Tod Browning

Birth Name:

Charles Albert Browning

Birth Place:

Louisville, Kentucky, United States

Profession

Director, Writer, Producer, Actor, Assistant director, Camera department

Was given an Honorary Life Member Award by the Directors Guild of America in 1948
Began his directing career on a series of 1915 short films like "The Lucky Transfer" and "The Slave Girl․"
Ran away from home at the age of 16 and worked as a clown and contortionist in circuses and carnivals
Started out as an actor in the short film "Scenting a Terrible Crime" in 1913
Worked in vaudeville and appeared in the burlesque revue "The Whirl of Mirth," where he performed sketches about popular comic strip characters
Although "Freaks" is now considered his directorial masterpiece, negative reactions to the film at the time of its release essentially ended his career
Best known as the director of several macabre silent and sound films, including "Freaks," "The Unknown," and 1931's "Dracula․"
Frequently worked with actor Lon Chaney, making a number of bizarre, surreal melodramas for MGM like "The Unholy Three," "The Road to Mandalay," and "The Unknown․"

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