Boris Karloff

Actor Boris Karloff is a famous person who stuttered. Born as William Henry Pratt in 1887, he began acting in his teen years, making his way to Canada and then the United States. Appearing in an astounding number of movies, he became famous for his high-profile roles in horror movies under the stage name of Boris Karloff. Some of his better known horror roles were as Frankenstein in Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939).

While Boris Karloff will be known to past generations as a horror star, for the last 55 years new generations know this famous actor for the 1966 animated Christmas classic Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas as both the narrator and the voice for the Grinch.

An entry on Karloff’s Wikipedia page states, “Pratt was bow-legged, had a lisp, and stuttered as a young boy. He learned how to manage his stutter, but not his lisp, which was noticeable throughout his career in the film industry.”

A January 11, 2011, article in the Daily Express in the UK “My Father Boris Karloff Was No Monster” both reviewed the recently released Karloff biography Boris Karloff: More Than a Monster by Stephen Jacobs and interviewed Karloff’s only child, daughter Sara Karloff. The article addressed the actor’s stuttering when acknowledging his many relatives in the British diplomatic corps and civil service, “Young William was already destined for a similar career, but despite being plagued by a stammer, a lisp and bandy legs, his interests lay in the theatre.”

While there do not seem to be as many empirical sources to document the famous Karloff’s stuttering as there are for other famous people who stutter, the numerous mentions of his stuttering in both articles and a couple of biographies prove that he was indeed not only a person who stuttered but also someone who worked hard to address his stuttering as he aspired to be a famous actor from a young age.

From the Winter 2021 Magazine

CELEBRITY FOCUS

Carly Simon

Carly Simon began stuttering severely when she was eight years old.

Bob Love

Bob Love has dreamt about being a great public speaker since his early days in Bastrop Louisiana, even though, as a young man, he could barely put two words together, let alone speak a full sentence.

In spite of his severe stuttering disability, Bob Love, the son of a sharecropper, rose to become a Chicago Bulls NBA superstar, whose records were eventually surpassed by Michael Jordan. Throughout his entire athletic career, Bob Love kept his stuttering a secret from the fans who adored him, thinking he could do his “talking” on the basketball court.

Bill Withers

While Bill Withers has long been on the Stuttering Foundation's list of Famous People Who Stutter, many people probably didn’t realize he stuttered. He passed away on March 30, 2020.

Born in 1938 in Slab Fork, W.V., Withers was the youngest of six children. When his father died when Withers was small, he was raised by his mother and grandmother, both of whom worked as domestics.

John Stossel

John Stossel is one of the most recognized and articulate reporters today. However, he once considered giving up his broadcasting career because of his stuttering.

“Fear of stuttering can easily become worse than the stuttering itself,” observed Stossel. “The idea that I’m on television and making speeches is still a shock to me sometimes.”

Darren Sproles

Darren Sproles, a former player for The Philadelphia Eagles, the New Orleans Saints and the San Diego Chargers, made history in 2007 when he became the first player in NFL history to return a kickoff and a punt for his first two NFL touchdowns in the same game. In 2021, he was selected to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.