Actor Herbert Lom best known for his role as Pink Panther's Charles Dreyfus has died at the age of 95 in London, England today. The Czech born actor's family said Lom had died peacefully in his sleep on Thursday.
Lom in his acting career has appeared in more than a century of films in an acting career that spanned 60 Years. Born Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchacevich ze Schluderpacheru, the actor changed his surname to Lom because he thought his original name was too long and took on the name Lom simply because it was the shortest Czech name he could find. Lom studied in his native Prague and began acting on stage there. World War II saw the Czechoslovakian flee to England in January 1939.
Furthering his studies in the United Kingdom Lom attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. His career began in England with a role in Mein Kampf- My Crimes in 1940. His career took further flight when he played alongside Sir Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers the classic film The Ladykillers in the 1955. Fire Down Below saw Lom later share the stage with Robert Mitchum and Hayworthin 1957. Lom also played the role of Napoleon in an adaptation of Tolstoy's War and Peace in 1956 alongside Audrey and Henry Fonda.
Lom relished the part of the villain.His first sinister role to speak of was the Phantom in the Phantom of the Opera, a Hammer Films Studio production. "It was a godsend when I was offered the part," Lom said, when asked to play the character Dreyfus in Pink Panther. Director Blake Edwards decided to give the job to the Czech because of his knack to play the role of spoiler. Although enjoying the part Lom said it did become a double-edged sword as people started to associate him with the Inspector Clouseau's burdened boss.
The actor also published two novels in his time. Enter the Spy published in 1971 and Dr. Guillotine in 1993.
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