Characters Based On Peter Lorre: Part 1

PART 2 NOW POSTED :)
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(Disclaimer- this video is just for fun. No copyright infringement intended. All rights to clips, photographs and audio go to their respective owners.)

[@lenaloo736]

Didn’t realize that this guy had such a lasting effect on villains in pop culture

[@nehemiahpouncey3607]

Also he was on tiny toons. The o.g. one as a duck tracy Villain name boxcar. He was dress like a train guy But plucky defeated him in A game of thumb war.

[@nehemiahpouncey3607]

Looney tunes poked fun at that guy To the ground. In almost every cartoon. But guessing he saw it as good Clean fun and laughed it off.

[@Dreadakai21]

He was kinda the Gilbert Gottfried of creepy charaters.

[@andjmp]

henchmen

[@ThatOnEKid-px5bx]

Fr

[@TylerMcNamer]

Peter isn't dead, he's just out there possessing everyone.

[@Certified_confederated_hater]

​@@nehemiahpouncey3607 whats the fun in that?

[@ianwilliams5866]

@@nehemiahpouncey3607 if you’re famous enough to be spoofed or parodied, you’re definitely famous.

[@bezoticallyyours83]

​@@ianwilliams5866 definitely

[@nehemiahpouncey3607]

@@ianwilliams5866 just like Mario.🤣

[@tijanamilenkovic9442]

@@nehemiahpouncey3607 Tokageroh from Shaman King is also modeled after Peter Lorre 🦎

[@pringleman8583]

It's so bizarre. I've seen this peter lorre Caricature of all of my life. Not really knowing who he was or what his name is. Not realizing he was based on an actual person.

[@Vaksharules1999]

Im in the same position, here. Never heard of Lorre until now!

[@Broomer52]

It’s a little funny how he’s remembered forever as a small, creepy fish faced man

[@night-x6793]

Most don't know his name but I'm very sure most knows about his character appearance and voice type which I know it's hard to copy for most voice actors.

[@ironmaster6496]

Same for me

[@LillianGraceFullofficial]

I’ve known him before I knew him

[@hauntedhighlands]

I love the little cameo at the end. It's amazing how he was born over 100 years ago and his influence on characterization is still going strong

[@zyourzgrandzmaz]

He's in 20,000 leagues under the sea with kirk Douglas (who died at like 105)

[@LordRumshi]

Impressive how Peter Lorre has lived on decades after his passing through his unique mannerisms and personality in numerous characters across movies and video games.

[@NovaBlueNova]

All of them make him seem like a total freak and then you see and hear him irl and you realize he’s a pretty normal guy

[@Signedcentaur]

Its so strange that Peter Lorre, the actor associated with Igor/assistant to Victor Frankenstein... never actually played the mad doctor's assistant... so its baffling to where most people get the association with Lorre and the gothic

[@GhostOfThisHouse]

that's the strangest part! he never actually played a monster in the supernatural sense (although he did play a lot of murderers) yet he is heavily associated with them, especially the Igor stock character

[@Signedcentaur]

@@GhostOfThisHouse I associate Lorre with noir more than Gothic tbh just out of the major films he was a part of

[@ChrisBoxwell]

He was the assistant in Arsenic and Old Lace, where the running gag was his boss looked like Boris Karloff (who played the character in the stage version)

[@maddmaxxpain]

@@ChrisBoxwellthat has to be it! Thank you for clarifying!

[@WarlordofRanaar]

Peter Lorre starred in several Gothic pictures alongside his good friend Vincent Price. Though most were towards the end of his career.

[@chellastation]

Gosh, this guy made a huge impact in the animation industry

[@A_Lion_In_The_Sun]

In the anime version of cowboy bebop, a one off character named Yuri Kellerman mimics Peter Lorre's voice and creepy appearance.

[@SolluxAmpora]

Oh my goodness I just had to look up that character and you are so right! I laughed out loud! I don’t remember him at all. Mainly because I watched that anime like 21 years ago 🤣

[@DkKombo]

There's something....oddly enchanting about Peter Lorre repsentations in older cartoons. A certain avarte garde to it.

[@varicosevaynes]

YES I’ve been loving this character archetype since childhood and only a few years ago did I learn who specifically it was based on . Nice work compiling all of these together!

