Editing Boris Karloff (section)

=== Canadian and U.S. stage work ===
Karloff joined the Jeanne Russell Company in 1911 and performed in towns including [[Kamloops]] ([[British Columbia]]) and [[Prince Albert, Saskatchewan|Prince Albert]] ([[Saskatchewan]]). After the devastating tornado in Regina on 30 June 1912, Karloff, who was in the midst of an engagement at the Regina Theatre, and other performers helped with clean-up efforts.<ref>{{cite book | last=Waiser | first=William A. | title=Saskatchewan: A New History | location=Calgary | publisher=Fifth House | year=2005 | isbn=978-1-894856-43-0}}</ref><ref>Karloff discussed this experience during an appearance on the [[CBC Television|CBC]] panel series ''[[Front Page Challenge]]'' in the 1960s.</ref> He later took a job as a railway baggage handler and joined the Harry St. Clair Company that performed in [[Minot, North Dakota]], for a year in an opera house above a hardware store.

While he was trying to establish his acting career, Karloff had to perform years of manual labour in Canada and the U.S. to make ends meet. Among this work, he spent one year laying track, digging ditches, shoveling coal, clearing land, and working with surveying parties for the [[British Columbia Electric Railway|B.C. Electric Railway Company]], at the rate of $2.50 per day.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nesteroff |first1=Greg |title=British Columbia History |journal=Journal of the British Columbia Historical Federation |date=2006 |volume=39 |issue=1 |page=17 |url=https://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/pdfs/bchf/bch_2006_01.pdf |access-date=25 June 2023 |issn=1710-7881}}</ref> From this gruelling work with the BCER and other employers, Karloff was left with back problems for the rest of his life. Because of his health, he did not serve in [[World War I]].

During this period, Karloff worked in various theatrical stock companies across the U.S. to hone his acting skills. Some acting companies mentioned were the Harry St. Clair Players and the Billie Bennett Touring Company. By early 1918 he was working with the Maud Amber Players in [[Vallejo, California]], but because of the [[Spanish flu]] outbreak in the San Francisco area and the fear of infection, the troupe was disbanded. He was able to find work with the Haggerty Repertory for a while (according to the 1973 obituary of Joseph Paul Haggerty, he and Boris Karloff remained lifelong friends).