Quotes
 My wife has good taste. She has seen very few of my movies. The monster was the best friend I ever had.
When I was nine I played the demon king in Cinderella and it launched me on a long and happy life of being a monster.
You could heave a brick out of the window and hit ten actors who could play my parts. I just happened to be on the right corner at the right time.
[in 1936, on his appeal to children, who empathized with the monster] I don`t really scare them any more than do Jungle Jim, Dan Dunn, Tarzan, and the other heroes of the comic sections.
[on whether he resented being typed as a "horror star"] One always hears of actors complaining of being typed - if he`s young, he`s typed as a juvenile; if he`s handsome, he`s typed as a leading man. I was lucky. Whereas bootmakers have to spend millions to establish a trademark, I was handed a trademark free of charge. When an actor gets in a position to select his own roles, he`s in big trouble, for he never knows what he can do best. I`m sure I`d be damn good as little Lord Fauntleroy, but who would pay ten cents to see it?
Trivia
Although he will forever be linked to Frankenstein`s Monster, Karloff actually played Frankenstein`s creation only three times--once in the original Frankenstein (1931), again in Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and finally in Son of Frankenstein (1939). He played Dr. Frankenstein only once, in Frankenstein - 1970 (1958).
He was Christopher Lee`s neighbor for many years.
His voice was the basis for future Tony the Tiger commercials by Kellogg`s.
Once did a television commercial for A-1 Steak Sauce.
Raised rare Bedlington Terriers while he lived in Brentwood, CA. One day he was walking them with his four-year old daughter Sara Karloff when they broke free and they ran up to an inebriated man stumbling down the street. The drunk begged Karloff for a ride to Cedars of Lebanon Hospital, claiming he "just saw three sheep bark!" Karloff obliged.
A photo of him keeping wicket while C. Aubrey Smith was batting was included in a display in the Long Room at Lord`s cricket ground in 2004. The display was to celebrate Sussex (the oldest county side) winning the County Championship for the first time and the photo was included because Smith had been a captain of Sussex CCC.
Appeared in 80 films before his breakthrough role in Frankenstein (1931).
During the production of Frankenstein (1931) there was some concern that seven-year-old Marilyn Harris, who played Maria, the little girl thrown into the lake by the creature, would be overly frightened by the sight of Karloff in costume and make-up when it came time to shoot the scene. When the cast was assembled to travel to the location, Marilyn ran from her car directly up to Karloff, who was in full make-up and costume, took his hand and asked "May I drive with you?" Delighted, and in typical Karloff fashion, he responded, "Would you, darling?" She then rode to the location with "The Monster.".
He celebrated his 51st birthday during the production of Son of Frankenstein (1939) and remarked that he received the best birthday present ever: the birth of his daughter Sara Karloff. He reportedly rushed from the set to the hospital in full makeup and costume.
He is commemorated by a plaque inside St.Paul`s Church (The Actors` Church), Covent Garden, London
He was the biggest star to lend his voice to a sound effect. Universal added his anguished scream over the dead Ygor from Son of Frankenstein (1939) to its stock sound effects library and used it for subsequent films, including House of Frankenstein (1944) (the cry when Daniel the hunchback falls from the roof).
Is portrayed by Jack Betts in Gods and Monsters (1998)
Played cricket for Enfield Cricket Club (just north of London, England) before emigrating, and the club has his picture hanging in the pavilion.
Was one of the founding members of the Screen Actors Guild. His daughter recounts that, due to the Hollywood studio chiefs` distrust of unions and their attempts to keep them from forming, he always carried a roll of dimes in his pocket. This was because he had to use pay phones when conducting union business, since he knew his home phone had been tapped.
When he died, the New York Times obituary featured a picture of Frankenstein`s monster. Unfortunately, the image was actually Glenn Strange in full makeup, not Karloff.
1956: He was a celebrity contestant on "The $64,000 Question" (1955). The category he chose was children`s fairy tales. He won the $32,000 level and quit due to tax considerations.
According to daughter Sara Karloff, he had to have three major back surgeries in his lifetime.
He would mark his lines in the script. Jack Nicholson saw this and adopted the procedure himself.
Often thought of as a very large man, he was in reality a slim man of medium height. He wore huge lifts and much padding to give him the massive look as Frankenstein`s monster.
On June 30, 1912, a then-unknown Karloff had taken some time off to canoe while touring around the city of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. When he came back to the city, he returned to find his accommodation had been destroyed by a tornado that killed 28. He organized a concert that raised some much needed funds for the city.
Refused to reprise his role as the Frankenstein Monster in Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), because he felt spoofs wouldn`t sell to the audience.
His favorite author was Joseph Conrad. In the 1950s he was cast as Kurtz in a production of Conrad`s "Heart of Darkness" on "Playhouse 90" (1956).
His first Broadway play was "Arsenic and Old Lace" in a role that was written for him. He played Jonathan Brewster, whose face has been changed by a disreputable plastic surgeon named Dr. Einstein so that he now looks like Boris Karloff. He also performed the role in the road company of this production.
In the final years of his life, walking, and even just standing, became a painful ordeal. Some directors would change the script to place Karloff`s character in a wheelchair, so that he would be more comfortable.
When he traveled to England to shoot The Ghoul (1933), it was the first time in nearly 25 years that he returned to his home country and reunited with the surviving members of his family,
A photograph of Karloff in his Frankenstein (1931) monster makeup appears on one stamp of a sheet of 10 USA 37¢ commemorative postage stamps, issued 25 February 2003, celebrating American Filmmaking: Behind the Scenes. The stamp, which honors makeup artists, shows Jack P. Pierce and an unidentified assistant applying the monster makeup.
Considered a late bloomer in Hollywood. Frankenstein (1931) premiered when he was 44 years old.
He had East Indian heritage on this father`s side. This gave Karloff a dark skin tone. In several films he was cast in roles such as Arabs and American Indians.
He was the original inspiration for the first illustrations of the Incredible Hulk.
In contrast to the image he presented in most of his films, the private Karloff was, by every account, a quiet, bookish man off- screen. A true gentleman, he had many friends, both in and out of show business, and he was particularly fond of children. For the latter, among other things, he recorded many successful albums of children`s stories.
Pictured on two of a set of five 32¢ US commemorative postage stamps, issued 30 September 1997, celebrating "Famous Movie Monsters". He is shown on one stamp as the title character in The Mummy (1932) and on the other as the monster in Frankenstein (1931). Other actors honored in this set of stamps, and the classic monsters they portray, are Lon Chaney as The Phantom of the Opera (1925); Bela Lugosi as Dracula (1931); and Lon Chaney Jr. as The Wolf Man (1941).
Received a Tony nomination in 1956 for his dramatic role in `The Lark.`
Shares a birthday with his daughter Sara Karloff.
Suffered from chronic back trouble for most of his adult life, the result of the heavy brace he had to wear as part of his Frankenstein costume. He never let it slow him up, though, and kept active to the end of his life.
When told by a mutual friend that Bobby Pickett, who recorded the hit song "Monster Mash", was a big fan of his, Karloff replied, "Tell him I enjoy his record very much." Pickett still considers that the greatest compliment he`s ever gotten, and Karloff eventually sang the song himself on a television special.
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