[@Whirly_Brains]

Slappy Laszlo from Spongebob was what introduced me to Peter Lorre. They made him into a regular character in the spinoff show The Patrick Star Show. He's such a silly character and I fell in love immediately. I wanted more, so when I found out Slappy was based off of Peter Lorre, I went head first into Peter's massive discography. Now I'm a big fan of all things Peter Lorre. I watched nearly all of his movies and I adore his career. I find in online spaces especially, many Peter Lorre fans discovered him through the numerous cartoon caricatures of him. It's wonderful that his legacy lives on in cartoons, letting new generations of kids discover him and his movies. I hope the Peter Lorre caricature continues on as a tradition in animation.

[@Beedo_Sookcool]

Never watched SpongeBob, but thrilled to know they used Lorre's real first name -- Laszlo -- for the tribute character!

[@荃工]

Oh, that's very nice of you ... I know Peter Lorre's children through cartoon images ... I like these cartoons.Also like Peter Lorre

[@GigglyFunGirl03]

Ahh, Peter Lorre. I think my introduction (though I didn’t realize it when I was 10) was through Ren. It’s astounding how well these actors can do a dead-on performance. I know I asked if you would ever consider doing a follow-up with Paul Lynde, but Christopher Walken would be another great one.

[@rosskerr1439]

3:41 A more subtle example than others.

[@wowalamoiz9489]

I wonder if its just someone with the same accent.

[@missmeme3946]

amazing that they still remember him although he died in the 60s

[@BlueGhidorah2002]

4:17 skekTek the Scientist. Fun fact, he used to sound like the Joker until his replacement of his jugular vein with a transparent tube made him sound like Peter Lorre.

[@Zomdra]

N. Gin from Crash Bandicoot and Digitamamon from Digimon were the Lorre take-offs I was most familiar with going in, glad they were both included here.

[@msicouldntthinkofafunnynam4770]

Holy shit there are so many examples I'm familiar with?!? These types of characters might as well be an established stock character by now

[@FloatingSunfish]

Having Cutman talk like him baffles me to this day, but I'm not complaining!

[@theshopislocal]

Cutie Pie Compilation!!! It's crazy how far this character strays from the actual guy. But I love both. I never even realized Ren was one of these bc he's.. just Ren to me. But he totally is omg

[@Beedo_Sookcool]

Back when "Ren & Stimpy" was new and huge, it was a huge deal was made about him "sounding like Mexican Peter Lorre."

[@teddyjaramillo2532]

The one voice I really would love to pull off. So iconic

[@Scipio488]

This is EXTREMELY thorough. Impressive.

[@knibscratch]

I use a Muppet Style puppet based on Peter Lorre The voice is pretty good I think but hardly any one knows the name, A suggestion for video number 2, There is a character that pops up in Fraggle Rock a couple of times its good! .... And Mork from Ork quotes him too "Don't be alarmed, Its only the head of a young girl!"

[@thefinalme]

Awesome! I’ve been hoping to find a compilation like this for a while. It’s kind of crazy how many cartoon characters reference him. Drove me crazy as a kid when I was trying to figure out what this reoccurring character was in all my different cartoons.

[@Beedo_Sookcool]

Absolutely bloody loved this! Peter Lorre (Laszlo Lowenstein) is an absolute legend, and deserves to live on as a character meme. And anyone watching this video should also watch the Tom Smith filk song, "When I Grow Up, I Want to Be Peter Lorre." (Which can easily be found here on KZbin.) There's a story that when Vincent Price and Peter Lorre went to pay their final respects to Bela Lugosi, and saw him lying in the coffin in his Dracula costume, Peter whispered to Vincent: "Do you think we should put a stake through his heart to make sure?" and Vincent had to work very hard not to laugh out loud. One character I didn't see mentioned -- but would be good for a Part 2 -- was Cosmos from the G1 Transformers cartoon. (But at least I watched all the way through this video to make sure without saying "yOu diDn'T iNcluDe tRanSf0rMurZ!" 😉

[@Beedo_Sookcool]

Just remembered another one: In "Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors," I was pretty sure one of the Monster Minds characters was a Peter Lorre impression, and I found a segment in Episode 2 at the 5:39 mark, where the Terror Tank Commander updates Saw Boss in a familiar kind of voice. He continues to have that voice throughout the episode, and for the Terror Tank Troopers throughout the series.

