Born on this day, February 10, 1906.....
....the Son of "The Man of 1000 Faces" in Oklahoma City, Ok.
Creighton Tull Chaney, aka Lon Chaney Jr/Lon Chaney.
Creighton Tull Chaney wanted to be an actor, against the wishes of his father.
After several years of films in small roles, with no success, he was told to take the stage name of Lon Chaney Jr. The name recognition would be a boost to his career, and so he did.
Acclaim was slow, but his role as Lennie Small opposite Burgess Meredith's George Milton, in 1939 Of Mice and Men was a huge success.
Universal studios signed him to a contract and cast him as Dan 'The Electrical Man' McCormick in their 1940 sci-fi film Man Made Monster. The film was as a hit and what was to follow, changed his career, and his life.
The role was Lawrence Talbot. The film was 1941 The Wolf Man, but something was different. As audiences watched the cast credits roll as the film began, the final name on the screen is: "And Lon Chaney as The Wolf Man."
Released just days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, it became the highest grossing film of the year for the studio.
Universal made the decision to drop the Jr from his name. From this point forward, he was known as Lon Chaney. Now, young Creighton was not only employed by the studio where his famous Father created two of his most famous characters, the Hunchback of Notre Dame and the Phantom of the Opera, he now carried his name! This was a huge burden to carry, and it weighed heavily on him. How would he ever be able to live up to that? His own self doubt led to his heavy drinking...and a Jekyll/Hyde personality.
He could be a kind and gentle man, but also become angry and mean spirited.
The success of The Wolf Man raised his profile and the Universal publicity department went all in, as Lon was deemed "The Master Character Creator." Was this some cruel joke? Was this done to compare the Son to his Dad, "The Man of 1000 Faces?" It was another weight added to his shoulders to bear.
Lon was run through the gamut: The Frankenstein monster, the Son of Dracula, and Kharis the Mummy (3 times)...and of course, The Wolf Man in 4 other films, 5 if you count the appearance on the television show Route 66. In addition he was cast as the star of The Inner Sanctum film series, 6 psychological/mystery entries based ever so thinly on the radio program.
Chaney had a lengthy career both in films and a number of television shows.
Outside of the horror genre, he acted in many westerns. One of his best was in High Noon.
Today would have been his 120th birthday.
Creighton Tull Chaney, aka Lon Chaney Jr/Lon Chaney.
Creighton Tull Chaney wanted to be an actor, against the wishes of his father.
After several years of films in small roles, with no success, he was told to take the stage name of Lon Chaney Jr. The name recognition would be a boost to his career, and so he did.
Acclaim was slow, but his role as Lennie Small opposite Burgess Meredith's George Milton, in 1939 Of Mice and Men was a huge success.
Universal studios signed him to a contract and cast him as Dan 'The Electrical Man' McCormick in their 1940 sci-fi film Man Made Monster. The film was as a hit and what was to follow, changed his career, and his life.
The role was Lawrence Talbot. The film was 1941 The Wolf Man, but something was different. As audiences watched the cast credits roll as the film began, the final name on the screen is: "And Lon Chaney as The Wolf Man."
Released just days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, it became the highest grossing film of the year for the studio.
Universal made the decision to drop the Jr from his name. From this point forward, he was known as Lon Chaney. Now, young Creighton was not only employed by the studio where his famous Father created two of his most famous characters, the Hunchback of Notre Dame and the Phantom of the Opera, he now carried his name! This was a huge burden to carry, and it weighed heavily on him. How would he ever be able to live up to that? His own self doubt led to his heavy drinking...and a Jekyll/Hyde personality.
He could be a kind and gentle man, but also become angry and mean spirited.
The success of The Wolf Man raised his profile and the Universal publicity department went all in, as Lon was deemed "The Master Character Creator." Was this some cruel joke? Was this done to compare the Son to his Dad, "The Man of 1000 Faces?" It was another weight added to his shoulders to bear.
Lon was run through the gamut: The Frankenstein monster, the Son of Dracula, and Kharis the Mummy (3 times)...and of course, The Wolf Man in 4 other films, 5 if you count the appearance on the television show Route 66. In addition he was cast as the star of The Inner Sanctum film series, 6 psychological/mystery entries based ever so thinly on the radio program.
Chaney had a lengthy career both in films and a number of television shows.
Outside of the horror genre, he acted in many westerns. One of his best was in High Noon.
Today would have been his 120th birthday.
