CHARLES LAUGHTON BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Charles Laughton was born July 1st, 1988 in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England.  His father, Robert owned a hotel and it was just expected from his family that he would go into the family business.  He worked in the family business for awhile and then joined the British Army.  In 1919, he returned to working at the family hotel, the Victoria Inn and then went on to pursue his education.
 
At the age of 16 Laughton graduated from Jesuit Stonyhurst College in Lacashire.  Even though he excelled in mathematics, he chose to go in the direction of theatre arts and enrolled at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1925.
 
His first stage role was on, "The Government Inspector" (1926) which earned him notice as an actor.  Audiences were impressed with his talent which he also portrayed in two classical roles, "The Cherry Orchard" and "The Three Sisters".  He then made his film debit in the two-reel British comedy, "Blue Bottles" (1928) he also met his future wife, Elsa Lanchester that same year who he would stay married to until his death. 
 
In 1931 he relocated to New York and continued to work on the stage in another play, "Payment Deferred" (1932) and the following year, Paramount Pictures signed him to a contract.  
 
He was cast in the first American Picture, "The Devil and the Deep" (1932) as a lunatic character and then he played the complete opposite character in, "The Old Dark House" (1932) and again switched back to portray a different type of character in, "The Sign of the Cross" (1932).  Laughton had no issues being typecast as he was able to prove himself as a talented actor who could portray whatever role was required of him.  He was well on his way to being the most versatile performer of this generation. 
 
In 1933, Laughton returned back to England to play the lead role on, "The Private Life of Henry VIII" (1933) which won him an Academy Award for Best Actor.  He returned back to Hollywood to work with Carole Lombard on, "White Woman" (1933).  He continued to work in films with such roles in, "Les Miserables" (1935), "Ruggles of Red Gap" (1935) and "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1935) starring Clark Gable, for which he was nominated for another Oscar.
 
He earned a couple more roles before the second World War working on films such as, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1939) with Maureen O'Hara, "This Land in Mine" (1943), "The Suspect" (1944) and "Tales of Manhattan" (1942).  He made his first color film , "The Man on the Eiffel Tower" (1949).  In 1950 he became a US citizen and after the war returned to work on the stage in, "Life of Galileo" and back to film with a role on, "The Strange Door" (1951), "Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd" (1952) and "The Caine Mutiny" (1954) with Humphrey Bogart.  He also guest-starred in an episode of the Colgate Comedy Hour on TV which also featured Abbott and Costello.
 
With a strong film career and a strong presence as a stage performer, he decided to tour as a story-teller and oral performer as well as making appearances on various Stratford-upon-Avon Shakespeare productions.  He toured extensively with George Bernard Shaw', "Don Juan in Hell" and Stephen Vincent Benett's, "John Browns Body".  In 1957 for his role as Sir Wilfrid Robarts in the screen version of Agatha Christie's, "Witness for the Prosecution" (1957), he received another Oscar nomination. 
 
Some of his finest work was on, "Spartacus" (1960) starring Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis and "Advise and Consent" (1962) which was his last film that he still continued to work on even though he was dying from bone cancer.  He was also an accomplished director as he proved with his work on, "The Night of the Hunter" (1955) which even though got great reviews, turned out to be a box office failure and it was his last chance at directing.  He continued to work in the industry, giving a chance at television as a host filling in for Elvis Presley on the, "Ed Sullivan Show" (1956) as well as that same year hosting the first two programs devoted to classical music titles, "Festival of Music".  One of his last performances was on the black and white television show, "Checkmate". 
 
Even though he remained married until his death, he was bothered by emotional difficulties not able to come to terms with his homosexuality and sadly he passed away in Hollywood on December 15th, 1962.  His wife wrote a book after his death speaking about their personal issues in their marriage.  She admitted that the reason for the couple never having children together was due to him being homosexual.  Laughton's remains were cremated and are interred in the Court of Remembrance courtyard at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.
 

Filmography

1928  Daydreams
1928  Bluebottles
1928  Frankie and Johnnie
1929  Piccadilly
1930  Wolves
1931  Down River
1932  The Old Dark House
1932  The Devil and the Deep
1932  Payment Deferred
1932  The Sign of the Cross
1932  If I Had a Million
1933  Island of Lost Souls
1933  The Private Life of Henry VIII
1933  White Woman 
1934  The Barretts of Wimpole Street
1935  Ruggles of Red Gap
1935  Les Misérables
1935  Mutiny on the Bounty 
1936  Rembrandt
1936  I, Claudius
1937  Vessel of Wrath
1939  St. Martin's Lane
1939  Jamaica Inn 
1939  The Hunchback of Notre Dame
1940  They Knew What They Wanted
1941  It Started with Eve
1942  The Tuttles of Tahiti
1942  Tales of Manhattan
1942  Stand by for Action
1943  Forever and a Day
1943  This Land Is Mine
1943  The Man from Down Under
1944  The Canterville Ghost
1944  The Suspect
1945  Captain Kidd
1946  Because of Him
1948  The Paradine Case
1948  On Our Merry Way
1948  The Big Clock
1948  Arch of Triumph
1948  The Girl from Manhattan
1949  The Bribe
1949  The Man on the Eiffel Tower 
1951  The Blue Veil
1951  The Strange Door
1951  The Cop and the Anthem
1951  Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd
1953  Salome
1953  Young Bess
1954  Hobson's Choice
1957  Witness for the Prosecution
1960  Sotto dieci bandiere
1960  Spartacus
1962  Advise and Consent