Lon Chaney Sr.
The Man of a Thousand Facets

Oh, sorry. That's the Man of a Thousand Faces.

Or maybe we weren't so far off after all. There were many facets of Lon's career that made him one of the most famous actors of the silent film era.

One of the facets left unanswered, though, was how Lon would have fared in the new era of sound. Out of over 150 movies, Lon made only a single "talkie". That was his last movie, released in 1930.

True, there were some silent films produced on into the mid-1930's, but for all practical purposes the silent era was over by 1929. And when old films started showing up on television, only a few silent pictures - such as those with Charlie Chaplin - were regularly viewed by modern audiences.

Then how was it possible that millions of kids throughout the mid-20th century and who had never seen any of Lon's movies saw him as the iconicest of horror movie icons?

Well, the fame of the Man of a Thousand Faces got a shot in the arm in 1957 with the release of the film called (what else?) The Man of a Thousand Faces. This was what is now called a "biopic". That is, it's a film loosely based on the life of a celebrity (sometimes very loosely based). Jimmy Cagney, mostly famous for his gangster roles, played Lon.

But what really pushed Lon into the consciousness of the post-WWII generation was when the first issue of Famous Monsters of Filmland hit the stands. That was in 1958. The editor, Forest J. Ackerman, was a big Lon Chaney fan, and he began running articles that promoted Lon as the quintessential horror actor. By the 1960's there was scarcely a kid who didn't know who Lon Chaney was. Even today you'll see pictures of Lon's most famous characters blazoned across many a t-shirt.

But Lon Chaney was and remains something of a mystery man. You can find his real name listed variously as Alonzo or Leonidas or even Alonzo Leonidas. But all sources agree he was born on April 1, 1883 in Colorado Springs.

Lon dropped out of school early (the fourth grade is the usual story) largely we hear because his mother had developed serious arthritis and needed constant care. Lon's upbringing was unusual in another aspect as well. Both parents were deaf and mute. It was his need to communicate by gesture and facial expressions that are usually credited with his developing his ability to assume varied character expressions and gestures.

Lon's dad worked as a barber, and as a kid Lon learned carpet laying and wall-paper hanging. He also worked part time as a guide for tours to Pike's Peak - by no means a bad job for a young man. Then at age 12, Lon found employment as a stagehand at a theater where his older brother, John, was part of the crew.

In the late 19th century performing arts were very much part of daily life. With no television, movies, or Internet, live performances and sporting events were the only real passive entertainments (other than reading). Also if you wanted to hear music of any quality it had to be live music. Every town had at least one theater and many had their own production companies. In 1901, John formed such a "stock" company and began to tour. Lon went with him.

Theater work was not easy then (and it isn't easy now). The accommodations were often minimal, and the theaters were cold, drafty, and only the most luxurious provided the actors with dressing rooms. But Lon seemed to like the life.

When playing in Oklahoma City in 1905, the company hired a new actress. This was Francis Creighton who everyone called "Cleva" (the "i" in her name, "Francis", is apparently correct not a misprint). She was only 15 years old at the time and - amazingly and apparently with parental approval - she and Lon were soon married (some stories say it was only three days after they met). In 1906, a son, Creighton Tull Chaney, was born also in Oklahoma City.

Lon and John eventually found work in Los Angeles at the Olympic Theater. The hours were long (seven days a week and seven shows a day), but at least this was Los Angeles. Even then LA was an actor friendly town.

In the meantime Cleva's career had taken off and she had established herself as a popular singer. This may have caused some sour grapes with Lon who was still pretty much a small time player. He began to insist Cleva focus on being a mother to their son and less a singer. This led to fractious scenes and shouting matches and at one point Cleva stormed into a theater where Lon was working and swallowed poison.

Of course, Cleva was rushed to a hospital. But as soon as Lon learned she would survive, he had nothing more to do with her. Their marriage officially ended in 1913 or 1914 (the year varies with the source), and Lon assumed custody of Creighton

As for Cleva, her career was over. The poison had irreparably damaged her voice. She later remarried and lived until 1967. Lon himself later married a young lady named Helen Hastings.

Lon found raising a son on his own wasn't easy. Realizing it would be best if he found employment requiring less travel, Lon decided to try for something in the fledgling film industry. Most films where shot on a sound stage and in back lots, and even location scenes were often filmed in the area. So working for a film studio would reduce (but not entirely eliminate) his time away from home.

