Comments on: … and last but not least, thanks for Boris Karloff!

By: Muir Hewitt

Muir Hewitt — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 08:21:38 +0000

Thank you indeed to Boris Karloff! He was indeed a great actor who in Universal’s classic 1931 Frankenstein endowed the Monster created by Henry Frankenstein with a puzzled simplicity and pathos not seen in any other single characterisation of the role , in all the other Universal Monster Movies Lon Chaney Bela Lugosi and Glenn Strange were all simply mute automatons!

Three hearty cheers for Boris Karloff he is greatly missed!

By: Richard Harland Smith

Richard Harland Smith — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 15:31:38 +0000

I’ve contributed a couple of pieces to the blogathon (as “Caftan Woman) I've read them, Patricia, but couldn't figure out how to leave a comment. Your exchange with the surly poster shop clerk who demanded to know "What's the big deal about Charllie Chan at the Opera" is classic. I hope you thrashed that guttersnipe with your parisol but good!

By: Debbie

Debbie — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 01:47:19 +0000

So glad to know there are other Karloff fans out there. I would like to see his memory kept alive by TCM playing his movies from time to time. In the month of October, films like Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, Son of Frankenstein (just to name a few) especially should be played. Those are the true “Horror Classics”. Thanks

By: Jacqueline T Lynch

Jacqueline T Lynch — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 12:38:50 +0000

And thank you for this wonderful post. There are so many facets to this man and to his career that are worth noting, but I especially like your tribute to his tenacity and the fact that he never really hit his stride until middle age. You express the poignancy of this beautifully.

By: Claire

Claire — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 11:03:40 +0000

That was a good read, I thank you! What a great guy, what a great legacy.

His work ethic really is inspiring.

By: Max (The Drunken Severed Head)

Max (The Drunken Severed Head) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 07:44:12 +0000

I was touched and grateful to read your eloquent and gracious essay about one of my favorite actors, a man who known for his hard work and kind heart.

Thank you, Richard.

By: Patricia

Patricia — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 21:10:05 +0000

Well said!

I’ve contributed a couple of pieces to the blogathon (as “Caftan Woman), and it has been fascinating and heartening to read the varied posts and take part in the affection pouring into the universe for Boris Karloff.

By: moirafinnie

moirafinnie — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 20:16:03 +0000

Thank you for writing so eloquently about the long shadow that Boris Karloff has cast across our world. Sure, he could use all his actor’s skills to unveil our darker sides, but it is, as you wrote, his magnificent, warm, amber voice and unforgettable face, along with an incredible work ethic, that still resonate today.

I’m so glad that you also wrote about Karloff’s determination to be involved in the establishment of SAG as well. From accounts I’ve read about the early meetings of the cadre of brave actors who gave the union life, Boris would listen in silence to the more voluble members (such as Ralph Morgan) rail against their fellow actor’s powerlessness. Karloff would then quietly comment that they should “face, not state the situation”. One other time when Morgan was outraged over some new injustice being imposed on actors by unscrupulous producers, he exploded that “This is outrageous! It is disgraceful! It’s, it’s–un-American!” Boris, in his pithy manner simply responded calmly, “It’s also un-British, Ralph, and what’s far more important, it’s unfair.”

Given his long years of struggle and understanding of what it meant to work to be an actor (or a laborer of any kind), his sympathy for others and pragmatism must have been key to this organization’s development.

Thanks again to you and Boris, RHS.