[@jas-c3610]

I have feeling I addicted to this video. It just shocking how large is influence of one charismatic actor from deep past that every form of media trying to simulate him. It really hypnotic.

[@rashbandi9835]

I'm glad you brought up N Gin, I love Crash Bandicoot

[@anominon]

J.P. Ghastly III, a character from Rick Moranis's "Gravedale High", was based on him too. It's odd how often Lorre is depicted as some kind of ghoul or ghost considering I don't think he actually played a monster.

[@Zim5.0]

When I was a child, I remember noticing and making fun of the fact that this character from Looney tunes looks like a Barber I knew, it was only recently that I learned that he was a parody of a real person

[@UltravioletNomad]

Its interesting, some of these are menacing, some of these are sad, and some are pretty earnest.

[@GhostOfThisHouse]

Edit: part 2 is now up :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/gYaWZISebrtoaac

[@TheRubberStudiosASMR]

He died a tragic man- if only he knew the impact he had on culture

[@SlaaneshiChaplain]

Not to be confused with Steve Buscemi.

[@schlamuffenimperator9460]

Steve Buscemi is also based on Peter Lorre

[@musicaleuphoria8699]

Both kinda funny lookin.

[@BorisFangirl]

There are a lot of good characters on here :) Another character I would have added is a character called Zug from the sister series of Thomas and Friends called Tugs. His voice was heavily inspired by Peter Lorre, and even has big bags under his eyes

[@nehemiahpouncey3607]

Don't forget boxcar from tiny toons.

[@gnbman]

More: -Hectan from Link: The Faces of Evil -Mr. Leech from "That's Snow Ghost", an episode of Scooby Doo Where Are You -voice from The Berenstain Bears Kid Vid Talking Video Game Cartridge Also note that every vampire is Bela Lugosi, every pirate is Robert Newton, and every witch is Margaret Hamilton.

[@austinmorrison6953]

Never realized even half of these folks were based on Lorre

[@BoredomIncorperated]

4:04 He's going to WHAT?

[@Comment_Rider]

The Jumpstart haunted mansion always creeped me out as a kid, and I could never finish the game.

[@joaniesoprano]

Nice compilation, you know you've reached legendary status when you have all these imitators. The highest form of flattery they say.❤❤❤

[@camilleivylace9471]

Thanks for uploading! This is an amazing compilation! I also remembered another Peter Lorre inspired character in Scooby Doo Where are You, in the Snow Ghost episode there’s a character called Mr. Leech who is definitely inspired by Peter Lorre.

[@cookcrawford8406]

you must have put in so much effort for this! its wonderful (I miss rasputins bat from Anastasia though)

[@SilverAshes109]

Thank you for making this video ❤ I love Peter Lorre, so I’ve always felt kind of bad that his impersonations have been passed around media with no one really knowing who he was. My favorite variations are the King of Flan and N. Gin. You can tell where the inspiration comes from but they are still so strongly their own character.

[@zacharyfrey3264]

What a charming fellow.

[@oneinathousand2156]

There was a point and click game called Faust: The Seven Games of the Soul with a character named Tod who didn’t look like Lorre, but whose voice was definitely an imitation and the character was from Austria like Lorre was.

[@johanneshaukanes4531]

5:00 yea, I thought of him from crash bandicoot. Never knew about this

[@lenaloo736]

Darren Norris does a great Lorre impression

[@davidhardy5670]

I'm glad you put Otto from Pajama Sam in here. Great catch!

[@DarkOverlord96]

There's also Trevor the Rat from Peter Jackson's "Meet the Feebles," his voice is an *UNCANNY* Peter Lorre impression.

[@huntermooney143]

Steven Spielberg casted Ronald Lacey as Toht in Raiders solely because he thought Lacey resembled Peter Lorre so thanks for putting him in here.

[@DrCoeloCephalo]

Super glad you brought up Digitamamon.

[@jaimebabb9968]

I had no idea who Peter Lorre was when I was growing up, I just recognised the characters who look and sound like him as a sort of stock villain.

[@ssunsspott]

FINALLY! I knew this dude had to be... a dude and not just some random coincidence. This characterization is too consistent, thank god I know this guy's name now, it's a thing that always bothered me not knowing!

[@koichidignitythief7429]

Why do people keep associating Lorre with Igor and Renfield when he never played those roles? That was Dwight Frye.

