The Karloff Blogathon Begins

Today is the first day of the Boris Karloff Blogathon . It is also Boris Karloff's birthday. To mark the occasion of both, I was hoping to have a new collage portrait of this great actor completed and ready to post, but alas, my schedule is too full with other commitments, mainly work related, and this did not happen. Instead, through the run of the blogathon, I will be posting some of my favorite images of Boris, as well as some links and observations.

To kick things off, the above image of Boris in drag as Mother Muffin with Stephanie Powers (april Dancer) and Robert Vaughn (Napoleon Solo) comes from THE GIRL FROM U.N.C.L.E. (a spin of show from THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.). The episode "The Mother Muffin Affair" featured Karloff as the villainous Mother Muffin and aired in September 1966. One of the things I always appreciated about Boris Karloff, especially in his later years, when he was sometimes appearing in less than stellar films, is that he always seemed to be having a good time. Other actors of his generation who found acclaim in big studio productions in the 1930s and 1940s, tended to fill later, less rewarding roles with the contempt they obviously felt for the material. Not Boris. Even with health issues that limited his mobility, he seemed game for almost anything, whether it was appearing as a villainous old lady as seen here, or appearing as a recently deceased con-artist who has 24 hours to redeem himself without leaving his tomb in THE GHOST IN THE INVISIBLE BIKINI .

Celebrate Karloff's birthday by visiting the other blogs participating in the Boris Karloff Blogathon by clicking the above link, or the Karloff Blogathon button at the upper right of this page. Then finish the day with one of his movies.