Lon Chaney Jr.

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Creighton Tull Chaney (February 10, 1906 – July 12, 1973), a American actor best known for his appearance in the film The Wolf Man (1941) and its various sequels, Count Alucard (Dracula spelled backward), and several other roles in numerous Universal horror films.

He starred Lennie Small in Of Mice and Men (1939) and in hundreds of mainstream movies.

He was first introduced in films as Creighton Chaney, Jr. in 1935, and after Man Made Monster (1941), he was almost always billed under his more famous father's name, Lon Chaney.

Chaney's ancestry was mixed with English, French, and Irish, and his film and television careers spanned four decades, from 1931 to 1971.

Early life

Creighton Tull Chaney was born in Oklahoma City on February 10, 1906, the son of then-stage performer Lon Chaney and Frances Cleveland Creighton, a singing stage performer who appeared in road shows around the country with Chaney. Following his mother's controversial public suicide attempt in Los Angeles, his parents' difficult union ended in divorce in 1913. Young Creighton lived in various homes and boarding schools until 1916, when his father (now working in film) married Hazel Hastings and could provide a stable home.

He worked hard to avoid his famous father's shadow from an early age. His father discouraged him from doing show business as a youth, and he attended business college and became a success in a Los Angeles appliance company. Dorothy Hinckley, the daughter of his boss Ralph Hinckley, married Creighton, who had been working for a plumbing firm. They had two sons: Lon Ralph Chaney and Ronald Creighton Chaney.

Creighton's life changed when his father was diagnosed with throat cancer and died on August 26, 1930, at the age of 47. Several studies and biographies over the years have claimed that Creighton was led to believe his mother died when he was a child, and he only learned she was still alive following his father's burial. Creighton has always believed he had a rough childhood.

Personal life

Chaney has been married twice before being remarried twice. Dorothy, his first wife, divorced him in 1936 for overindulging and being "sullen." In 1937, he married Patsy Beck. He had two sons by his first marriage, Lon Ralph Chaney (July 3, 1928-1992) and Ronald Creighton Chaney (December 18, 1930 – December 15, 1987).

Chaney was adored by several coworkers, but "sweet" is the term that most commonly comes from those who communicated with and loved him; despite this, he was also prone to extreme dislikes. For example, Evelyn Ankers, a frequent co-star, and he did not get along at all. He was also known to befriend younger actors and stand up for older ones who were deemed outcast by the studios. William Farnum, a major silent actor who appeared in The Mummy's Curse, was one of many examples. Farnum should be given his own chair on the set and be treated with kindness, according to co-star Peter Coe, or else he'd walk away from the picture.

Chaney had run-ins with actor Frank Reicher (who nearly strangled on camera in The Mummy's Ghost) and director Robert Siodmak (over whose head Chaney broke a vase). Chaney and his drinking buddy Broderick Crawford were nicknamed "the monsters" on the Universal Pictures lot in 1980, according to actor Robert Stack, who reacted with boozey behavior that resulted in bloodshed.

A Golden Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars Award in 1999 was dedicated to him.

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Career

Chaney came to appear in films after his father's death, but only after that. He started with an uncredited bit role in the series The Galloping Ghost (1931) and signed a deal with RKO that gave him small roles in a number of films, including Girl Crazy (1932), Bird of Paradise (1932), and The Most Dangerous Game (1932).

In a serial called The Last Frontier (1932), RKO gave him the leading role. In Lucky Devils (1933), Son of the Border (1933), Scarlet River (1933), Vergie Winters (1934), he had more film roles. In a serial called The Three Musketeers (1933), which was later re-edited into a film entitled Desert Command (1946), John Wayne was bolstered by Mascot Pictures.

Chaney later wrote, "I did every possible bit in pictures." "To live, you must do stuntwork." I bulldogged steers, fell off and was knocked off cliffs, rode horses off the precipices into rivers, and drove prairie schooners up and down hills.

