Charles Laughton

Biography

Charles Laughton (1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was an English-American stage and film actor, director, producer and screenwriter. Laughton was trained in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and first appeared professionally on the stage in 1926. In 1927, he was cast in a play with his future wife Elsa Lanchester, with whom he lived and worked until his death. He played a wide range of classical and modern parts, making an impact in Shakespeare at the Old Vic. His film career took him to Broadway and then Hollywood, but he also collaborated with Alexander Korda on notable British films of the era, including The Private Life of Henry VIII, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the title character. He portrayed everything from monsters and misfits to kings. Among Laughton's biggest film hits were The Barretts of Wimpole Street, Mutiny on the Bounty, Ruggles of Red Gap, Jamaica Inn, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and The Big Clock. In his later career, he took up stage directing, notably in The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, and George Bernard Shaw's Don Juan in Hell, in which he also starred. He directed one film, the thriller The Night of the Hunter. Daniel Day-Lewis cited Laughton as one of his inspirations, saying: "He was probably the greatest film actor who came from that period of time. He had something quite remarkable. His generosity as an actor, he fed himself into that work. As an actor, you cannot take your eyes off him."

Known For

What's My Line?

The Ed Sullivan Show

MGM Parade

The Colgate Comedy Hour

The Steve Allen Show

The Dinah Shore Chevy Show

Startime

Spartacus

All Movies (73)

• Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau2014 · as Self (archive footage)
• Monster Madness: The Golden Age of the Horror Film2014 · as Dr. Moreau (archive footage)
• 1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year2009 · as Self (archive footage)
• Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man'1999 · as Self (archive footage)
• Abbott and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld1994 · as Self (archive footage)
• Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker1991 · as actor 'Advise and 'Consent' (archive footage) (uncredited)
• Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies1988 · as (archive footage) (uncredited)
• Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage1983 · as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
• Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid1982 · as (in "The Bribe") (archive footage)
• Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!1982 · as Self (archive footage)
• The Horror Show1979 · as (archive footage)
• Hollywood: The Dream Factory1972 · as Self (archive footage)
• The Epic That Never Was1969 · as Tiberius Claudius (archive footage)
• Advise & Consent1962 · as Senator Seabright Cooley
• Spartacus1960 · as Sempronius Gracchus
• Under Ten Flags1960 · as Admiral Russell
• In the Presence of Mine Enemies1960 · as Rabbi Adam Heller
• Witness for the Prosecution1957 · as Sir Wilfrid
• Hobson's Choice1954 · as Henry Horatio Hobson
• Young Bess1953 · as King Henry VIII
• Salome1953 · as King Herod
• Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd1952 · as Capt. William Kidd
• O. Henry's Full House1952 · as Soapy (segment "The Cop and the Anthem")
• The Strange Door1951 · as Sire Alain de Maletroit
• The Blue Veil1951 · as Fred K. Begley
• The Man on the Eiffel Tower1949 · as Inspector Jules Maigret
• The Art Director1949 · as Self - from 'The Big Clock' (archive footage) (uncredited)
• The Bribe1949 · as J.J. Bealer
• The Girl from Manhattan1948 · as The Bishop
• The Big Clock1948 · as Earl Janoth
• Arch of Triumph1948 · as Ivon Haake
• On Our Merry Way1948 · as Reverend
• The Paradine Case1947 · as Judge Lord Thomas Horfield
• Leben des Galilei1947 · as Galileo Galilei
• Because of Him1946 · as John Sheridan
• Captain Kidd1945 · as Captain Kidd
• The Suspect1945 · as Philip Marshall
• The Canterville Ghost1944 · as Sir Simon de Canterville / The Ghost
• The Man from Down Under1943 · as Jocko Wilson
• This Land Is Mine1943 · as Albert Lory
• Forever and a Day1943 · as Bellamy
• Stand by for Action1942 · as Rear Admiral Stephen Thomas
• Tales of Manhattan1942 · as Charles Smith
• The Tuttles of Tahiti1942 · as Jonas
• It Started with Eve1941 · as Jonathan Reynolds
• They Knew What They Wanted1940 · as Tony Patucci
• Cavalcade of the Academy Awards1940 · as Self
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame1939 · as The Hunchback Quasimodo
• Jamaica Inn1939 · as Sir Humphrey Pengallan
• St. Martin's Lane1938 · as Charles Staggers
• Vessel of Wrath1938 · as Ginger Ted
• I, Claudius1937 · as Claudius
• Rembrandt1936 · as Rembrandt van Rijn
• Mutiny on the Bounty1935 · as Captaine Bligh
• Les Misérables1935 · as Inspector Emile Javert
• Ruggles of Red Gap1935 · as Marmaduke Ruggles
• The Barretts of Wimpole Street1934 · as Edward Moulton-Barrett
• White Woman1933 · as Horace H. Prin
• The Private Life of Henry VIII1933 · as Henry VIII
• The Clerk1933 · as Phineas V. Lambert
• The Sign of the Cross1932 · as Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar
• Island of Lost Souls1932 · as Dr. Moreau
• If I Had a Million1932 · as Phineas V. Lambert
• Payment Deferred1932 · as William Marble
• The Old Dark House1932 · as Sir William Porterhouse
• Devil and the Deep1932 · as Cmdr. Charles Sturm
• Down River1931 · as Captain Grossman
• Comets1930 · as Himself
• Wolves1930 · as Captain Job
• Piccadilly1929 · as A Continental Visitor
• Blue Bottles1928 · as Burglar
• Daydreams1928 · as Lecherous Boarder / Ram Das in Dream Sequence
• The Tonic1928 · as Father of the Family

All TV Shows (13)

• Startime1959 · as Self – Co-Host
• The Lux Show1957 · as Self
• The Dinah Shore Chevy Show1956 · as Self
• The Steve Allen Show1956 · as Self - Guest
• MGM Parade1955 · as Self
• The Jimmy Durante Show1954 · as Self
• The George Gobel Show1954 · as Self
• General Electric Theater1953 · as Edwin Kensington
• General Electric Theater1953 · as Henry Denry
• General Electric Theater1953 · as M. Hamel
• The Colgate Comedy Hour1950 · as Self
• What's My Line?1950 · as Self
• The Ed Sullivan Show1948 · as Self