Boris Karloff Net Worth

What was Boris Karloff's Net Worth? 

Boris Karloff was a British actor who had a net worth of $2.5 million at the time of his death in 1969. That's the same as around $20 million in today's dollars after adjusting for inflation. Boris Karloff was best known for playing Frankenstein's monster in the Universal Pictures horror films "Frankenstein," "Bride of Frankenstein," and "Son of Frankenstein." He appeared in over 170 films during his career, as well as numerous radio and television programs and stage plays. For his narration and voice acting in the 1966 animated television special "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!," Karloff won a Grammy Award.

Early Life and Education

Boris Karloff was born William Henry Pratt on November 23, 1887, in southeast London to Eliza and Edward. Years later, while touring as a stage actor, he adopted the name Boris Karloff. He never legally changed his name.

He had Indian ancestry through both of his parents. After his parents passed away when he was still young, Karloff was mostly raised by his half-sister and his eight elder siblings. Growing up, he was bow-legged and had a lisp and a stutter. Karloff attended Enfield Grammar School before receiving private education at Uppingham School and Merchant Taylors' School. He went on to attend King's College London, but never graduated. Instead, he moved to Canada and took a number of odd jobs before discovering stage acting.

Stage Career 

In 1911, Karloff began performing on stage in Canada with the Jeanne Russell Company. He performed in towns throughout British Columbia and Saskatchewan. To make ends meet, Karloff did years of manual labor for the British Columbia Electric Railway and other employers, in which he laid track, dug ditches, shoveled coal, and more. This left him with chronic back problems, exempting him from service in World War I. Karloff went on to perform with multiple theatrical stock companies across the United States, including the Harry St. Clair Company and the Billie Bennett Touring Company. After he became famous, Karloff appeared in the original production of the play "Arsenic and Old Lace." Later, he starred in the original Broadway production of the French play "The Lark," for which he earned a Tony Award nomination.

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Hollywood Beginnings

Karloff arrived in Hollywood in 1919 and began appearing in uncredited roles in many silent films. His first known roles were in the serials "The Lightning Raider" and "The Masked Rider." In his early roles, Karloff was often cast as someone from India, as in "The Hope Diamond Mystery" (1920), "Without Benefit of Clergy" (1921), and "The Man from Downing Street" (1922). He continued appearing in dozens of films throughout the 1920s, including "The Hellion," "Dynamite Dan," "Forbidden Cargo," "The Prairie Wife," "Lady Robinhood," "The Bells," "The Phantom Buster," "The Fatal Warning," and "Anne Against the World." Karloff didn't slow down going into the next decade. He appeared in a surfeit of films in the early 1930s, including "The Bad One," "The Sea Bat," "The Utah Kid," "The Criminal Code," "The Public Defender," "Five Star Final," "Tonight or Never," and "Scarface."

Film Stardom in the 1930s

After dozens of uncredited and supporting parts, Karloff had his breakthrough role as Frankenstein's monster in James Whale's 1931 horror film "Frankenstein," based on the novel by Mary Shelley. The film became a big hit for Universal Pictures, and Karloff's look as the monster became iconic. He reprised his role for the studio in the sequels "Bride of Frankenstein" and "Son of Frankenstein." Meanwhile, Karloff appeared in various other horror films for Universal, including "Behind the Mask," "The Old Dark House," "The Mummy," "The Black Cat," and "The Raven," the latter two with fellow horror icon Béla Lugosi. Elsewhere, Karloff starred in MGM's "The Mask of Fu Manchu," John Ford's war film "The Lost Patrol," the British horror film "The Ghoul," and the Warner Bros. horror film "The Walking Dead," among other pictures. After starring in the British films "Juggernaut" and "The Man Who Changed His Mind" in 1936, Karloff had a supporting part in "Charlie Chan at the Opera." He went on to star in "Night Key" for Universal and "West of Shanghai" and "The Invisible Menace" for Warner Bros. In 1938, Karloff starred as the titular Chinese detective in "Mr. Wong, Detective," donning yellowface. The film spawned a five-picture series, with Karloff reprising his role. Closing out the 1930s, he starred in such films as "Devil's Island," "The Man They Could Not Hang," and "Tower of London."

Further Film Career

In the early 1940s, Karloff starred in "The Man with Nine Lives," "Before I Hang," "The Ape," "You'll Find Out," "The Devil Commands," and "The Boogie Man Will Get You," among other films. His subsequent credits included "The Climax," "House of Frankenstein," "The Body Snatcher," "Isle of the Dead," and "Bedlam." As the popularity of horror films declined in the latter half of the 1940s, Karloff moved to other genres, appearing in such films as "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," "Lured," "Unconquered," "Tap Roots," and "Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff." He returned to the horror genre in the 1950s with roles in "The Strange Door," "The Black Castle," "Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," and "The Haunted Strangler," among other titles. Meanwhile, Karloff appeared in such other films as "Sabaka" and "Corridors of Blood."

In the first half of the 1960s, Karloff's credits included Roger Corman's "The Raven" and "The Terror," Mario Bava's "Black Sabbath," and Jacques Tourneur's "The Comedy of Terrors." He was subsequently in "Die, Monster, Die!," "The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini," and "The Sorcerers." In 1968, Karloff gave one of his most acclaimed performances, playing a disillusioned retired horror film actor in Peter Bogdanovich's debut feature film "Targets," a role largely based on himself. The same year, he starred in the British horror film "Curse of the Crimson Altar," which would be his final film released during his lifetime. Four films starring Karloff were released posthumously in the early 1970s, all low-budget Mexican horror films produced by Luis Enrique Vergara: "Isle of the Snake People," "The Incredible Invasion," "Fear Chamber," and "House of Evil."

Radio and Television

On the radio, Karloff was known for his many acting roles in the anthology series "Lights Out!," "Inner Sanctum," and "Creeps By Night." He also had his own short-lived anthology series, "Starring Boris Karloff," which aired simultaneously on radio and television in late 1949. In the 1950s, Karloff starred in the British television series "Colonel March of Scotland Yard," was a regular panelist on the NBC game show "Who Said That?," and hosted and starred in the horror anthology series "The Veil." Karloff went on to host the anthology series "Thriller" and "Out of This World" in the early 1960s. He experienced a late-career resurgence in the US in 1966 as the narrator and voice of the titular character on the CBS animated television special "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" For the recording of the album, Karloff won a Grammy Award.

Personal Life and Death

Karloff was married a total of six times with five divorces. He was married to his first wife, actress Grace Harding, from 1910 to 1913. Karloff was then wed to actress Olive de Wilton from 1916 to 1919. From 1920 to 1922, he was married to musician Montana Laurena Williams, and from 1924 to 1928 he was betrothed to actress Helen Vivian Soule. Karloff's fifth wife was Dorothy Stine, whom he married in 1930; his only child, Sara, was produced from this marriage. After the couple divorced in 1946, Karloff wed his sixth and final wife, Evelyn Hope Helmore. They remained together until Karloff's passing.

A lifelong heavy smoker, Karloff had emphysema that left him with just half of his only lung that was still functioning. In late 1968, he was hospitalized for bronchitis, and on February 2, 1969 he died from pneumonia in Midhurst, England. Karloff's body was cremated in Godalming, Surrey, where a commemorative plaque adorns the Garden of Remembrance.

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