Tod Browning

Tod Browning
Browning in 1921
Born
Charles Albert Browning Jr.

(1880-07-12)July 12, 1880
DiedOctober 6, 1962(1962-10-06) (aged 82)
Resting placeAngelus-Rosedale Cemetery
Occupations
  • Film actor
  • film director
  • screenwriter
  • vaudevillian
  • comedian
  • carnival/sideshow worker
Years active1896–1942

Tod Browning (born Charles Albert Browning Jr.; July 12, 1880 – October 6, 1962) was an American film director, film actor, screenwriter, vaudeville performer, and carnival sideshow and circus entertainer. He directed a number of films of various genres between 1915 and 1939, but was primarily known for horror films. Browning was often cited in the trade press as "the Edgar Allan Poe of cinema."

Browning's career spanned the silent and sound film eras. He is known as the director of Dracula (1931), Freaks (1932), and his silent film collaborations with Lon Chaney and Priscilla Dean.