Herbert Lom

Birthday: 11 September 1917, Prague, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]

Birth Name: Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchacevich ze Schluderpacheru

Height: 172 cm

Born September 11, 1917, Herbert Lom made his film debut in the Czech film Zena pod krízem (1937) and played supporting and, occasionally, lead roles. His career picked up in the 1940s and he played, among other roles, Napoleon Bonaparte in The Young Mr. Pitt (1942) (and, again, in War and Peace (1956)). In a rare starring role, Lom played twin trapeze artists in Dual Alibi (1947). He continued into the 1950s with roles opposite Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers in The Ladykillers (1955) and Robert Mitchum, Jack Lemmon and Rita Hayworth in Fire Down Below (1957). His career really took off in the 1960s and he got the title role in Hammer Films' production of The Phantom of the Opera (1962). He also played "Captain Nemo" in Mysterious Island (1961) and landed supporting parts in El Cid (1961) and an especially showy role in Spartacus (1960) as a pirate chieftain contracted to transport Spartacus' army away from Italy. The 1960s was also the decade in which Lom secured the role for which he will always be remembered: Peter Sellers' long-suffering boss, Commissioner Charles Dreyfus, in the "Pink Panther" films, in which he pulled off the not-inconsiderable feat of stealing almost every scene he and Sellers were in--a real accomplishment, considering what a veteran scene-stealer Sellers was. However, Lom did not concentrate solely on a film career. He had become a familiar face to British television viewers when he starred as Dr. Roger Corder in the series The Human Jungle (1963). He moved into horror films in the 1970s, with parts in Asylum (1972) and And Now the Screaming Starts! (1973). He played Prof. Abraham Van Helsing opposite Christopher Lee in Nachts, wenn Dracula erwacht (1970), matching wits against the sinister vampire himself.Lom appeared as one of the ten victims in Ein Unbekannter rechnet ab (1974), playing the drunken Dr. Edward Armstrong. His career continued into the 1980s, a standout role being that of Christopher Walken's sympathetic doctor in The Dead Zone (1983). He also played opposite Walter Matthau in Hopscotch (1980) and returned to the murder mystery Ten Little Indians (1989), this time playing The General. Lom has been taking it easy since then, though he returned to his familiar role of Commissioner Dreyfus in Son of the Pink Panther (1993). He has always been a reliable and eminently watchable actor, unfortunately not receiving the stardom he probably should have.Herbert Lom died in his sleep at age 95 on September 27, 2012, in London, England. Show less «

Asylum (1972) was good exposure for me and it is still shown quite often on television. I remember t...Show more »

Asylum (1972) was good exposure for me and it is still shown quite often on television. I remember the special effects people had fun making a little doll that looked like me - which is not so easy - and it had to move along the floor. Show less «

[on Alec Guinness] I remember Alec teaching me not to rehearse too much. Because I am a bit of a ped...Show more »

[on Alec Guinness] I remember Alec teaching me not to rehearse too much. Because I am a bit of a pedestrian, I like to rehearse until I know it all backwards. That was my school, but Alec taught me. He said, "If you know too much about it, it ceases to be fun." Show less «

[on Alexander Mackendrick] He had a charming habit of losing his temper very frequently, but exclusi...Show more »

[on Alexander Mackendrick] He had a charming habit of losing his temper very frequently, but exclusively with the bosses, never with his cast. Show less «

In English eyes, all foreigners are sinister.

Peter Sellers was always a mixed-up guy, a childish fellow. But if you're fond of children, you're a...Show more »

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. Show less «

You know, I always do my best, no matter the quality of the film.

For one of my scenes, the Hammer people wanted me to smash my head against a stone pillar, because t...Show more »

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. I refused to beat my head against stone, of course. Show less «