#herberlom

Herbert Lom (Czech pronunciation: [ɦɛrbɛrt lom]; 11 September 1917 – 27 September 2012) was a Czech-born British film and television actor who moved to the United Kingdom in 1939. In a career lasting more than 60 years, he appeared in character roles, often portraying criminals or villains early in his career and professional men in later years.

Lom was noted for his precise, elegant enunciation of English.[3] He is best known for his roles in The Ladykillers and The Pink Panther film series.

Lom was born Herbert Charles ‘Angelo Kuchačevič ze Schluderpacheru’ in Prague to 'Karl Kuchačevič ze Schluderpacheru,’ and his spouse, the former Olga Gottlieb.[4][5] Lom himself claimed that his family had been ennobled and the family title dated from 1601.[2] Lom’s film debut was in the Czech film Žena pod křížem (“A Woman Under Cross”, 1937) followed by the Boží mlýny (“Mills of God”, 1938). His early film appearances were mainly supporting roles, with the occasional top billing. At this time he also changed his impractically long surname - to Lom (“a quarry” in Czech), because it was the shortest he found in a local telephone directory.

Lom died in his sleep on 27 September 2012 at the age of 95.[9]

WIKIPEDIA —————

Born September 11, 1917, Herbert Lom made his film debut in the Czech film Woman Below the Cross (1937) and played supporting and, occasionally, lead roles. His career picked up in the 1940s and he played, among other roles, Napoleon Bonaparte in The Young Mr. Pitt (1942) (and, again, in War and Peace (1956)). In a rare starring role, Lom played twin trapeze artists in Dual Alibi (1947). He continued into the 1950s with roles opposite Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers in The Ladykillers (1955) and Robert Mitchum, Jack Lemmon and Rita Hayworth in Fire Down Below (1957). His career really took off in the 1960s and he got the title role in Hammer Films’ production of The Phantom of the Opera (1962). He also played “Captain Nemo” in Mysterious Island (1961) and landed supporting parts in El Cid (1961) and an especially showy role in Spartacus (1960) as a pirate chieftain contracted to transport Spartacus’ army away from Italy. The 1960s was also the decade in which Lom secured the role for which he will always be remembered: Peter Sellers’ long-suffering boss, Commissioner Charles Dreyfus, in the “Pink Panther” films, in which he pulled off the not-inconsiderable feat of stealing almost every scene he and Sellers were in–a real accomplishment, considering what a veteran scene-stealer Sellers was. However, Lom did not concentrate solely on a film career. He had become a familiar face to British television viewers when he starred as Dr. Roger Corder in the series The Human Jungle (1963). He moved into horror films in the 1970s, with parts in Asylum (1972) and And Now the Screaming Starts! (1973). He played Prof. Abraham Van Helsing opposite Christopher Lee in Count Dracula (1970), matching wits against the sinister vampire himself. Lom appeared as one of the ten victims in Ten Little Indians (1974), playing the drunken Dr. Edward Armstrong. His career continued into the 1980s, a standout role being that of Christopher Walken’s sympathetic doctor in The Dead Zone (1983). He also played opposite Walter Matthau in Hopscotch (1980) and returned to the murder mystery Ten Little Indians (1989), this time playing The General. Lom has been taking it easy since then, though he returned to his familiar role of Commissioner Dreyfus in Son of the Pink Panther (1993). He has always been a reliable and eminently watchable actor, unfortunately not receiving the stardom he probably should have.