto Silvando | 1965 |
| Wayne and Shuster Take an Affectionate Look at... | Various | 1964 |
| ABC's Nightlife | Self | 1964 |
| Ensign Pulver | film clip from 'The Walking Dead' | 1964 |
| Bikini Beach | Art Dealer / The Art Dealer | 1964 |
| Shindig! | Singer / Self - Guest Host | 1964 |
| The Comedy of Terrors | Amos Hinchley | 1964 |
| Tri plyus dva | Mystery Novel Character | 1964 |
| A Fool's World | Himself - Narrator / Self - Narrator | 1964 |
| Hollywood and the Stars | The Monster in Frankenstein's segment | 1963 |
| The Judy Garland Show | Self | 1963 |
| Black Sabbath | Gorca (segment "I Wurdalak") / Gorca (segment "The Wurdalak") | 1963 |
| The Terror | Eric / Baron Victor Frederick Von Leppe | 1963 |
| The Raven | Dr. Scarabus | 1963 |
| The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | Himself - Guest | 1962 |
| Out of This World | Self - Host | 1962 |
| Arsenic & Old Lace | Jonathan Brewster | 1962 |
| Theatre '62 | Judge Lord Thomas Horfield | 1961 |
| Days of Thrills and Laughter | Self | 1961 |
| Days Of Thrills & Laughter | archive footage | 1961 |
| Route 66 | Boris Karloff | 1960 |
| Here's Hollywood | Self | 1960 |
| Thriller | Self / Self - Host / Doktor Konrad Markesan / Pop Jenkins / Col. Jackson Beauregard Finchess / Dr. Thorne / Dr. Albert Farnham / Clayton Mace | 1960 |
| The Kate Smith Show | Self | 1960 |
| Sunday Showcase | Self - Host | 1959 |
| Corridors of Blood | Dr. Bolton / Dr. Thomas Bolton | 1958 |
| The Garry Moore Show | Self | 1958 |
| Frankenstein 1970 | Baron Victor von Frankenstein / Baron Viktor von Frankenstein | 1958 |
| The Haunted Strangler | James Rankin | 1958 |
| Destination Nightmare | Host / Ira Perry / Pete Wade Sr. / Professor Charles Goncourt / Morgan Debs | 1958 |
| The Betty White Show | Self | 1958 |
| Shirley Temple's Storybook | Father Knickerbocker / Narrator | 1958 |
| Jack the Ripper | Host / Capt. John Elwood / Jonas Atterbury / Dr. Francis Mason | 1958 |
| The Veil | Sgt. Chester Willmore / Dr. Carlo Marcabienti / Andre Giraud / Dr. Francis Mason | 1958 |
| The Veil | Captain Elwood / Host / Dr. Carlo Marcabienti / Dr. Mason / Dr. Pierre / Andre Giraud / Ira Perry / Morgan Debs / Professor Charles Goncourt / Jonas Atterbury / Pete Wade Sr. / Self - Host / Sgt. Willmore | 1958 |
| The Juggler of Our Lady | Narrator (voice) / Narrator | 1957 |
| Suspicion | Judge Winthrop Gelsey | 1957 |
| The DuPont Show of the Month | Capt. Billy Bones | 1957 |
| The Gisele MacKenzie Show | Self | 1957 |
| The Lux Show | Self | 1957 |
| The Tonight Show Starring Jack Paar | Himself | 1957 |
| Voodoo Island | Phillip Knight | 1957 |
| The Dinah Shore Chevy Show | Self | 1956 |
| Playhouse 90 | Guibert / Mr. Kurtz / Ward Allen | 1956 |
| The Gale Storm Show: Oh! Susanna | Boris Karloff | 1956 |
| The Rosemary Clooney Show | Self | 1956 |
| Telephone Time | Dr. Pierre | 1956 |
| The Alcoa Hour | Doc Dixon | 1955 |
| Colonel March of Scotland Yard | Colonel March Of Scotland Yard / Col. Perceval March | 1955 |
| This Is Your Life | Self | 1955 |
| Frankie Laine Time | Self | 1955 |
| A Connecticut Yankee | King Arthur | 1955 |
| The Donald O'Connor Show | Major Role | 1954 |
| Sabaka | Gen. Pollegar / General Pollegar | 1954 |
| Climax! | Vicar Tellworth / Dr. Philip Nestri | 1954 |
| The Elgin Hour | Mr. Mycroft | 1954 |
| The George Gobel Show | Himself | 1954 |
| The Best of Broadway | Jonathan Brewster | 1954 |
| The Island Monster | Don Gaetano | 1954 |
| The United States Steel Hour | George Redford | 1953 |
| Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | Mr. Hyde / Dr. Henry Jekyll | 1953 |
| Colonel March Investigates | Colonel March | 1953 |
| The Plymouth Playhouse | Story One - The Chase / starring in 'The Chase' and 'The Reticence of Cody Anne' | 1953 |
| General Electric Theater | Henry E. Church / Mr. Blue Ocean | 1953 |
