Editing Boris Karloff (section)

==Early life==
[[File:William Henry Pratt alias BORIS KARLOFF 1887-1969 Actor was born here.jpg|thumb|left|175px|[[English Heritage]] [[blue plaque]] at 36 Forest Hill Road, London, marking Karloff's birthplace]]
William Henry Pratt was born on 23 November 1887,<ref name=britannica>[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/312429/Boris-Karloff Biography] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150501054743/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/312429/Boris-Karloff |date=1 May 2015}} ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''. Retrieved 30 June 2013.</ref> at 36 Forest Hill Road, [[Peckham]].<ref>A commemorative plaque can be seen today on the property marking it as the place of his birth</ref> His parents were Edward John Pratt (1826/7–1897), of the [[Indian Civil Service]], where he worked for the salt revenue service, and Eliza Sara (born 1848), née Millard. Both his parents died when Karloff was young, and he was primarily raised by a half-sister and his elder siblings.<ref>{{cite ODNB | url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-34251 | isbn=978-0-19-861412-8 | doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/34251 | chapter=Karloff, Boris &#91;real name William Henry Pratt&#93; (1887–1969), actor | title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography | year=2004 | last1=Halliwell | first1=Leslie | editor-first1=K. D | editor-last1=Reynolds }}</ref><ref>Boris Karloff: A Critical Account of his Screen, Stage, Radio, Television, and Recording Work, Scott Allen Nollen, McFarland & Co., Inc., 1991, p. 7</ref> His brother, Sir John Thomas Pratt, was a British diplomat.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Jacobs | first=Stephen | title=Karloff in Saskatchewan | journal=Saskatchewan History | volume=59 | issue= 1|date=Spring 2007 | issn=0036-4908 | oclc=2443952}}</ref> Karloff's father Edward John Pratt was [[Anglo-Indian]], with a British father and Indian mother,<ref>{{cite book |last=Nollen |first=Scott Allen |title=Boris Karloff: A Gentleman's Life |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0p1HDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT19 |publisher=Midnight Marquee & BearManor Media |year=2018 |orig-year=1999 |page=19}}</ref> meaning that Karloff was at least a quarter Indian, while Karloff's mother also had some Indian ancestry; thus Karloff had a relatively dark complexion that differed from his peers at the time.<ref>{{cite book |last=Nollen |first=Scott Allen |title=Boris Karloff: A Critical Account of His Screen, Stage, Radio, Television, and Recording Work |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c1iyAPhqmboC&pg=PA24 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |date=1991 |page=24 |isbn=9780899505800}}</ref> His mother's maternal aunt was [[Anna Leonowens]], whose tales about life in the royal court of Siam (now [[Thailand]]) were the basis of the novel ''[[Anna and the King of Siam (novel)|Anna and the King of Siam]]''. Pratt was [[bow-legged]], had a [[lisp]], and stuttered as a young boy.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nollen |first1=Scott A. |last2=Karloff |first2=Sara Jane |title=Boris Karloff: A Gentleman's Life |location=Baltimore, MD |publisher=Midnight Marquee Press |year=1999 |page=18 |isbn=978-1-887664-23-3}}</ref> He learned how to manage his stutter, but not his lisp, which was noticeable throughout his career in the film industry.

Pratt spent his childhood years in [[London Borough of Enfield|Enfield]], in the County of [[Middlesex]]. He was the youngest of nine children, and following his mother's death was brought up by his elder siblings. After first attending [[Enfield Grammar School]], he received a private education at [[Uppingham School]] and [[Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood|Merchant Taylors' School]]. Following this he attended [[King's College London]], where he took studies aimed at a career with the British Government's Consular Service. However, in 1909, he left university without graduating and drifted, departing England for Canada, where he worked as a farm labourer, truck driver and did various odd jobs in British Columbia until happening upon stage acting, which led to a later film career.<ref>{{cite episode |title=Boris Karloff |url=https://archive.org/details/TIYL_Boris_Karloff |series=This Is Your Life |network=NBC |airdate=20 November 1957 |season=6 |access-date=9 February 2010}}</ref>