Charles Laughton
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- June 30, 1899
- Died
- December 15, 1962 (aged 63)
- Birthplace
- Scarborough, North Riding of Yorkshire, England, UK
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
Photos
Filmography
Charmed Lives: A Family Romance
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Monster Madness: The Golden Age of the Horror Film
Movie · as Dr. Moreau (archive footage)
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Charles Laughton Directs "The Night of The Hunter"
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man'
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Abbott and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
Movie · as actor 'Advise and 'Consent' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies
Movie · as (archive footage) (uncredited)
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Movie · as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
Movie · as (in "The Bribe") (archive footage)
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
The Horror Show
Movie · as (archive footage)
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
The Epic That Never Was
Movie · as Tiberius Claudius (archive footage)
Advise & Consent
Movie · as Senator Seabright Cooley
Spartacus
Movie · as Sempronius Gracchus
Under Ten Flags
Movie · as Admiral Russell
In the Presence of Mine Enemies
Movie · as Rabbi Adam Heller
Startime
TV · as Self – Co-Host · 1 ep
Witness for the Prosecution
Movie · as Sir Wilfrid
The Lux Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
TV · as Self · 2 eps
The Steve Allen Show
TV · as Self - Guest · 2 eps
Elvis: The Ed Sullivan Shows
TV · 3 eps
MGM Parade
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Hobson's Choice
Movie · as Henry Horatio Hobson
The Jimmy Durante Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
The George Gobel Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Salome
Movie · as King Herod
Young Bess
Movie · as King Henry VIII
General Electric Theater
TV · as Edwin Kensington, Henry Denry, M. Hamel · 1 ep
O. Henry's Full House
Movie · as Soapy (segment "The Cop and the Anthem")
Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd
Movie · as Capt. William Kidd
The Strange Door
Movie · as Sire Alain de Maletroit
The Blue Veil
Movie · as Fred K. Begley
The Colgate Comedy Hour
TV · as Self · 1 ep
What's My Line?
TV · as Self · 2 eps
The Bribe
Movie · as J.J. Bealer
The Man on the Eiffel Tower
Movie · as Inspector Jules Maigret
The Art Director
Movie · as Self - from 'The Big Clock' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Arch of Triumph
Movie · as Ivon Haake
The Big Clock
Movie · as Earl Janoth
The Girl from Manhattan
Movie · as The Bishop
On Our Merry Way
Movie · as Reverend
The Ed Sullivan Show
TV · as Self · 5 eps
The Paradine Case
Movie · as Judge Lord Thomas Horfield
Leben des Galilei
Movie · as Galileo Galilei
Because of Him
Movie · as John Sheridan
The Suspect
Movie · as Philip Marshall
Captain Kidd
Movie · as Captain Kidd
The Canterville Ghost
Movie · as Sir Simon de Canterville / The Ghost
Forever and a Day
Movie · as Bellamy
This Land Is Mine
Movie · as Albert Lory
The Man from Down Under
Movie · as Jocko Wilson
Tales of Manhattan
Movie · as Charles Smith
Stand by for Action
Movie · as Rear Admiral Stephen Thomas
The Tuttles of Tahiti
Movie · as Jonas
It Started with Eve
Movie · as Jonathan Reynolds
They Knew What They Wanted
Movie · as Tony Patucci
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
Movie · as Self
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Movie · as The Hunchback Quasimodo
Jamaica Inn
Movie · as Sir Humphrey Pengallan
St. Martin's Lane
Movie · as Charles Staggers
Vessel of Wrath
Movie · as Ginger Ted
I, Claudius
Movie · as Claudius
Rembrandt
Movie · as Rembrandt van Rijn
Mutiny on the Bounty
Movie · as Captaine Bligh
Ruggles of Red Gap
Movie · as Marmaduke Ruggles
Les Misérables
Movie · as Inspector Emile Javert
The Barretts of Wimpole Street
Movie · as Edward Moulton-Barrett
The Private Life of Henry VIII
Movie · as Henry VIII
White Woman
Movie · as Horace H. Prin
The Clerk
Movie · as Phineas V. Lambert
Island of Lost Souls
Movie · as Dr. Moreau
The Old Dark House
Movie · as Sir William Porterhouse
Payment Deferred
Movie · as William Marble
The Sign of the Cross
Movie · as Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar
Devil and the Deep
Movie · as Cmdr. Charles Sturm
If I Had a Million
Movie · as Phineas V. Lambert
Down River
Movie · as Captain Grossman
Wolves
Movie · as Captain Job
Comets
Movie · as Himself
Piccadilly
Movie · as A Continental Visitor
Blue Bottles
Movie · as Burglar
Daydreams
Movie · as Lecherous Boarder / Ram Das in Dream Sequence
The Tonic
Movie · as Father of the Family