| The Black Castle | Dr. Meissen | 1952 |
| This Is Your Life | Self | 1952 |
| I've Got a Secret | Self - Guest | 1952 |
| Quick as a Flash | Self | 1952 |
| CBS Television Workshop | Don Quixote | 1952 |
| Schlitz Playhouse | Charles Brandon | 1951 |
| The Red Skelton Hour | Mad Scientist / Boris Karloff | 1951 |
| Tales of Tomorrow | Dr. Henry Marco | 1951 |
| The Strange Door | Voltan | 1951 |
| Down You Go | Himself | 1951 |
| All Star Revue | Self | 1950 |
| Lux Video Theatre | Sir Arthur / Montgomery Royle / Larkin | 1950 |
| TV Club | Self | 1950 |
| The Saturday Night Revue with Jack Carter | Self | 1950 |
| What's My Line? | Himself - Mystery Guest | 1950 |
| Robert Montgomery Presents | Bennett Kimball | 1950 |
| The Paul Whiteman's Goodyear Revue | Self | 1949 |
| Inside U.S.A. with Chevrolet | Self | 1949 |
| The Boris Karloff Mystery Playhouse | Self - Host / Himself - Host | 1949 |
| Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet the Killer Boris Karloff | Swami Talpur | 1949 |
| The Fred Waring Show | Self | 1949 |
| The Emperor's Nightingale | Narrator (English version) | 1949 |
| The Lamb's Gambol | Self | 1949 |
| Suspense | Toff / Rasputin / Bronson | 1949 |
| Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall | 1948 | |
| Who Said That? | Self | 1948 |
| Celebrity Time | Himself | 1948 |
| Studio One | Skaggs / Professor Koernig / King Arthur | 1948 |
| The Ford Theatre Hour | Jonathan Brewster | 1948 |
| The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre | Doctor Steven Johnson | 1948 |
| Tap Roots | Tishomingo | 1948 |
| The Milton Berle Show | Self | 1948 |
| We, the People | Self - Actor | 1948 |
| Unconquered | Guyasuta - Chief of the Senecas / Guyasuta, Chief of the Senecas | 1947 |
| Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome - Ralph Byrd As Dick Tracy, Featuring Boris Karloff | Gruesome | 1947 |
| Lured | Charles van Druten | 1947 |
| The Secret Life of Walter Mitty | Dr. Hugo Hollingshead | 1947 |
| Bedlam | Master George Sims / George Sims | 1946 |
| House of Dracula | Frankenstein Monster in Dream Sequence | 1945 |
| Isle of the Dead | Gen. Nikolas Pherides | 1945 |
| The Body Snatcher | Cabman John Gray / John Gray | 1945 |
| The Mummy's Curse | 1944 | |
| House of Frankenstein | Doctor Gustav Niemann / Dr. Gustav Niemann | 1944 |
| The Climax | Dr. Friedrich Hohner | 1944 |
| The Boogie Man Will Get You | Prof. Nathaniel Billings | 1942 |
| The Devil Commands | Dr. Julian Blair | 1941 |
| You'll Find Out | Judge Spencer Mainwaring | 1940 |
| The Ape | Dr. Bernard Adrian | 1940 |
| The Mummy's Hand | Kharis | 1940 |
| Before I Hang | Dr. John Garth | 1940 |
| Doomed to Die | James Lee Wong | 1940 |
| The Man with Nine Lives | Dr. Leon Kravaal | 1940 |
| Black Friday | Dr. Ernest Sovac | 1940 |
| British Intelligence | Valdar | 1940 |
| The Fatal Hour | James Lee Wong | 1940 |
| Tower of London | Mord | 1939 |
| The Man They Could Not Hang | Dr. Henryk Savaard | 1939 |
| Mr. Wong in Chinatown | James Lee Wong / Mr. James Lee Wong | 1939 |
| The Mystery of Mr. Wong | Mr. James Lee Wong / James Lee Wong | 1939 |
| Son of Frankenstein | The Monster | 1939 |
| Devil's Island | Dr. Charles Gaudet | 1939 |
| Mr. Wong, Detective | Mr. James Lee Wong | 1938 |
| The Invisible Menace | Jevries | 1938 |
| West of Shanghai | Wu Yen Fang | 1937 |
| Night Key | David Mallory | 1937 |
| Cinema Circus | Karloff / Himself | 1937 |
| Breakdowns of 1937 | Himself / Self | 1937 |
| Charlie Chan at the Opera | Gravelle | 1936 |
| The Man Who Lived Again | Dick Haslewood / Dr. Laurience | 1936 |
| Juggernaut | Doctor Sartorius / Dr. Victor Sartorius | 1936 |
| The Walking Dead | John Ellman | 1936 |
| The Invisible Ray | Dr. Janos Rukh | 1936 |
| The Black Room | Anton de Berghman / Baron Gregor de Berghman | 1935 |
