Research Catalog

Title

Dear Boris : the life of William Henry Pratt a.k.a. Boris Karloff / Cynthia Lindsay.

Author

Lindsay, Cynthia

Publication

New York : Knopf, 1975.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xi, 273 p. : ill.; 25 cm.

Summary

"He scared us witless, and he won our hearts. He was Frankenstein's Monster, rising to stardom encased in sixty-five pounds of putty and padding. No matter how horrific the roles (in The Mummy, The Ghoul, The Mask of Fu Manchu, The Body Snatcher, and scores of others), he made them as vulnerable -- almost human -- as they were frightening, and softened our fear even as he sparked it. He was Boris Karloff: the epitome of horror, one of Hollywood's greatest and most productive stars. But Boris Karloff himself -- private, even secretive -- has eluded his biographers and his fans. Now one of his closest friends for more than thirty-five years gives us a book that at last reveals the fascinating and complex man behind the makeup, a man whose nature was completely at odds with the roles that made him famous, a man who was always "dear Boris" to his friends."--Dust jacket.

Subject

• Karloff, Boris, 1887-1969
• 1900-1999
• Actors > Great Britain > 20th century

Genre/Form

• collective biographies.
• Biographies
• Biographies.

Bibliography (note)

• Filmography: p. 235-273.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

The great Karloff detective story -- Trying to open the door -- A very special society -- Pratt to Karloff -- The ill wind -- "Bitter oblivion" -- The smoke screen -- The snow job -- The turning point -- "-" -- "The right corner" -- Home, after twenty-five years -- Horripilation -- Hand in hand across the River Styx -- "He had a good innings" -- Happy Birthday, Boris & Sarah Jane -- Arsenic and old lace -- "As patient as a horse" -- "The future of the industry" -- Peter Pan -- The lark -- "He really looked at you" -- "Fighting fit" -- A note on genealogy -- Boris on film -- Filmography.

ISBN

0394475798

LCCN

^^^74021295^

OCLC

• 1499756
• SCSB-12102799

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library