Charles Laughton
Acting
Born: June 30, 1899 · Scarborough, North Riding of Yorkshire, England, UK
Died: December 15, 1962 (aged 63)
Highest Rated
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
Spartacus
1960
The Night of the Hunter
1955
Witness for the Prosecution
1957
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
1982
Mutiny on the Bounty
1935
The Old Dark House
1932
Island of Lost Souls
1932
The Paradine Case
1947
Jamaica Inn
1939
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
1939
The Big Clock
1948
Hobson's Choice
1954
Photos (7)
Movies (63)
Witness for the Prosecution
Sir Wilfrid
Spartacus
Sempronius Gracchus
Mutiny on the Bounty
Captaine Bligh
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Hunchback Quasimodo
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
(in "The Bribe") (archive footage)
The Paradine Case
Judge Lord Thomas Horfield
Les Misérables
Inspector Emile Javert
The Big Clock
Earl Janoth
Hobson's Choice
Henry Horatio Hobson
Advise & Consent
Senator Seabright Cooley
If I Had a Million
Phineas V. Lambert
Island of Lost Souls
Dr. Moreau
Captain Kidd
Captain Kidd
The Blue Veil
Fred K. Begley
Tales of Manhattan
Charles Smith
Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd
Capt. William Kidd
Jamaica Inn
Sir Humphrey Pengallan
O. Henry's Full House
Soapy (segment "The Cop and the Anthem")
The Old Dark House
Sir William Porterhouse
Arch of Triumph
Ivon Haake
The Bribe
J.J. Bealer
The Canterville Ghost
Sir Simon de Canterville / The Ghost
Monster Madness: The Golden Age of the Horror Film
Dr. Moreau (archive footage)
The Sign of the Cross
Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar
The Private Life of Henry VIII
Henry VIII
Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
actor 'Advise and 'Consent' (archive footage) (uncredited)
This Land Is Mine
Albert Lory
The Horror Show
(archive footage)
The Strange Door
Sire Alain de Maletroit
Salome
King Herod
The Barretts of Wimpole Street
Edward Moulton-Barrett
The Man from Down Under
Jocko Wilson
Forever and a Day
Bellamy
St. Martin's Lane
Charles Staggers
The Man on the Eiffel Tower
Inspector Jules Maigret
Stand by for Action
Rear Admiral Stephen Thomas
It Started with Eve
Jonathan Reynolds
Ruggles of Red Gap
Marmaduke Ruggles
Young Bess
King Henry VIII
Blue Bottles
Burglar
On Our Merry Way
Reverend
Rembrandt
Rembrandt van Rijn
The Suspect
Philip Marshall
The Tonic
Father of the Family
Piccadilly
A Continental Visitor
Hollywood Scandals and Tragedies
(archive footage) (uncredited)
The Tuttles of Tahiti
Jonas
They Knew What They Wanted
Tony Patucci
Payment Deferred
William Marble
Under Ten Flags
Admiral Russell
Devil and the Deep
Cmdr. Charles Sturm
Because of Him
John Sheridan
Vessel of Wrath
Ginger Ted
White Woman
Horace H. Prin
The Epic That Never Was
Tiberius Claudius (archive footage)
The Girl from Manhattan
The Bishop
The Clerk
Phineas V. Lambert
Down River
Captain Grossman
I, Claudius
Claudius
Leben des Galilei
Galileo Galilei
In the Presence of Mine Enemies
Rabbi Adam Heller
Daydreams
Lecherous Boarder / Ram Das in Dream Sequence
Wolves
Captain Job
TV Shows (3)
Self / Appearances (18)
What's My Line?
Self · 2 eps
The Colgate Comedy Hour
Self · 1 eps
The Ed Sullivan Show
Self · 5 eps
The Steve Allen Show
Self - Guest · 2 eps
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
Self · 2 eps
MGM Parade
Self · 1 eps
Startime
Self – Co-Host · 1 eps
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
Self (archive footage)
Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau
Self (archive footage)
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
Self
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
Self (archive footage)
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
Self (archive footage)
Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man'
Self (archive footage)
Abbott and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld
Self (archive footage)
The Art Director
Self - from 'The Big Clock' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Comets
Himself
Charles Laughton Directs "The Night of The Hunter"
Self (archive footage)