He was leading Sixteen Fathoms Deep (1934), as well as a memorable part in which his character performs in Girl o' My Dreams (1934) at Monogram. Creighton Chaney's last film for Screencraft Productions was The Marriage Bargain (1935). He was billed as Lon Chaney, Jr. until 1942, when he was almost billed, at the request of Universal Studios with his legendary father's name, but others added the word "Jr."

In a Scream in the Night (1935) made for Commodore Pictures, a crime drama, he was the lead. Hold 'Em Yale (1935), Accent on Youth (1935), and Rose Bowl (1936) — all played small roles in He appeared on televisions. The Shadow of Silk Lennox (1935), a small business run by Ray Kirkwood Productions, gave him a tour.

He appeared in The Singing Cowboy (1936) and The Old Corral (1937) at the Republic. He was a henchman in a Republic serial, undersea's (1936). Ace Drummond (1937), Universal's Ace Drummond (1937), and he was uncredited in Columbia's Killer at Large (1936). He lent his name to a cafe that was embroiled in a liquor fiasco.

Chaney Jr. was the main villain in a Tom Tyler B Western, Cheyenne Rides Again (1937) and appeared in a comic book, Secret Agent X-9 (1937).

Chaney Jr. joined 20th Century Fox (1937) with Tyrone Power, Wild and Woolly (1937), This Is My Affair (1937) with Walter Wyck (1938) with Ethel Merman, Wife, Doctor, and Mary (1937), With Bill Davis (1938), One Mile From Heaven (1938) with Larry Hay, That I May Live (1937) with Eric Carter (1937) with George Mitchell (1938) and Walter Denny (1938) with George Mason (1937) with Don Ame (1938) with Robert, The Girl in's (1937) with Brian, With Robert Young (1937) with George (1937) with Robert -I Is (1937) with Robert Young (1937) with Kevin (1937) with Tony (1938) With Robert Young (1937) with Pauline (1937) with David (1937) with Albert (1938) with Margaret, With Element (1938) with John Fore (1937) with Michael (1937) with Ernest, Joseph (1938) with Walter Young (1938) with Mary (1938) with John Carpenter (1938) with Howard (1938) with Jeanette (1938) with Larry Young (1938) with Robert Young (1938) with Barbara Young (1938) with David (1937) with Tony (1938) with Ernest Hend, Robert Young (1937) with Walter Garnet (1938) with Gordon (1937) with Economy, 1939) with Eh (1937) with Patrick (1937) with Stephen Young (1937) with Kevin (1937) with Walter, (1938) with Kevin (1937) with Brian Fiat The First, Fier (1938) with Robert Young (1937) With George Young (1938) with Robert Young, 1935) with Figuer, Fiat Ses Fia (1938) with Gary Young, Fia Fiat, Figuer, Fia (1938) with Robert Young (1937) with Fiat, Fia (1938) with Fier (1937) with Fiat Fiat Fian Fiat Fia Fiat Fi Fia Fiat Fia (1938) with Fi Fian Fiat Fia Fiat Fiat Fi Fi Fiat Fi Fia Fia Fiati Fi Figuer Fiat Fi Fi Fi Fiati Fia Fiati Fi Fiat Fia Fiat Figuy, Fi Fiat Fi Fian Fiati Fiati Fi Fia Fi Fiat Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi Fi When filming a bank robbery scene in Jesse James (1939), he was almost killed by a train. Henry Hull, the star of Werewolf of London (1935), was also featured in a supporting role.

Charlie Chan in City in Darkness (1939) with Lynn Bari and Frontier Marshal (1939) with Randolph Scott and Nancy Kelly, Jr.

Chaney Jr.'s first stage appearance was as Lennie Small in a Wallace Ford production of Of Mice and Men. He was cast in the film Of Mice and Men (1939), which was produced by Hal Roach Studios. Chaney Jr.'s first big role in a film was in the film, and it was a critical success for him. Chaney underwent a screen test for the role of Quasimodo in the remake of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939), a role in which his father appeared in 1923, but Charles Laughton assumed the lead.

