April 1 - Lon Chaney

Happy Birthday, Lon Chaney! Born today in 1883 as Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney, this American make-up artist, stage and film actor, screenwriter and director is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema. 

He is also renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and afflicted characters, and his groundbreaking artistry with makeup. 

As an actor and filmmaker, Chaney is best known for starring in the 1925 American silent black and white (2-strip Technicolor) (some sequences) horror film 'The Phantom of the Opera'. 

The classic film was adapted from French journalist and author of detective fiction Gaston Leroux's eponymous 1909 Gothic mystery horror fiction novel. 

The film was also co-directed by Chaney (who went uncredited). 

It was also co-directed by New Zealand cinema actor, director, writer and producer Rupert Julian, American film director, writer, actor and producer Edward Sedgwick (uncredited) and German screenwriter and film director Ernst Laemmle, who also produced (uncredited).

Prior to this, Cheney was also best known for starring in other notable horror classics. 

These included the 1923 American silent black and white romantic/drama horror film 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' and pioneering Swedish film director, screenwriter, and actor Victor Sjöström's ('The Phantom Carriage') 1924 American silent black and white silent psychological thriller film 'He Who Gets Slapped'. 

Two years after 'Phantom', Chaney starred in American film actor, film director, screenwriter and vaudeville performer Tod Browning's ('Dracula', 'Freaks') 1927 American silent black and white horror film 'The Unknown'. Chaney played an outlaw on the lam, posing as circus performer Alonzo The Armless.

During the filming of 'The Unknown', Joan Crawford stated that she learned more about acting from watching Chaney work than from anyone else in her career." It was then," she said, "I became aware for the first time of the difference between standing in front of a camera, and acting."  

Later that same year, Chaney starred as Professor (or Inspector) Edward C. Burke/The Man in the Beaver Hat in Browning's 1927 American silent black and white mystery horror film 'London After Midnight'. 

Unfortunately, the last copy of the film known to exist was destroyed in the 1965 MGM vault fire, making 'London After Midnight' one of the most famous and eagerly sought after of all lost films.  

In 2002, Turner Classic Movies aired a reconstructed version, produced by American film preservationist, silent film scholar and producer-director Rick Schmidlin, who used the original script and film stills to recreate the feature's original plot. 

Chaney's son, Lon Chaney Jr., (born Creighton Tull Chaney) was an American actor known for starring in classic horror films. Most notably, this included playing two roles in the 1941 American black and white horror/monster film 'The Wolf Man'.

Chaney Sr. eventually earned the respect and admiration of numerous aspiring actors, to whom he offered mentoring assistance, and between takes on film sets he was always willing to share his professional observations with the cast and crew. 

During the shooting of the American silent black and white drama/melodrama film ‘Thunder' in the winter of 1929, Chaney developed pneumonia. 

In late 1929, he was diagnosed with bronchial lung cancer. This was exacerbated when artificial snow lodged in his throat during filming and caused a serious infection.

Despite aggressive treatment, Chaney Sr.'s health conditions gradually worsened, and he passed from a throat hemorrhage on in a Los Angeles, California hospital. This occurred on August 26, 1930. His funeral was held on August 28 in Glendale, California. Chaney was 47. 

 

Honorary pallbearers included Tod Browning, Paul Bern, Hunt Stromberg, Irving Thalberg, Louis B. Mayer, Lionel Barrymore, Wallace Beery, Lew Cody, and Ramon Novarro.  

The U.S. Marine Corps provided a chaplain and Honor Guard for his funeral. While his funeral was being conducted, all MGM studios and offices observed two minutes of silence. 

Chaney was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, next to the crypt of his father. His wife Hazel was interred there upon her death in 1933. In accordance with his will, Chaney's crypt has remained unmarked. 

Also known as The Man of a Thousand Faces, Chaney had been active from 1902–1930. 

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