RIP Herbert Lom

Herbert Lom, best known as Inspector Clouseau's long-suffering boss in the "Pink Panther" movies, died Thursday September 26, 2012, his son said. He was 95. Alec Lom said his father died peacefully in his sleep.

Herbert Lom had a handsomely lugubrious look that was suited to comedy, horror and everything in between. It served him well over a six-decade career in which roles ranged from Napoleon Bonaparte — whom he played twice — to the Phantom of the Opera. The London-based star appeared in more than 100 films, including "Spartacus" and "El Cid," and acted alongside film greats including Charlton Heston and Kirk Douglas.

Born Herbert Karel Angelo Kuchacevic ze Schluderpacheru in Prague in 1917, Lom came to Britain at the start of World War II and began his career as a radio announcer with the BBC's overseas service. His first major movie role was as Napoleon in 1942's "The Young Mr. Pitt." The career that followed saw him cast often as a villain. In "The Ladykillers," one of the best-loved British films of the 1950s, Lom played a member of a ruthless crime gang fatally outsmarted by a mild-mannered old lady. Horror roles included the title character in Hammer Studios' "The Phantom of the Opera" in 1962, and Van Helsing in 1970's "Count Dracula," opposite Christopher Lee.

A postwar American career was stymied when Lom was denied a visa, though he later appeared on U.S.A. TV series including "The Streets Of San Francisco" and "Hawaii Five-O." In the 1950s, Lom also had success on the London stage playing the King of Siam in the original London production of the "The King And I" at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, opposite Valerie Hobson. Lom appeared in two Euro-westerns: “The Treasure of Silver Lake” (1962) and “Villa Rides” (1968).