Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchačevič ze Schluderpacheru (11 September 1917 – 27 September 2012), known professionally asHerbert Lom (Czech pronunciation:[ɦɛrbɛrtlom]), was a Czech-British actor with a career spanning over 60 years. His cool demeanour and precise, elegant elocution[1] saw him cast as criminals or suave villains in his younger years, and professional men and nobles as he aged. Highly versatile, he also played the beleaguered Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus in sevenPink Panther films.
Lom was born inPrague to Karl Kuchačevič ze Schluderpacheru and Olga Gottlieb. His mother was of Jewish ancestry.[2] His ancestor, Christian Schluderpacher, aburgher ofBozen, was ennobled in 1601.[2][3][4] Lom's family were comfortable, but not grandly aristocratic. His grandfather owned property in Prague and theBohemian Forest, with his income deriving mainly from two restaurants and a guest house.[5] Lom's father, as a younger son, inherited little, supporting his family by variously running a printing business, a car repair shop, and trying to establish himself as an art agent. The family lived at various Prague city quarters:Žižkov before moving toVysočany, subsequently lived atVinohrady, thenNew Town, where Lom attended a famous German grammar school. He studied philosophy for some time at theGerman University in Prague, but ceased his studies to become an actor.[6]
Lom's film debut was in theCzech filmŽena pod křížem ("Woman Under the Cross", 1937) followed by theBoží mlýny ("Mills of God", 1938). His early film appearances were mainly supporting roles, with the occasional top billing. At this time he also changed his surname to Lom ("quarry" or "breakage" inCzech) because it was the shortest he found in a local telephone directory.[citation needed]
Due to theoccupation of Czechoslovakia byNazi Germany,Poland andHungary in 1938–39, Lom emigrated to Britain in 1939. He made numerous appearances in British films throughout the 1940s, usually in villainous roles, although he later appeared in comedies as well. Despite his mother's Jewish ancestry, Lom's parents survived to join him in England.
He managed to escape being typecast as a European heavy by securing a diverse range of casting, including asNapoleon Bonaparte inThe Young Mr. Pitt (1942), and again in theKing Vidor version ofWar and Peace (1956). He secured a seven-picture Hollywood contract afterWorld War II, but was unable to obtain an American visa for "political reasons".[7] In a rare starring role, Lom played twin trapeze artists inDual Alibi (1946).
Lom wrote two historical novels: one on the playwrightChristopher Marlowe (Enter a Spy: The Double Life of Christopher Marlowe, 1978), and the other on theFrench Revolution (Dr Guillotine: The Eccentric Exploits of an Early Scientist, 1992). The film rights to the latter have been purchased, but no film has yet been produced.
Lom married Diana Scheu in 1948. They had two children before they divorced after separating between 1961 and 1976. He had a child from a relationship with Brigitta Appleby. He later married Eve Lacik; they divorced in 1990.[1]
Lom died in his sleep at his home inCamden Town, London,[10] on 27 September 2012, at the age of 95.[11]
^Stanley Green,Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre, (New York, 1976: Dodd, Mead & Company, rpt. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Da Capo Press, 1980), p. 233.
