Herbert Lom

Hebert Lom was a notable British actor who took birth in Prague on September-11-1917. His full name was Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchačevič ze Schluderpacheru. Herbert was the son of Olga Gottlieb and Karl Kuchačevič ze Schluderpacheru. He belonged to a once noble but poor family. Lom majored in Philosophy from Prague University and also established a student theater there.

Herbert started off his film career with the movie Žena pod křížem (1937) a film in the Czech language and then went ahead to act in another Czech movie, Boží mlýny (1938). He appeared in small roles in these films and also made changes in his last name. He adopted the surname ‘Lom’ due to its inherent shortness. Herbert migrated to Britain in the year 1939 due to chances of the invasion of the German army on Czechoslovakia.

He appeared in numerous films in Britain and portrayed barbarous roles mainly but later did comic roles as well. Lom rose to prominence with the 1942 movie The Young Mr. Pitt, a dramatic movie based on historical events as well as the 1956 film War and Peace based on the Tolstoy movie, in which he portrayed Napoleon Bonaparte. After the Second World War, Lom was able to get a Hollywood contract of seven pictures but couldn’t acquire a U.S. Visa due to some reasons. He then acted in the movie, Dual Alibi (1947), in which he essayed the character of twin acrobats.

After that, Herbert worked in several films including The Ladykillers, Spartacus, and Mysterious Island. Some of the famous films he acted in include several of the Pink Panther Films in which he essayed the character of Inspector Charles Dreyfus, and the film And Then There Were None (1975) in which he portrayed the character Dr. Armstrong.

His character in The Pink Panther films was immensely appreciated and received a lot of positive reviews. Herbert worked in only one TV show, The Human Jungle, a British series that ran from the year 1963 where he played Dr. Roger Corder. This series only lasted for a year. Herbert also appeared in a plenty of horror films such as Murders in the Rue Morgue, Asylum, And Now the Screaming Starts! as well as The Dead Zone. Herbert is also well-known for penning down two books, Dr. Guillotin: The Eccentric Exploits of an Early Scientist which is a novel that saw him focus on the French Revolution in the year 1992 and Enter a Spy: The Double Life of Christopher Marlowe in which he talked in detail about Christopher Marlowe, in the year 1971.

Herbert also performed in the musical play, The King and I (1953), in which he essayed the King of Siam. This musical achieved runs of 926 performances. Herbert tied the knots with Dina Schea in 1948, but the couple parted ways in 1971. He then married Eve Lom, but things didn’t work out between them as well, and they separated in the year 1990. Herbert had three children- Two sons and one daughter. Herbert passed away on 27-September-2012. He was 95 years old.