Born April 1, 1883, in Colorado Springs, CO
Died August 26, 1930, in Los Angeles, CA

Lon Chaneyoriginal name ALONSO CHANEY American film actor called the "Man of a Thousand Faces," whose macabre characterizations are classics of the silent screen.

Born of deaf-mute parents, Chaney learned pantomime as a boy. He became a prop man, transportation agent, producer, and actor in his brother's traveling show. Beginning in films as an extra and bit player, he had an important supporting role in Hell Morgan's Girl (1917). Two years later his role in The Miracle Man (1919) made him a star. During the next 10 years Chaney earned a reputation as the finest character actor in films. Often working with the director Tod Browning, he played such memorable characters as the legless ruler of the underworld in The Penalty (1920); Quasimodo the hunchback in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923); the acid-scarred musician who haunted the subterranean passages of the Paris Opéra in The Phantom of the Opera (1925); and the dual role of police inspector and vampire in London After Midnight (1927). Chaney was also acclaimed for straight performances in Tell It to the Marines (1927), While the City Sleeps (1928), and Thunder (1929).

Ironically, Chaney wasn't considered a horror actor since his roles ran a broad gamut. Among his noteworthy roles, he played a legless criminal in The Penalty (Eminent Authors Pictures, Inc., for Goldwyn, 1920); the quintessential "Fagin" in Oliver Twist (Jackie Coogan Productions, for Associated First National, 1922); a sympathetic Chinese outcast in Shadows (Preferred Pictures, 1922); the wretched and lovelorn hunchback "Quasimodo" in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Universal/Super Jewel, 1923); a tormented clown in HE Who Gets Slapped (M-G-M, 1924); multiple roles, including an old lady, in the crime drama The Unholy Three (M-G-M, 1925); a hideously deformed sociopath in The Phantom of the Opera (Universal/Jewel, 1925); and an armless knife thrower in The Unknown (M-G-M, 1927). He was an expert at playing ethnic parts, and it is interesting to note that he never played a role in blackface in any film.

Indeed, it is Chaney's artistic power of transformation via makeup skills and his roles in the horror genre to which his most ardent fans are drawn. However, Chaney in a straight role (without makeup) was simply astounding. At the peak of his glorious career, Lon scrubbed his "map" for Tell It to the Marines (M-G-M, 1926). He played the tough Marine Sergeant O'Hara with a fully realized personality. His role influenced the characterization of the "tough sarge with a heart of gold" in many decades of service films to come. The elaborate makeup required by many of his other roles was so effective that many times it seemed the mask overshadowed his acting prowess. Stripped of this veneer in Marines, this arresting actor emerges naked and true. What also becomes apparent is that Chaney had a sex appeal. If Sergeant O'Hara didn't get the girl, it was because he was ultimately married to the Marine Corps. As handsome, boyish and engaging as William Haines is in Marines, it is Chaney's artistic expression and full immersion into this admirable character that puts him over as a sexy matinee idol worthy of both "getting the girl" and the devotion of female fans everywhere. It is a fact that women regularly wrote to the contemporary fan magazines of his sex appeal, attractiveness and warmth, complaining "it would be nice to see Lon Chaney end up with the girl just once!"

Chaney had immense talent and the good fortune to work with the premier directors of the day, even early in his film career. Allan Dwan, Clarence Brown, Maurice Tourneur, Frank Lloyd, Sam Wood, Victor Seastrom, George Hill and Jack Conway were part of a stellar roster that turned out exquisitely horrific features with Chaney. Chaney has the distinction of starring in the first M-G-M studio production in 1924 - HE Who Gets Slapped (directed by Seastrom). The director most associated with him, though, and the one to fully realize Chaney's prowess in front of the camera was the director/horrormeister Tod Browning. (Browning has a fanatical following in his own right!) The two made many impressive films together: The Wicked Darling (Universal, 1919); Outside the Law (Universal, 1921); The Unholy Three - a big favorite among Chaney devotees; The Blackbird (M-G-M, 1926); The Road to Mandalay (M-G-M, 1926); The Unknown; London After Midnight (M-G-M, 1927) - a much lamented lost film; West of Zanzibar (M-G-M, 1928; and Where East is East (M-G-M, 1929).

Along with London After Midnight, many of Chaney's films (from all periods of his career) are regrettably lost. Even among his late silents there are holy grails that could still turn up somewhere in the world. As for the films that do survive, especially his M-G-M work, many languish in the vaults and remain unrestore, unscored, unaired or unreleased on video. This is surprising, given Chaney's emmense popularity. Lon Chaney was the king of the mount in Hollywood, and would have risen to higher gargoyles if he had not succumbed to bronchial cancer in 1930 by the age of 47. He had just completed his first [and only] talkie, a remake of The Unholy Three (M-G-M, 1930). The versatile Chaney added another dimension to his chameleon-like talents. He portrayed five different characters, including an old lady - each with a distinctive voice.

Had Chaney lived, he would have starred, and was indeed slated for the role, in the first sound version of Dracula (Universal, 1931), directed by Tod Browning. That film ultimately starred Bela Lugosi. Lugosi, interestingly enough, was not the first choice for the role, despite the fact that he had starred in the stage version (and had experience in silent films). With no disrespect to Lugosi fans, one can only imagine the excitement of Chaney's interpretation. Who knows? Maybe "The Man of a Thousand Faces" could have added a thousand voices that would have smoldered in our imaginations for all time.

His son, Lon Chaney, Jr. (1907-73), originally named Creighton Chaney, also appeared in horror films, chiefly as a werewolf.