MUSEUM OF MODERN MYTHOLOGY AND POP CULTURE

BORIS KARLOFF

1887-1969. William Henry Pratt was born in Dulwich, England. Billy's "fire in the belly" for theater consumed him; he left England and arrived in Canada in 1912, joining a theater group. Billy used the stage name Boris Karloff, and after he arrived in Hollywood continued using this name in the growing movie business. In the 1931 Universal Pictures release Frankenstein, Karloff was cast as the tenderhearted monster. This film led to his becoming one of the greatest and most loved performers in film history. Boris was one of the founding members of the Screen Actors Guild, and was assertive and outspoken concerning dangerous working conditions on movie sets. In addition to his normal output of movies, stage, radio broadcasts, editing of books, commercials, and children's records, Boris again distinguished himself in the growing medium of TV during the fifties and sixties.

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