Hal Roach appeared in his third-billed character role in One Million B.C. (1940) Chaney, Victor Mature's caveman father, began to be portrayed as a hero in the style of his father. He had planned a swarthy, ape-like Neanderthal make-up for the film, but his involvement and union restrictions prevented him from emulating his father in this manner. Cecil B. DeMille played in a supporting role in North West Mounted Police (1940) and MGM used him in Billy the Kid (1941) with Robert Taylor as Billy and Brian Donlevy as Pat Garrett. Chaney Jr. was contemplating filming a sequel to his father's hit He Who Gets Slapped, but the studio decided not to make it.

In Man-Made Monster (1941), a science-fiction horror story written with Boris Karloff in mind, Universal Pictures gave Chaney Jr the lead. Chaney's first horror film was a hit, and they were able to guarantee him a long-term deal.

Universal kept him in supporting roles for a while: Too Many Blondes (1941), a musical San Antonio Rose (1941) starring Noah Beery Jr., the Western Badlands of Dakota (1941), and the "Northern" (1942) with Broderick Crawford.

Chaney Jr. was given the title role in Universal's The Wolf Man (1941), a role that, much like Karloff's Frankenstein monster, has largely cast Chaney as a horror film actor for the remainder of his life. Universal dropped the "Jr." and billed him as "Lon Chaney" going forward in that studio, apparently to inflame confusion with his father's among viewers.

Chaney Jr. played Frankenstein's monster in The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), the first B-movie of the series, when Boris Karloff did not return; Bela Lugosi returned in his role as Ygor and the leading lady was Evelyn Ankers. He appeared in a crime film Eyes of the Underworld (1942) and the wartime shorts Keeping Fit (1942) and What We Are Fighting For (1943).

In The Mummy's Tomb (1942), Chaney Jr. was a hit. He appeared in a Western Frontier Badmen (1943), then reprised his role as the Wolf Man in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) with Bela Lugosi as Frankenstein's monster. The Monster's original script was shot without the Monster being blind, but Lugosi's distinct "Ygor" voice was used, but the studio deleted all references to either, leaving viewers in a numberless mood, not to mention that he had lost the ability to speak after Ghost of Frankenstein, destroying Lugosi's image.

In Son of Dracula (1943), Chaney Jr. was given the role of Dracula; the film was actually about Dracula himself; Chaney Jr. had no son in the film. This made him Universal's only actor to perform all four of Universal's major horror characters: the Wolf Man, Frankenstein's frog, the Mummy, and Count Dracula.

He was given the lead in Calling Dr. Death (1943), based on the Inner Sanctum mysteries, after a cameo in Crazy House (1943). Chaney appeared in a new series, the first of which was Weird Woman (1944).

He made his second mummy film, The Mummy's Ghost (1944), and appeared in Cobra Woman (1944), starring Maria Montez and Ghost Catcher (1944), starring the comedy team Olsen and Johnson.

Dead Man's Eyes (1944) was the third Inner Sanctum, after which he returned as the Wolf Man in House of Frankenstein (1944). Chaney's third and final appearance as Kharis at Mummy's Curse (1944) was a highlight of his life as Kharis.

He appeared in the Abbott and Costello comedy He's been an antagonist (1945), before he made more Inner Sanctums (1945) with Evelyn Ankers and Strange Confession (1945) with Brenda Joyce. In House of Dracula (1945), one of the last of the Universal horror cycle, he returned as the Wolf Man. Pillow of Death (1945) was the last Inner Sanctum Pillow. The Daltons Ride Again (1945) was a Western with Noah Beery Jr. in a supporting role.

Despite being stereotyped as the Wolf Man, the 6-foot 2-inch, 220-pound actor managed to carve out a secondary market as a supporting actor and villain.

