Boris Karloff
Known for Acting · 274 credits
- Born
- 1887-11-23
- Died
- 1969-02-02
- Place of birth
- Camberwell, London, England, UK
- Also known as
- William Henry Pratt · بوریس کارلوف
Biography
William Henry Pratt (November 23, 1887 – February 2, 1969), better known as Boris Karloff, was an English-born actor who emigrated to Canada in 1909. Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), and Son of Frankenstein (1939). His popularity following Frankenstein was such that for a brief time he was billed simply as "Karloff" or "Karloff the Uncanny". His best-known non-horror role is as the Grinch in the television special of Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Boris Karloff, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
TV Shows (34)
Robert Montgomery Presents
1950
as Bennett Kimball
What's My Line?
1950
as Self
Climax!
1954
as Dr. Philip Nestri / Vicar Tellworth
Studio One
1948
as Skaggs / Professor Koernig / King Arthur
The Wild Wild West
1965
as Mr. Singh
The Red Skelton Show
1951
as Professor Townsend (Spy)
Route 66
1960
Lights Out
1949
The Name of the Game
1968
as Mikhail Orlov
McCloud
1970
as Hjalmar Poelzig (archive footage) (uncredited)
Thriller
1960
as Clayton Mace / Self - Host / Dr. Albert Farnham / Dr. Thorne / Doktor Konrad Markesan / Pop Jenkins / Col. Jackson Beauregard Finchess
Suspense
1949
as Toff / Bronson / Rasputin
Telephone Time
1956
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1956
as Self
This Is Your Life
1955
as Self
Shirley Temple's Storybook
1958
as Narrator (voice) / Father Knickerbocker
Tales of Tomorrow
1951
The United States Steel Hour
1953
as George Redford
Lux Video Theatre
1950
as Sir Arthur Strangeways / Montgomery Royle / Larkin
Suspicion
1957
as Judge Winthrop Gelsey
The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.
1966
as Mother Muffin
The George Gobel Show
1954
as Self
Shindig!
1964
as Self - Guest Host / Singer
Colonel March of Scotland Yard
1956
as Colonel March Of Scotland Yard
DuPont Show of the Month
1957
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951
as Cauchon / Jonathan Brewster
Out of This World
1962
as Host
General Electric Theater
1953
as Mr. Blue Ocean / Henry E. Church
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
1951
as Charles Brandon
The Lux Show
1957
as Self
The Veil
1958
The Rosemary Clooney Show
1956
as Self
Down You Go
1951
as Self
Starring Boris Karloff
1949
Movies (240)
Scarface
1932
as Gaffney
Frankenstein
1931
as The Monster
The Mummy
1932
as Imhotep / Ardath Bey
Bride of Frankenstein
1935
as The Monster
How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
1966
as Narrator / The Grinch (voice)
Unconquered
1947
as Guyasuta, Chief of the Senecas
Targets
1968
as Byron Orlok
Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook
1991
as The Monster / Gustav Niemann / Dr. Jekyll / Mr. Hyde / etc.
The Raven
1963
as Dr. Scarabus
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
1947
as Dr. Hollingshead
The Climax
1944
as Dr. Friedrich Hohner
The Terror
1963
as Baron Victor Frederick Von Leppe
Black Sabbath
1963
as Gorca (segment "The Wurdalak")
Bikini Beach
1964
as Art Dealer
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
1975
as Self (archive footage)
The Movie Orgy
1968
as Self (archive footage)
Lured
1947
as Charles van Druten
The Lost Patrol
1934
as Sanders
Transylvania Twist
1989
as Man in Room (archive footage)
The Mummy's Hand
1940
as Kharis (archive footage / uncredited)
Bedlam
1946
as George Sims
Night Key
1937
as David Mallory
Son of Frankenstein
1939
as The Monster
The Last Repair Shop
2024
as The Monster (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Man with Nine Lives
1940
as Dr. Leon Kravaal
Creepy Classics
1987
as Dr. Scarabus - (archive footage)
The Universal Story
1996
as Self (archive footage)
Destination Nightmare
1958
as Host / Ira Perry / Pete Wade Sr. / Professor Charles Goncourt / Morgan Debs
The Black Cat
1934
as Hjalmar Poelzig
Curse of the Crimson Altar
1968
as Professor John Marsh
The Man Who Changed His Mind
1936
as Dr. Laurence
The Ghoul
1933
as Prof. Morlant
The Mad Genius
1931
as Fedor's Father (uncredited)
The Walking Dead
1936
as John Ellman
The Strange Door
1951
as Voltan
Madhouse
1974
as (archive footage)
House of Frankenstein
1944
as Dr. Gustav Niemann
The Horror Show
1979
as (archive footage)
Tap Roots
1948
as Tishomingo
The Mask of Fu Manchu
1932
as Dr. Fu Manchu
The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute
1974
as Self (archive footage)
The Mystery of Mr. Wong
1939
as James Lee Wong
Mr. Wong, Detective
1938
as James Lee Wong
The Man They Could Not Hang
1939
as Dr. Henryk Savaard
Hollywood in the Atomic Age: Monsters! Martians! Mad Scientists!
2021
as Self (archive footage)
The Old Dark House
1932
as Morgan
Black Friday
1940
as Dr. Ernest Sovac
Horror!!!
