Herbert Lom ( ; 11 September 1917 - 27 September 2012) was a Czech-born British film and television actor who moved to the United Kingdom in 1939. In a career lasting more than 60 years he appeared in character roles, usually portraying villains early in his career and professional men in later years.

Lom was noted for a precise, elegant enunciation of English. He is best known for his roles in The Ladykillers and The Pink Panther film series.

Life and career

Lom was born Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchačevič ze Schluderpacheru in Prague to Karl Kuchačevič ze Schluderpacheru, and his spouse, the former Olga Gottlieb. Lom himself claimed that his family had been ennobled and the family title dated from 1601. Lom's film debut was in the Czech film Žena pod křížem ("A Woman Under Cross", 1937) followed by the Boží mlýny ("Mills of God", 1938). His early film appearances were mainly supporting roles, with the occasional top billing. At this time he also changed his impractically long surname - to Lom ("a quarry" in Czech), because it was the shortest he found in a local phone book.

Because of the possibility of a German takeover of Czechoslovakia, Lom moved to Britain in January 1939. He made numerous 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 King Vidor version of War and Peace (1956). He secured a seven-picture Hollywood contract after World War II but was unable to obtain an American visa for "political reasons". In a rare starring role, Lom played twin trapeze artists in Dual Alibi (1946).

Lom starred as the King of Siam in the original London production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical, The King and I. Opening at the Drury Lane Theatre on 8 October 1953, it ran for 926 performances. Lom can be heard on the cast recording.

A few years later he appeared opposite Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers in The Ladykillers (1955), and with Robert Mitchum, Jack Lemmon and Rita Hayworth in Fire Down Below (1957). He went on to more film success during the 1960s with a wide range of parts, starting with Spartacus (1960). Subsequent films in this period included El Cid (1961), Mysterious Island (also 1961), playing Captain Nemo, and Hammer Films' remake of The Phantom of the Opera (1962). Again in the leading role, the phantom's mask in this version was full-face, which made casting an actor with a reputation for his vocal talents a sensible decision. "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."

During this period Lom starred in his only regular TV series, the British drama The Human Jungle (1963-64) as a Harley Street psychiatrist, over two seasons. In addition to The Phantom of the Opera, other low-budget horror films starring Lom included the witchhunting film Mark of the Devil (Hexen bis aufs Blut gequält, 1970), which depicted torture scenes graphically. Reportedly, cinemas handed out sick bags to every patron at screenings of the film. He appeared in other horror films made in both the U.S. and Britain, including Asylum, And Now the Screaming Starts!, Murders in the Rue Morgue, and The Dead Zone.

Lom was perhaps best known for his portrayal of Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus, Inspector Clouseau's long-suffering superior in several of Blake Edwards's Pink Panther films, beginning with the second movie in the series, A Shot in the Dark (1964). He also appeared in two different screen versions of the Agatha Christie novel And Then There Were None. In the 1975 version he played Dr. Armstrong, and later appeared in the 1989 version as General Romensky.

Lom wrote 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 film rights to the latter have been purchased but to date no film has been produced.

He died in his sleep on 27 September 2012 at the age of 95.

