Boris Karloff

William Henry PrattNovember 1887 February 1969, better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor.

William Pratt was born onNovember 1887 atForest Hill Road, Camberwell, London, England. His parents were Edward John Pratt, Jr. and Eliza Sarah Millard. His maternal grandparents were James Millard and Eliza Julia Edwards, a sister of Anna Leonowens whose tales about life in the royal court of Siam now Thailand were the basis of the musical The King and I. The two sisters may have had some AngloIndian ancestry.Pratt spent his childhood years in Enfield, in the County of Middlesex. He was the youngest of nine children, and following his mothers death was brought up by his elder siblings. He received his early education at Enfield Grammar School, and later at the private schools of Uppingham School and Merchant Taylors School. After this he attended Kings College London where he took studies aimed at a career with the British Governments Consular Service. However, in 1909 he left university without graduating and drifted, departing England for Canada, where he worked as a farm labourer and did various odd itinerant jobs until happening into acting. His brother, Sir John Thomas Pratt, became a distinguished British diplomat. ........

Source: Wikipedia