1964
as Self
Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
1953
as Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Hyde
Voodoo Island
1957
as Phillip Knight
Die, Monster, Die!
1965
as Nahum Witley
The Prisoner
1923
as Prince Kapolski
The Yellow Ticket
1931
as Drunken Orderly
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
1982
as Self (archive footage)
The House of Rothschild
1934
as Count Ledrantz
The American Nightmare
2000
as Self
The Body Snatcher
1945
as John Gray
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Special Edition
1994
as (voice - archive footage)
The Mummy's Curse
1944
as Kharis in Flashback (archive footage / uncredited)
Night World
1932
as 'Happy' MacDonald
Monster Madness: The Golden Age of the Horror Film
2014
as Various roles (archive footage)
The Black Room
1935
as Baron Gregor de Berghman / Anton de Berghman
The Comedy of Terrors
1964
as Amos Hinchley
The Raven
1935
as Edmond Bateman
Boo
1932
as Frankenstein's Monster (edited from "Frankenstein")
The Invisible Ray
1936
as Dr. Janos Rukh
The Fatal Hour
1940
as James Lee Wong
Going Hollywood: The '30s
1984
as (archive footage)
Boris Karloff: The Rest of the Story
2022
as Self - Interviewee
Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man'
1999
as Self (archive footage)
Cinema Circus
1937
as Himself
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff
1949
as Swami Talpur
Mad Monster Party?
1967
as Baron Boris von Frankenstein (voice)
Abbott and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld
1994
as Self (archive footage)
Grip of the Strangler
1958
as James Rankin
Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To
1990
as (archive footage)
Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome
1947
as Gruesome
Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook
1991
as Doctor Gustav Niemann (archive footage)
Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster
2021
as Self (archive footage)
The Daydreamer
1966
as The Rat (voice)
The Sorcerers
1967
as Prof. Marcus Monserrat
The Boogie Man Will Get You
1942
as Prof. Nathaniel Billings
The Criminal Code
1931
as Ned Galloway
Breakdowns of 1937
1937
as Self
Smart Money
1931
as Sport Williams
The Sea Bat
1930
as Corsican
The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini
1966
as The Corpse
Tower of London
1939
as Mord
The Greater Glory
1926
as Scissors Grinder
The Bells
1926
as The Mesmerist
Before I Hang
1940
as Dr. John Garth
Mummy Dearest: A Horror Tradition Unearthed
2000
as Self (archive footage)
The Cave Girl
1921
as Baptiste
Doomed to Die
1940
as James Lee Wong
Heart of Darkness
1958
as Mr. Kurtz
Tarzan and the Golden Lion
1927
as Owaza
The Prairie Wife
1925
as Diego
The Venetian Affair
1966
as Dr. Pierre Vaugiroud
Sharp Shooters
1928
as Cafe Proprietor (uncredited)
Skyscraper Souls
1932
as Man Approaching Ticket Counter
Charlie Chan at the Opera
1936
as Gravelle
The Horror of It All
1983
as Frankenstein / Cabman John Gray (archive footage)
The Infidel
1922
as The Nabob
British Intelligence
1939
as Valdar
Old Ironsides
1926
as Saracen Guard (uncredited)
The Last of the Mohicans
1920
as Indian (uncredited)
Corridors of Blood
1958
as Dr. Thomas Bolton
The Lark
1957
as Bishop Cauchon
Frankenstein 1970
1958
as Baron Viktor von Frankenstein
His Majesty, the American
1919
as Henchman in cloth cap
Universal Horror
1998
as (archive footage)
Devil's Island
1939
as Dr. Charles Gaudet
Isle of the Snake People
1971
as Carl van Molder / Damballah
The Unholy Night
1929
as Abdul Mohammed Bey - the Hindu Lawyer (uncredited)
The 'Frankenstein' Files: How Hollywood Made a Monster
1999
as Self (archive footage)
Heroes of Horror
2001
as (archive footage)
Isle of the Dead
1945
as Gen. Nikolas Pherides
Cracked Nuts
1931
as Boris - First Revolutionary
Let It Rain
1927
as Crook
The Miracle Man
1932
as Nikko
About Boris Karloff
William Henry Pratt (November 23, 1887 – February 2, 1969), better known as Boris Karloff, was an English-born actor who emigrated to Canada in 1909. Karloff is best remembered for his roles in horror films and his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), and Son of Frankenstein (1939). His popularity following Frankenstein was such that for a brief time he was billed simply as "Karloff" or "Karloff the Uncanny". His best-known non-horror role is as the Grinch in the television special of Dr. Se… With 274 credits spanning from 1919 to 2025, Boris Karloff has appeared in 240 films and 34 TV shows.
Fans searching for Boris Karloff movies, Boris Karloff filmography, or the latest projects starring Boris Karloff can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Boris Karloff Movies
- Scarface (1932) — as Gaffney
- Frankenstein (1931) — as The Monster
- The Mummy (1932) — as Imhotep / Ardath Bey
- Bride of Frankenstein (1935) — as The Monster
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966) — as Narrator / The Grinch (voice)
Where to Watch Boris Karloff Films
Most Boris Karloff movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Boris Karloff, check our movies catalogue and browse page.