Charles Laughton

Charles Laughton (1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was an English actor and director. Over his career he received an Academy Award and a Grammy Award as well as nominations for two BAFTAs and a Golden Globe. He earned a motion picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.

Born in the North Riding of Yorkshire, Laughton was trained in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and first appeared professionally on the stage in 1926. He played a wide range of classical and modern roles both on West End and Off West End, making an impact in Shakespeare at the Old Vic. His acting career took him to Broadway and then Hollywood, where he portrayed everything from monsters and misfits to kings. He earned the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the title character in the historical drama The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933).

Laughton was further Oscar-nominated for his roles as Captain William Bligh in the action adventure Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) and an irascible barrister in the courtroom drama Witness for the Prosecution (1957). Among his biggest film hits were The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934), Ruggles of Red Gap (1935), Rembrandt (1936), Jamaica Inn (1939), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939), The Big Clock (1948), Young Bess (1953), Hobson's Choice (1954) and Spartacus (1960). His final film role was in Advise & Consent (1962).

He directed one film, the acclaimed thriller The Night of the Hunter (1955). In his later career, Laughton took up stage directing, notably in the dramas The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, and Don Juan in Hell, in which he also starred.