THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII

(Biography)

Charles Laughton received his Oscar for playing the 16th century British monarch in this grand historical drama.

ABOUT CHARLES LAUGHTON (1899 - 1962)

British character actor who was very popular in the thirties.

Laughton studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, played on the English Stage and made his Broadway bow in 1931.

In 1934 he won an Oscar for his portrayal for of the notoriously bad ruler and wife killer in the 1933 THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII.  Charles Laughton was married to actress Elsa Lanchester (who played wife number 4, Anne of Cleves ). She also appeared with Laughton in several other films, including: WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION for which she was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. 

Charles Laughton played the tyrannical Captain Bly in the 1935 classic, MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY, along with Clark Gable, about a ship of sailors who revolt against their captain, after spending six months in Tahiti.

Laughton was unforgettable in the title role, as the sensitive, pathetic Parisian bell ringer, Quasimoto, in love with the gypsy Esmeralda, in THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, 1939, based on the Victor Hugo novel.  He was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for his performance. 

In the 1957 Billy Wilder courtroom drama, WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION, Charles Laughton plays defense attorney Sir Wilfred, recently returned to work from a bout of illness and in less than perfect health.  Marlene Dietrich plays the wife of the accused, who was played by Tyrone Powe in what ultimately becomes a case of double jeopardy..  Laughton was nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal.

In 1960, he played Gracchus, a Roman politician, in the Stanley Kubrick drama, SPARTACUS, with Kirk Douglas, who plays the doomed slave who lead an uprising against the Roman emperor, played by Sir Lawrence Olivier. 

Laughton continued working until his demise in 1962.t

Charles Laughton's other credits include:

THE BARRETTS OF WIMPOLE STREET (1934) 
RUGGLES OF RED GAP (1935) 
LES MISERABLES (1935) 
REMBRANDT (1936) 
THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (1939)
YOUNG BESS (1953) 
THE SUSPECT (1944) 
HOBSON'S CHOICE (1954) 
SPARTACUS (1960) 
ADVISE AND CONSENT (1962)