[@parmsnik]

THANK YOU FOR ADDING N.GIN HEHEH

[@waihonglai9636]

How elusive and alluring, I wonder how to master such a voice like this?

[@steelydanlover1972]

The first thing you need to do is to affect a Viennese (Vienna) accent. Austrian accents are similar to German accents but for the fact that they tend to be more nasal, and the Viennese accent is especially nasal. You also have to speak in a sing-song type of voice.

[@huntersleepybrown2988]

never realized how much he has been in my life

[@anabelcanas9896]

In the English dub of the anime series, One Piece, the character Doc Q speaks in a Peter Lorre-like voice when he's telling Luffy that he's lucky he didn't eat an apple that would explode. That fact dawned on me after watching this video. There's also a character in the movie, Meet the Feebles, Trevor the rat, that has a Peter Lorre-like voice.

[@CorVids1031]

There was also an outtake recorded by Paul Frees for the "Ghost Host" character in Disney's Haunted Mansion ride that was a Peter Lore impression. And in the Garfield and Friends episode "The Lasagna Zone" there was a parody of a universal monster mad scientist that I think was also playing off Peter Lore. I'm finally glad to have a name to attach to this character. I didn't know he was an actual person.

[@2l84me8]

I never realized I subconsciously heard his voice everywhere and it was him all along until today.

[@rabbit0664]

Knew there were a lot but I didn't realize that there was so, so many. That's pretty interesting.

[@DatSilverWolf17]

Nitroblast from Hero Factory is a tad obscure but he's certainly another caricature of Peter Lorre.

[@rilyboothe832]

Don't forget Trevor the Rat from Peter Jackson's Meet The Feebles who speaks in Lorre like manner.

[@Cri_Jackal]

Holy fuck the Peter Jackson version of Gollum absolutely counts too, oh my god.

[@maddieb.4282]

This is so good! I don’t think I saw the bat character from Anastasia- did I miss it? That’s an excellent example I think!

[@scientistservant]

I adore Peter Lorre! I have a fan-character for the 2009 film 9, heavily inspired by Lorre that I'm wanting to draw again and redesign.

[@jameswolf133]

‘Studio 57,’ a TV anthology adapted Richard Matheson’s story ‘Shipshape Home’ in the episode ‘Young Couples Only.’ In the story, the janitor was described as looking like Peter Lorre. In the adaptation, the character was played by Peter Lorre.

[@tesloche9349]

I knew most of these characters were a references to one guy, but I never knew the name of the guy until now

[@MrStickman1997]

You shee, you nevur quite know what he's guing tu du. He's su spontaneous...

[@elsakristina2689]

Well, no wonder I thought Zombie!Genie sounded just like Ren! I completely forgot Ren was based on Peter Lorre and that it was the same with that one of Genie’s forms. And of course there’s the flan guy from “Courage the Cowardly Dog”!

[@TheMartianMancumpster]

3:40 the blue guys voice actor is Pamela Adlon, also the voice of Bobby Hill

[@Purity_of_Essence]

I think my favorite Lorre film is "M". It's considered the first movie about a serial killer. You can probably guess which character he plays.

[@Spades-of-an-Ace]

In Scooby-Doo Mystery Incorporated Theres a horror actor named Vincent Van Ghoul He kinda sounds like Peter Lorre

[@JARV18]

He is actually based on horror icon Vincent Price!

[@Beedo_Sookcool]

@@JARV18 He is actually PLAYED by Vincent Price, in "The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo."

[@Richard-od7yd]

In an old Film Noir He was in Peter lorre plays a Crime Story Novelist who gets caught up in a Crime ( Murder she Wrote ripped it off ) . During one exchange Lorre's character says " please put that gun away I'm afraid of guns " . Later when he takes the gun away from the criminal and points it at him , the criminal says " I thought you said you were afraid of guns ? " To which Lorre replies as only Lorre can " Oh but I am afraid of guns but that doesn't mean I dont know how to use them " 👑

[@danielnoll1055]

great list :D I never knew they were soooo many. I only remember a few back in the day. Hope the one from the animated series "Gravedale High" (the obscure one with Rick Moranis) makes an appearance in Part 2 :)

[@AlexMig]

I never new this kind of character was based on a real person

[@trustycrusty1773]

Peter lorre was a meme before people really thought about memes

[@Thomasm3000]

So much Peter Lorre lore

[@joeybaseball7352]

Has there ever been an actor whos been parodied as much as Peter Lorre? How many characters are based off of him? And they're still making characters based off of him, 60 years after his death. Most people living today who see his characters, know they've seen the archetype. But have no idea it was based off of a real actor who was quite popular to the public.

