Guillermo del Toro's special exhibition 'At Home with Monsters' in the Los Angeles Contemporary Art Museum (LACMA) in 2016. (Photo 77474912 © Biansho | Dreamstime.com)

By Jaryn Vecchio

Frankenstein's Monster

How P.A.’s performing art community helped one of Hollywood’s biggest movie stars

Feb 10, 2023 | 5:00 PM

One of the world’s best actors during the Classic Hollywood era may not have become a star if it wasn’t for the city of Prince Albert.

Boris Karloff, best known for playing Frankenstein’s monster in the 1931 film adaptation Frankenstein, officially got his start in acting while living in Canada.

While his first roles happened in Kamloops, British Columbia, it wasn’t until he moved to P.A. in 1912 and started working for the Harry St. Clair Players that his career started to take off.

It was actually quite the fluke that Karloff joined the repertory company. He only knew they needed actors after someone threw a theatrical journal out of a train window when he was in Regina. In the journal was an ad from the Harry St. Clair Players looking for a leading man for an upcoming production.

“I think if he hadn’t joined the Harry St. Clair Players he probably wouldn’t have become Frankenstein’s monster down the road,” said Craig Baird, a Canadian historian.

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Laird first came across this interesting tidbit when researching the history of P.A. for his podcast ‘Canadian History Ehx.’

He actually first realized Karloff had once called Canada home when he found out that he had held a benefit show to support those impacted by the Regina Cyclone, the deadliest tornado in Canadian history.

“He seemed to really love Canada and if things went differently, he might have stayed,” added Baird.

According to Baird, Karloff spent roughly a year touring with the Harry St. Clair Players before deciding to travel to Chicago to see if he could advance his career even more. However, he couldn’t land any roles. Karloff, who was originally from England, tried to enlist in his home country’s army after the start of the Great War but was rejected due to his heart murmur.

Karloff ended up traveling back to P.A. and rejoined the Harry St. Clair Players. Baird believes his life could have been a lot different from what we know now if he didn’t go back.

“He could have easily gone down a different path because in 1912, that era, movie stars weren’t that widely respected, we were a bit removed from Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford.”

Karloff would spend another year with the Harry St. Clair Players before leaving again in 1916. Three years later he was able to land roles in different silent films being shot in Los Angeles. Twelve years after that is when he took to the big screen as Frankenstein’s monster.

Boris Karloff’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. (Photo 36303902 © Biansho | Dreamstime.com)

Meanwhile, P.A.’s arts community continues to thrive today.

This is evident by the number of shows being done at the EA Rawlinson Centre for the Arts which have been known to entice actors from across Saskatchewan.

“The fact that people can come and truly enjoy the benefits of a facility like the Rawlinson but also the team that brings that kind of training and creativity to their experience is pretty phenomenal,” said Roxanne Dicke, the centre’s general manager.

For her, she only sees the local art community growing as more and more people come to the city to try out their acting skills.

While Karloff gets a lot of attention due to his stellar career, Dicke explained there have been several individuals who’ve been able to find jobs in the industry whether it’s on stage, behind the scenes, in front of a camera of behind one.

She also believes it’s only a matter of time before we talk about someone else the way we do about Karloff.

“I absolutely believe that there will be much more talent that comes out of Prince Albert,” Dicke said. “Real actors are built by the opportunities and what they learn early in their careers.”

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Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow