Herbert Lom

Infobox actor


name = Herbert Lom
birthname = Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchacevich ze Schluderpacheru
birthdate = birth date and age|1917|9|11|df=yes
birthplace = Prague, Austria-Hungary (now Czech Republic)
deathdate =
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yearsactive = 1937-2004
spouse = Dina Schea (10 January 1948 - 1971)
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Herbert Lom [Czech IPA: IPA|ɦɛrbɛrd lom] (b. 11 September 1917) is a Czech British international film actor. Leonard Maltin wrote of him, “At one time considered a British counterpart to Charles Boyer (whom he resembled), Lom didn't get as many starring assignments as he rated, but makes a lasting impression in character parts.”

He was born Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchacevich ze Schluderpacheru in Prague to upper-class jewish parents. [http://www.flixster.com/actor/herbert-lom]

Career

Lom's film debut was in the Czech film "Žena pod křížem" (1937). His early film appearances were mainly supporting roles, with the occasional top billing.

He moved to Britain in 1939 and made many appearances in British films throughout the 1940s, usually in villainous roles, although he later appeared in comedies as well. He managed to escape being typecast as a European heavy by securing a diverse range of castings, including as Napoleon Bonaparte in "The Young Mr. Pitt" (1942) (and again in the 1956 version of "War and Peace"). In a rare starring role, Lom played twin trapeze artists in "Dual Alibi" (1946). He continued into the 1950s with roles opposite Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers in "The Ladykillers", and with Robert Mitchum, Jack Lemmon and Rita Hayworth in "Fire Down Below" (1957).

The 1960s was a highly successful decade for Lom, with a wide range of parts, starting with "Spartacus" in 1960, "El Cid", and the role of Captain Nemo in "Mysterious Island", both in 1961. He received top billing again in Hammer Films' 1962 production of "The Phantom of the Opera". Lom's English is noted for a precise, elegant delivery. The phantom mask in this version was full face, which made casting an actor with a reputation for such vocal talents a wise choice. "It was wonderful to play such a part, but I was disappointed with the picture," Lom says. "This version of the famous Gaston Leroux story dragged. The Phantom wasn't given enough to do, but at least I wasn't the villain, for a change. Michael Gough was the villain."

Hammer Films produced endless low-budget horror films. Lom recalled in one interview how producers expected actors to throw themselves into their work: "For one of my scenes, the Hammer people wanted me to smash my head against a stone pillar, because they said they couldn't afford one made of rubber," Lom reveals. "I refused to beat my head against stone, of course. This caused a 'big crisis,' because it took them half a day to make a rubber pillar that looked like stone. And of course, it cost a few pennies more. Horror indeed!"

Other low budget horror films he starred in included the notorious witchhunting film "Mark of the Devil" that depicted very graphic torture scenes. The film was most famous for theaters handing out sick bags to every patron.Fact|date=April 2007

Lom is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus, Inspector Clouseau's long-suffering superior in Blake Edwards's Pink Panther films.

Writing

Lom has also written two historical novels, one on the playwright Christopher Marlowe ("Enter a Spy: The Double Life of Christopher Marlowe", 1971) and another on the French Revolution ("Dr. Guillotin: The Eccentric Exploits of an Early Scientist", 1992). The movie rights to the latter have been purchased but no film to date has been produced.

Quotes

*" Peter [Sellers] was always a mixed-up guy, a childish fellow. But if you're fond of children, you're also fond of childish men. He was always very helpful to me. After he was famous, and when I was still in trouble with the US embassy, he wrote a letter in support of me which was magnificent. But it is true that he was very cruel to his children. He was so hurt by the way children treat you when you're their father. I have been hurt by my children. But he was not in possession of a proper brain when it came to these things." [cite web |url=http://news.independent.co.uk/people/profiles/article24759.ece |title=Herbert Lom: The odd fellow |author=Brian Viner |publisher="The Independent" (news.independent.co.uk) |date=December 18 2004]

*"You know, I always do my best, no matter the quality of the film. One thing I hate is when directors come to me before shooting a take and say: 'Herbert, give me your best!' And I think: 'But it's my job to give my best. I can't give anything else!' Whether it is good enough for those who sit in the cinema is quite another matter."

elected filmography

*"The Young Mr Pitt" (1942), (as Napoleon Bonaparte)
*"The Dark Tower" (1943)
*"The Seventh Veil" (1946)
*"Night and the City" (1950)
*"The Ladykillers" (1955)
*"War and Peace" (1956) (as Napoleon)
*"Chase a Crooked Shadow" (1957)
*"Hell Drivers" (1957)
*"Northwest Frontier" (1959)
*"I Aim at the Stars" (1959)
*"Spartacus" (1960)
*"El Cid" (1961)
*"Mysterious Island (1961)
*"Der Schatz im Silbersee ("The Treasure of Silver Lake") (1962), dir.: Dr. Harald Reinl
*"The Phantom of the Opera" (1962) (in the title role)
*"A Shot in the Dark" (1964)
*"Gambit" (1966)
*"Villa Rides" (1968)
*"99 Women" (1969)
*"Doppelgänger (1969)
*"Count Dracula (1970)
*"Ten Little Indians" (1974)
*"The Return of the Pink Panther" (1975)
*"The Pink Panther Strikes Again" (1976)
*"Revenge of the Pink Panther" (1978)
*"The Lady Vanishes" (1979)
*"Hopscotch" (1980)
*"Trail of the Pink Panther" (1982)
*"Curse of the Pink Panther" (1983)
*"The Dead Zone" (1983)
*"Son of the Pink Panther" (1993)

References

External links

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*Screenonline name|id=486466|name=Herbert Lom
* [http://www.geocities.com/herbertlomfan HERBERT LOM Unofficial] - Unofficial fan website