Filmography

• The Young Mr Pitt (1942) … Napoleon
• Secret Mission (1942) … Medical Officer
• Tomorrow We Live (1943) … Kurtz
• The Dark Tower (1943) … Stephen Torg
• Hotel Reserve (1944) … Andre Roux
• The Seventh Veil (1945) … Dr. Larsen
• Night Boat to Dublin (1946) … Keitel
• Appointment with Crime (1946) … Gregory Lang
• Dual Alibi (1947) … Jules de Lisle / Georges de Lisle
• Portrait from Life (1948) … Fritz Kottler Hendlmann
• The Brass Monkey (1948) … Peter Hobart
• Snowbound (1948) … Keramikos
• Good-Time Girl (1948) … Max Vine
• Golden Salamander (1950) … Rankl
• Night and the City (1950) … Kristo
• State Secret (1950) … Karl Theodor
• The Black Rose (1950) … Anthemus
• Cage of Gold (1950) … Rahman
• Two on the Tiles (1951) … Ford
• Hell Is Sold Out (1951) … Dominic Danges
• Whispering Smith Hits London (1952) … Roger Ford
• Mr. Denning Drives North (1952) … Mados
• The Ringer (1952) … Maurice Meister
• The Man Who Watched Trains Go By (1952) … Julius de Koster, Jr.
• Rough Shoot (1953) … Sandorski
• The Net (1953) … Alex Leon
• The Love Lottery (1954) … André Amico
• Beautiful Stranger (1954) … Emile Landosh
• Star of India (1954) … Vicomte de Narbonne
• The Ladykillers (1955) … Louis
• War and Peace (1956) … Napoleon
• Fire Down Below (1957) … Harbourmaster
• Hell Drivers (1957) … Gino Rossi
• Action of the Tiger (1957) … Trifon
• Chase a Crooked Shadow (1958) … Police Commissar Vargas
• I Accuse! (1958) … Major du Paty de Clam
• The Roots of Heaven (1958) … Orsini
• Passport to Shame (1958) … Nick Biaggi
• Intent to Kill (1958) … Juan Menda
• The Big Fisherman (1959) … Herod Antipas
• Third Man on the Mountain (1959) … Emil Saxo
• No Trees in the Street (1959) … Wilkie
• North West Frontier (1959) (aka Flame Over India)… Peter van Leyden
• Spartacus (1960) … Tigranes Levantus
• I Aim at the Stars (1960) … Anton Reger
• Mr. Topaze (1961) … Castel Benac
• The Frightened City (1961) … Waldo Zhernikov
• El Cid (1961) … Ben Yusuf
• Mysterious Island (1961) … Captain Nemo
• Treasure of the Silver Lake (1962) … Colonel Brinkley
• Tiara Tahiti (1962) … Chong Sing
• The Phantom of the Opera (1962) … The Phantom
• The Horse Without a Head (fr) (1963, TV film) … Schiapa
• The Human Jungle (1963-1964, TV series, 26 episodes) … Dr. Roger Corder
• A Shot in the Dark (1964) … Police Commissioner Charles Dreyfus
• Uncle Tom's Cabin (1965) … Simon Legree
• Return from the Ashes (1965) … Dr. Charles Bovard
• Our Man in Marrakesh (1966) … Mr. Casimir
• Gambit (1966) … Ahmad Shahbandar
• The Karate Killers (1967) … Randolph
• Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge (1967) … King Etzel (Attila)
• Villa Rides (1968) … General Huerta
• Eve (1968) … Diego
• Assignment to Kill (1968) … Matt Wilson
• 99 Women (1969) … Governor Santos
• Doppelgänger (1969) … Dr Kurt Hassler
• Mark of the Devil (1970) … Lord Cumberland
• Dorian Gray (1970) … Henry Wotton
• Count Dracula (1970) … Van Helsing
• Murders in the Rue Morgue (1971) … René Marot
• Asylum (1972) … Dr. Byron
• Dark Places (1972) … Prescott
• And Now the Screaming Starts! (1973) … Sir Henry Fengriffin
• And Then There Were None (1974) … Dr. Edward Armstrong
• The Return of the Pink Panther (1975) … Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus
• The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976) … Former Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus
• Charleston (1977) … Inspector Watkins
• Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978) … Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus
• The Lady Vanishes (1979) … Dr. Hartz
• The Man with Bogart's Face (1980) … Mr. Zebra
• Hopscotch (1980) … Yaskov
• Peter and Paul (1981) … Barnabas
• Trail of the Pink Panther (1982) … Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus
• Curse of the Pink Panther (1983) … Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus
• The Dead Zone (1983) … Dr. Sam Weizak
• Lace (1984, TV miniseries) … Monsieur Chardin
• Memed, My Hawk (1984) … Ali Safa Bey
• King Solomon's Mines (1985) … Colonel Bockner
• Whoops Apocalypse (1986) … General Mosquera
• Master of Dragonard Hill (1987) … Le Farge
• Going Bananas (1987) … Captain Mackintosh
• Skeleton Coast (it) (1988) … Elia
• Scoop (1989) … Mr. Baldwin
• Ten Little Indians (1989) … General Romensky
• River of Death (1989) … Colonel Ricardo Diaz
• La setta (1991) … Moebius Kelly
• The Pope Must Die (1991) … Vittorio Corelli
• Masque of the Red Death (1991) … Ludwig
• Son of the Pink Panther (1993) … Police Commissioner Charles Dreyfus
• "Murder at the Vicarage" in Agatha Christie's Marple series (2004) … Ausgustin Dufosse
• "Nemesis" in Agatha Christie's Marple series (2009) … Jason Rafiel (voice)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]