Among the many treasures I have uncovered during the upheaval of our putting our lives into storage was this copy of Peter Underwood's 1972 biography of one of my favourite (and one of the most unlikely) Hollywood stars, Boris Karloff...
I opened it and found, to my surprise, that it was signed by the author...
And then out slipped and fell to the floor an autographed photograph of the man himself...
What joy!
My affection for Karloff as a performer is that (like Lon Chaney before him and Peter Cushing after) he imbued his monsters, criminals and haunted men with a humanity that earned our compassion and won our sympathy.
But then how could we not warm to a man who called himself Boris Karloff, but who was born in South East London with the name William Henry Pratt?!
The arresting eyes and heavy brows contrasted with the soft, almost lisping, voice created a uniquely individual screen personality.
Aging horror actor, Byron Orlock (Karloff) recounts the tale 'Appointment in Samarra' that first appeared in the coda to W Somerset Maugham's final play, Sheppey, staged in London in 1933. The following year, American writer, John O'Hara, took Appointment in Samarra as the title for his acclaimed debut novel.
I'll leave the Master to beguile you with this little tale...
Image: Caricature of Boris Karloff by Joel BrinkerhoffJoel Brinkerhoff
1 comment:
Awwww...one of my all-time favorite actors! He had more "range" than he was given credit for and a grace that did, indeed, inform his darker characters with a glow of humanity. Thank you for sharing this!
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