[@jamespuleo3269]

You left out one exceptional *live-action* example that was spot-on: In the BBC Sherlock Holmes series (starring Jeremy Brett in the 80's and 90's), their version of A.C. Doyle's "The Greek Interpreter." Not a parody of the character, a re-creation.

[@LillianGraceFullofficial]

Also another character inspired by Peter Lorre: Hamegg (also known as Viper or Hammond) from the Tezuka star system! (Seen in astro boy, kimba, black Jack, etc) Honestly I can’t unsee it now, the round face, the big eyes, his big toothy smile… And another one Dr. Frogg from League Of Super Evil, aka L.O.S.E.

[@vipermad358]

Laslo Lowenstein and his Margaret Keane eyes cast a long shadow across two centuries. 🥹🥺

[@jaketaller8567]

Honorable mention: Kamek (Super Mario Bros Movie)

[@anunaskedforopinion]

Thank you for answering a question I've had since childhood. There's also a villain based on him in an episode of Looney Tunes called, "Hair-Raising Hair."

[@JP-1990]

Meanwhile, in heaven Peter Lorre: "Cmon people thats not how I sound!" Vincent Price: "Hmm-hmm-hmmmm oh yes it is!"

[@Nic_2751]

I’m glad to see his legacy truly has lived on from the B movie era

[@Richard-od7yd]

🎼 like scene out of a Bogart movie in a land where they turn back time , she comes walking cross the floor like Peter Lorre contemplating a crime .. THE YEAR OF THE CAT AL STEWART

[@Shadownumber206]

The animated impressions are actually not based on Peter Lorre. They're based on the Looney Tunes impression of Peter Lorre. That just goes to show the legacy of Looney Tunes. Every single cartoonist/animator worshipped looney tunes growing up. And because the Peter Lorre impression was the favorite of legends like Chuck Jones, Tex Avery, etc, they used his impression a lot. And every cartoonist today, grew up watching looney tunes. And the Peter Lorre impression was so prevalent on Looney Tunes, they all emulate that. A lot of artists working today don't know Peter Lorre. But they know all the impressions of him.

[@Blackpapalink]

A few more I could think of: The Puppet from Katz Submarine from Courage the Cowardly Dog. The Puppet that Nora got rid of in My Life as a Teenage Robot. Cutman from the Ruby Rose Megaman Cartoon.

[@PhilosophersGraveWasThoughts]

This guy made a huge fucking imlact on the movie dark characters 👏

[@twistmygrinder4777]

Was not expecting Sting Ray in this video haven’t seen that since I was a kid

[@mistertwister2000]

I can’t see pajama Sam without thinking about his multiple dozens of dead clone brothers

[@MH-lg6jm]

nice compilation, think you could try a video with Boris Karloff and characters based off of him?

[@MrSserpent]

Don’t forget Cad Bane from Star Wars. His voice is based on Lorre’s)

[@Beedo_Sookcool]

When I first heard Cad Bane, I thought, "That's an amazing voice!" Then I heard him speaking via holocomm, and realised he had a heavily processed Lorre voice, and that made it EVEN COOLER. Really clinches it when you hear him say "work," as in "Time to pay up, Hutt -- I don't work for free."

[@KnapfordMaster98]

There's also, I kid you not, a talking tugboat gangster based on him. The show is called 'TUGS' and the character is Zug. Look up the episode Pirate and watch the first few minutes.

[@WaterPercy]

Zug from TUGS was based on Peter Lorre, so you should include him in Part 2.

[@juancervantes4085]

"You go strolling through the park like Peter Lorre contemplating a crime"!

[@thefinthechat923]

He's just as popular as Weird Al Yankovic in the world of animation

[@enriquemedina3631]

3:52 I knew Toht had to be on here., the reason Ronald Lacey was hired was because he reminded Spielberg of Peter Lorre.

[@raynplayz1674]

R I P peter lorre

[@HoDoBoDo]

The ones I noticed growing up was Ren from Ren & Stimpy, and The Genie doing an impression of a zombie in Aladdin.