Herbert Lom

Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchačevič ze Schluderpacheru, known professionally as Herbert Lom, was a Czech-British actor with a career spanning over 60 years. His cool demeanour and precise, elegant elocution saw him cast as criminals or suave villains in his younger years, and professional men and nobles as he aged. In The Pink Panther franchise, he demonstrated his comedic acting skills by playing the beleaguered Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus in seven films. He also excelled in roles from films like The Ladykillers, War and Peace, Spartacus, El Cid, Mysterious Island, The Phantom of the Opera, and The Dead Zone. In theater, he originated the role of the King of Siam in the original West End production of The King and I, and starred on the 1960s television drama The Human Jungle. Lom escaped being typecast as a European heavy due to his diverse range of casting. His intriguing performance as Napoleon Bonaparte in The Young Mr. Pitt and the King Vidor version of War and Peace is noteworthy. He starred as the King of Siam in the original London production of The King and I which had a successful run of 926 performances. As a novelist, Lom wrote two historical books on the playwright Christopher Marlowe and the French Revolution.