| The Raven | Edmond Bateman | 1935 |
| The Bride of Frankenstein | The Monster | 1935 |
| Gift of Gab | The Phantom / Himself | 1934 |
| The Black Cat | Hjalmar Poelzig | 1934 |
| The House of Rothschild | Count Ledrantz | 1934 |
| The Lost Patrol | Sanders | 1934 |
| The Ghoul | Prof. Henry Morlant / Prof. Morlant | 1933 |
| Boo! | Frankenstein's Monster (edited from "Frankenstein") | 1932 |
| The Mask of Fu Manchu | Dr. Fu Manchu | 1932 |
| The Old Dark House | Morgan | 1932 |
| Skyscraper Souls | Man Approaching Ticket Counter | 1932 |
| Night World | 'Happy' MacDonald | 1932 |
| Scarface | Gaffney | 1932 |
| The Miracle Man | Nikko | 1932 |
| The Cohens and Kellys in Hollywood | Boris Karloff | 1932 |
| Behind the Mask | Jim Henderson | 1932 |
| Business and Pleasure | Sheik Ali Ben Joseph | 1932 |
| The Mummy | Imhotep / Imhotep, alias Ardath Bey | 1932 |
| Frankenstein | The Monster | 1931 |
| The Guilty Generation | Tony Ricca | 1931 |
| The Mad Genius | Fedor's Father | 1931 |
| The Yellow Ticket | Drunken Orderly | 1931 |
| Graft | 'Terry' / Terry | 1931 |
| I Like Your Nerve | Luigi - Pacheco's Butler | 1931 |
| Five Star Final | T. Vernon Isopod | 1931 |
| The Public Defender | The Professor | 1931 |
| Smart Money | Sport Williams | 1931 |
| Young Donovan's Kid | Cokey Joe | 1931 |
| The Vanishing Legion | The Voice (voice) / The Voice | 1931 |
| Cracked Nuts | Boris - First Revolutionary | 1931 |
| King of the Wild | Mustapha | 1931 |
| Tonight or Never | Waiter | 1931 |
| The Criminal Code | Galloway / Ned Galloway | 1930 |
| The Utah Kid | Henchman Baxter / Baxter - Henchman | 1930 |
| The Sea Bat | Corsican | 1930 |
| The Bad One | Monsieur Gaston | 1930 |
| The Unholy Night | Abdul Mohammed Bey - the Hindu Lawyer / The Hindu Lawyer | 1929 |
| The King of the Kongo | Scarface Macklin | 1929 |
| Behind That Curtain | Beetham's Manservant / Beetham's Manservent | 1929 |
| The Phantom of the North | Jules Gregg | 1929 |
| Anne Against the World | 1929 | |
| Two Sisters | Cecil | 1929 |
| The Devil's Chaplain | Boris | 1929 |
| The Fatal Warning | Mullins | 1929 |
| Burning the Wind | Pug Doran | 1928 |
| The Little Wild Girl | Maurice Kent | 1928 |
| Sharp Shooters | Cafe Proprietor | 1928 |
| Two Arabian Knights | The Purser / Purser | 1927 |
| Soft Cushions | The Chief Conspirator | 1927 |
| The Phantom Buster | Ramon | 1927 |
| The Meddlin' Stranger | Al Meggs | 1927 |
| Tarzan and the Golden Lion | Owaza | 1927 |
| The Princess from Hoboken | Pavel | 1927 |
| Old Ironsides | Saracen Guard | 1926 |
| The Nickel-Hopper | Dance Hall Masher | 1926 |
| The Eagle of the Sea | Pirate | 1926 |
| Flames | Blackie Blanchette | 1926 |
| The Golden Web | Dave Sinclair | 1926 |
| The Bells | The Mesmerist | 1926 |
| Her Honor, the Governor | Snipe Collins | 1926 |
| The Man in the Saddle | Robber | 1926 |
| The Greater Glory | Scissors Grinder | 1926 |
| Parisian Nights | Pierre | 1925 |
| Never the Twain Shall Meet | 1925 | |
| Lady Robinhood | Cabraza | 1925 |
| The Prairie Wife | Diego | 1925 |
| Dynamite Dan | Tony Garcia | 1924 |
| The White Panther | Shere Ali's Aide / Shere Ali's Aide (as Karloff Boris) | 1924 |
| Omar the Tentmaker | Imam Mowaffak | 1922 |
| The Woman Conquers | Raoul Maris | 1922 |
| The Man from Downing Street | Maharajah Jehan | 1922 |
| Nan of the North | Undetermined Role | 1922 |
| The Cave Girl | Baptiste | 1921 |
| Without Benefit of Clergy | Ahmed Khan | 1921 |
| The Hope Diamond Mystery | Priest of Kama-Sita / Dakar | 1921 |
| The Last of the Mohicans | Indian | 1920 |
| The Courage of Marge O'Doone | Tavish | 1920 |
| The Deadlier Sex | Jules Borney | 1920 |
| The Prince and Betty | Undetermined Role | 1919 |
| His Majesty, the American | Henchman in cloth cap | 1919 |
| The Lightning Raider | 1919 |
