Charles Laughton

Charles Laughton (1899 to 1962) was an English actor who also directed, and the Film and Media Atlas holds him chiefly for the one picture he directed, The Night of the Hunter (1955), a thriller later widely praised. Born in the North Riding of Yorkshire and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he began on the professional stage in 1926, made his mark in Shakespeare at the Old Vic, and then moved to Broadway and Hollywood, where he played everything from monsters and misfits to kings. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the title role in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933) and was nominated again for Mutiny on the Bounty and Witness for the Prosecution. He also received a Grammy Award, and in his later career turned to stage directing, including The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial and Don Juan in Hell.