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Charles Laughton (July 1, 1899 - December 15,
1962) was a United Kingdom|British-born United
States|American stage and film actor.

Born in 1899 at Scarborough, England|Scarborough,
Yorkshire, Laughton at first went into the family
business, not making his first stage appearance
until 1926.  Despite not having the looks for a
romantic lead, he impressed audiences with his
talent and played many classical roles before
making his film debut in 1932.  His association
with the director Alexander Korda began with The
Private Life of Henry VIII (loosely based on the
life of King Henry VIII of England), for which
Laughton won an Academy Award.

Later films included The Barretts of Wimpole
Street (1934), Mutiny on the Bounty (fiction)#The
1935 Version|Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), and The
Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939). In 1937 he was to
have starred in an ill-fated film version of the
classic novel, I, Claudius, by Robert Graves,
which was abandoned only part-way into filming due
to the injuries suffered by co-star Merle Oberon
in a car crash. He also received an Academy Award
nomination for his role in Witness for the
Prosecution (1957). His final film was Advise and
Consent, for which he received favorable comments.

Despite his homosexual inclinations, he had a long
and resilient marriage to the British-born
American actress, Elsa Lanchester, possibly
because she had her own such inclinations
according to contemporary gossip.  Lanchester
appeared opposite him in several films, including
Rembrandt (1936).  In 1950, he took American
citizenship.  

Laughton had one stint as a director, and the
result was the legendary The Night of the Hunter
(1955), starring Robert Mitchum and Lillian Gish. 
This movie is often cited among critics as one of
the best movies of the 1950s; unfortunately, it
was a box-office flop.  Laughton never had another
chance to direct his own movies.

He is interred in the Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills
Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.