Born William Henry Pratt in London, he pursued studies at King’s College with the intention of joining the British consular service before abandoning university in 1909, emigrating to Canada where a series of farm and truck-driver jobs eventually led him to the stage in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, and the adoption of the name Boris Karloff.
His breakthrough came with the iconic turn as the mon… Read more
Biography written by WatchMoods, based on public sources
Known for Frankenstein 1931 How the Grinch Stole Christmas! 1966 Bride of Frankenstein 1935 The Mummy 1932 Series ★ 7.6 The Wild Wild West 1965
Mr. Singh ★ 7.5 The Last Repair Shop 2024
The Monster (archive footage) (uncredited) Series ★ 7.2 McCloud 1970
Hjalmar Poelzig (archive footage) (uncredited) ★ 7.1 Universal Horror 1998
(archive footage) ★ 7.1 Targets 1968
Byron Orlok ★ 7 The Body Snatcher 1945
John Gray ★ 6.9 Smart Money 1931
Sport Williams ★ 6.8 Charlie Chan at the Opera 1936
Gravelle Series ★ 6.7 Route 66 1960
Series ★ 6.7 Thriller 1960
Clayton Mace ★ 6.6 Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff 1949
Swami Talpur ★ 6.6 Bedlam 1946
George Sims ★ 6.6 The Man They Could Not Hang 1939
Dr. Henryk Savaard ★ 6.6 The Raven 1935
Edmond Bateman ★ 6.6 The Lost Patrol 1934
Sanders ★ 6.6 Five Star Final 1931
T. Vernon Isopod ★ 6.5 Mad Monster Party? 1967
Baron Boris von Frankenstein (voice) ★ 6.5 The Comedy of Terrors 1964
Amos Hinchley ★ 6.5 Unconquered 1947
Guyasuta, Chief of the Senecas ★ 6.5 The Black Room 1935
Baron Gregor de Berghman / Anton de Berghman ★ 6.4 Hatchet for the Honeymoon 1970
Gorca (archive footage) ★ 6.4 The Black Castle 1952
Dr. Meissen ★ 6.4 The Invisible Ray 1936
Dr. Janos Rukh ★ 6.4 The Mad Genius 1931
Fedor's Father (uncredited) ★ 6.4 The Last of the Mohicans 1920
Indian (uncredited) ★ 6.3 The Raven 1963
Dr. Scarabus ★ 6.3 Lured 1947
Charles van Druten ★ 6.3 The Devil Commands 1941
Dr. Julian Blair ★ 6.3 Before I Hang 1940
Dr. John Garth ★ 6.3 The Man with Nine Lives 1940
Dr. Leon Kravaal ★ 6.3 The Walking Dead 1936
John Ellman ★ 6.2 Madhouse 1974
(archive footage) ★ 6.2 The Sorcerers 1967
Prof. Marcus Monserrat ★ 6.2 Corridors of Blood 1958
Dr. Thomas Bolton ★ 6.2 Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 1953
Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Hyde ★ 6.2 The Strange Door 1951
Voltan ★ 6.2 The Boogie Man Will Get You 1942
Prof. Nathaniel Billings ★ 6.2 Tower of London 1939
Mord ★ 6.2 Night Key 1937
David Mallory ★ 6.2 The House of Rothschild 1934
Count Ledrantz ★ 6.1 House of Frankenstein 1944
Dr. Gustav Niemann ★ 6.1 The Man Who Changed His Mind 1936
Dr. Laurence ★ 6.1 The Criminal Code 1931
Ned Galloway ★ 6 Grip of the Strangler 1958
James Rankin ★ 6 Isle of the Dead 1945
Gen. Nikolas Pherides ★ 6 Black Friday 1940
Dr. Ernest Sovac ★ 5.9 The Mystery of Mr. Wong 1939
James Lee Wong ★ 5.8 British Intelligence 1939
Valdar ★ 5.8 Two Arabian Knights 1927
Purser ★ 5.7 Die, Monster, Die! 1965
Nahum Witley ★ 5.7 Doomed to Die 1940
James Lee Wong ★ 5.7 The Fatal Hour 1940
James Lee Wong ★ 5.6 Bikini Beach 1964
Art Dealer ★ 5.6 You'll Find Out 1940
Judge Spencer Mainwaring ★ 5.6 Mr. Wong, Detective 1938
James Lee Wong ★ 5.6 The Ghoul 1933
Prof. Morlant ★ 5.5 Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome 1947
Gruesome ★ 5.5 The Climax 1944
Dr. Friedrich Hohner ★ 5.4 Transylvania Twist 1989
Man in Room (archive footage) ★ 5.4 Frankenstein 1970 1958
Baron Viktor von Frankenstein ★ 5.4 Mr. Wong in Chinatown 1939
Mr. James Lee Wong ★ 5.4 The Mask of Fu Manchu 1932
Dr. Fu Manchu ★ 5.2 Curse of the Crimson Altar 1968
Professor John Marsh ★ 5.1 The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini 1966
The Corpse ★ 5.1 The Terror 1963
Baron Victor Frederick Von Leppe ★ 4.9 The Ape 1940
Dr. Bernard Adrian ★ 4.6 Voodoo Island 1957
Phillip Knight ★ 4.4 Fear Chamber 1968
Dr. Carl Mandel ★ 4 Macabre Serenade 1968
Matthias Morteval ★ 3.6 Alien Terror 1971
Prof. John Mayer ★ 3.1 Isle of the Snake People 1971
Carl van Molder / Damballah Start from another title 
