Perfectly Frank: 10 Memorable Portrayals of Frankenstein’s Monster

After having played the monster three times, Karloff tired of the role, and Universal had to find another actor to star in its Frankenstein sequels. Wolf Man star Lon Chaney Jr. gave it a try, and so did Bela Lugosi (a dozen years after the Dracula star had turned down the role that made Karloff a star), but neither really took.

The role then fell to Glenn Strange, a 6′ 5″ actor best known for his appearances in Westerns. Jack Pierce, who’d helped design the monster’s look for Karloff, felt Strange had the right build and facial features to suit the role, and Karloff himself coached Strange in movement (he appeared alongside Strange as a mad scientist in House of Frankenstein, pictured here). Hard to imagine now, but Strange soon rivaled Karloff in the popularity of his version of the creature. He played the monster twice more, in House of Dracula and (for comic effect) in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.

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