He appeared in a Bob Hope comedy (1947), supported Randolph Scott in Albuquerque (1948), and appeared as a villain in 16 Fathoms Deep (1948), a reimagination of his 1934 film.

In Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), he reprised his Wolf Man role to good effect, but it didn't bring him any good news about his future. Chaney was hospitalized in April 1948 after taking an overdose of sleeping pills. In a Los Angeles theatre production of Born Yesterday in 1949, Harry Brock revived and appeared Harry Brock.

Chaney spent his days as a support team: Captain China (1950), Once a Sufferer (1951), The Gorilla (1951), Only the Vivid (1951), Behave Yourself (Becauchard) (1951) Flame of Araby (1952), The Bushwackers (1952), The Black Eagle (1952), The Black Cow (1954), The Black Star (1955), The Black Sea (1954), The Big House in the United States (1955), The Bushwackers (1952) (a return to horror), The Black Knight (1952) (in the title role); The Black Panther (1954), The Black Panther (1952), The Old Soldier (1955) (in the 1950s).

He was a leader in Indestructible Man (1956), and afterward, he was back to help support parts: Manfish (1956); The Cyclops (1957); and The Alligator People (1959).

Chaney grew to be a favorite of producer Stanley Kramer (1952) (starring Gary Cooper), Not as a Stranger (1954)—a hospital melodrama starring Robert Mitchum and Frank Sinatra) and The Defiant Ones (1958, starring Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier), as a designer. When a script came in for a role too difficult for most actors in Hollywood, Kramer told the world that he called Chaney.

Since Universal released its back catalog of horror films to television in 1957 (Shock Theater) and Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine regularly focuses on his films, he became extremely popular with baby boomers.

Chaney went to Toronto, Canada, to costar in the first American-Canadian television production as Chingachgook in Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans, both written by James Fenimore Cooper in 1957. After 39 episodes, the series came to an end. Man of a Thousand Faces (1957), Universal's film biography of his father, Man of a Thousand Faces (1957), included a semi-fictionalized version of Creighton's life from his birth to his father's death. As a young adult, Roger Smith was depicted as Creighton.

He appeared in "The Black Marshal from Deadwood" (1958), and he appeared in numerous western films, including Rawhide. He appeared on the 13-episode television anthology film 13 Demon Street in 1959, which was also produced by Curt Siodmak.

Chaney specialized in horror films in the 1960s, including House of Terror (1960) and The Haunted Palace (1963), the last of those for Roger Corman.

Dale Robertson, Face of the Screaming Werewolf (1964), Thunder Rock (1964), and Stage to Thunder Rock (1964) were among his constituents in a Western Law of the Dead (1963).

He appeared in Jack Hill's Spider Baby, but it wasn't announced until 1968 and would not reach notoriety until after Chaney's death. It was back to Westerns (1965), Young Spurs (1965), Johnny Reno (1966), Welcome to Hard Times (1967) and Buckskin (1968). In addition, horrors such as Dr. Terror's Gallery of Horrors (1967) and Hillbillys in a Haunted House (1967) existed.

During this decade, his bread-and-butter work included television, where he appeared on everything from Wagon Train to The Monkees, as well as in a series of supporting roles in A. C. Lyles' low-budget Westerns. Chaney's 1962 debut on Quasimodo as a simulated version of his father's make-up, as well as a return to his appearances of the Mummy and the Wolf Man on the television show Route 66 with colleagues Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre.

After decades of heavy drinking and smoking, he suffered from throat cancer and chronic heart disease, among other conditions. Groton, Dr. Frankenstein's mute henchman, appeared in his final horror film, Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971), directed by Al Adamson. In the spring of 1969, he shot his first film role and then for Adamson in 1969's The Female Bunch. Chaney had lines in The Female Bunch, but his hoarse, raspy voice was unrecognizable. He moved from acting to writing A Century of Chaneys, a book about the Chaney family's legacy, which has never been published in any form until now. Ron Chaney Jr., his grandson, was assisting in the completion of the scheme.

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