Exactly how Lon broke into the film industry isn't clear. He said he simply read that Hollywood was paying five dollars a day for men who could ride horses. At the time Lon's horsemanship was rudimentary, but evidently it was good enough. He got the job and in 1910 we find him working for Universal Studios.

Lon appeared in all kinds of films. His first picture may have been The Honor of the Family in 1912. Unfortunately, there's doubt the actor was really Lon, and since the film is now lost we can't tell now anyway. A more definite "first" film was "The Ways of Fate" in 1913. But in any case we know Lon's film career lasted from (about) 1910 to (definitely) 1930.

From then on out Lon had steady work and five dollars a day was a quite good wage. Despite his rugged - even craggy - features, Lon's face was unusually mobile, and was well suited for the exaggeration of gesture and expression needed in silent films.

But best of all, Lon showed a deft hand with make-up. At that time there were no make-up departments per se and the actors had to handle any required facial rearrangements themselves. Most got along simply by slapping on the odd mustache or beard (the men, of course), although the false beard or mustache often looked exactly like a false beard or mustache.

Lon, though, spent hours working out how to change his appearance to fit the roles. He didn't limit his study just to the rudimentary features. Sometimes he spent days studying the real-life counterparts of the characters he was to play to pin down their real look. Soon Lon acquired the reputation as a make-up wizard.

His skill as an make-up artist and actor bore fruit. In 1915 alone Lon was in over 30 films and up through 1918 he had parts in 35 more. Then in 1919 he played in The Wicked Darling directed by Tod Browning. Tod, as all movie buffs know, would later direct Bela Lugosi in Dracula. Tod and Lon would collaborate in a number of pioneering films, but it was in a 1919 non-Browning film that Lon caught his big break. This was The Miracle Man where he played one of a group of con-men.

By 1920 Lon was one of the leading actors in Hollywood, and in 1923 with the release of The Hunchback of Notre Dame he became a legend in his own time. Before then Lon's ability as a make-up artist was certainly appreciated by the film producers and the audiences. But in The Hunchback of Notre Dame Lon produced such a grotesque and yet sympathetic character that he was suddenly the Man of a Thousand Faces.

By the mid-1920's Lon could name his own price. If a producer balked at Lon's stipulation of, say, $1500 a week, but then couldn't find anyone else, he might call on Lon again. He would then learn the fee had upped to $2000. If the producer then again looked elsewhere but failed to fill the role, he might later called on Lon again only to learn that with each contact, Lon increased his fee by $500. Eventually everyone learned that it was best to pay Lon what he asked for in the first place.

In 1925 Lon starred in his most famous film, The Phantom of the Opera. As happened with so many old pictures, the digital age led to its revival. You can bet that more people saw the Phantom after 1990 than in the years right after it's release. The film is now available in a number of editions, and a Humble CooperToons Opinion is the 1925 black and white version when restored for clarity and sharpness is the best.

Lon's make up avoided prosthetics and rubber masks which reduced expression and facial mobility. Most of the face you see in the movies is actually Lon's but altered and distorted. He never did divulge his exact techniques, so if you read how he created the face for, say, the Phantom of the Opera, it's largely speculation. It may be informed speculation, it may even be correct speculation, but it's speculation none the less.

After The Jazz Singer was released in 1927, the rapid demise of silent pictures caught everyone by surprise. In two years, they were truly a thing of the past. Lon himself went "talkie" in 1930 with a remake of The Unholy Three. There Lon played a ventriloquist and to the surprise of many, he had an excellent speaking voice. Of course it's easy to forget that Lon, like many silent film actors, had years of stage experience. In the movie he supplied three other voices - including that of an old women (actually it was Lon's character in disguise). The performance was well-received and people anticipated the Man of a Thousand Faces would end up as the Man of a Thousand Voices. But suddenly, unexpectedly, and hardly a month after the film's release, Lon died.

The news of Lon's death made front page news across the world. But with only a single talkie to his credit, we wonder what stopped Lon from being forgotten by all except silent film buffs.

Well, it didn't hurt that Creighton did indeed go into acting. He also began his career early enough that he adopted his dad's name professionally. As Lon, Jr., was well aware, this was no little boost to his own career. But as Lon, Jr., became quite successful - in fact he was one of the most successful actors of the 20th century - his appearances kept his dad's name alive and preserved Lon, Sr.'s, legacy as one of the pioneers of horror film.

As to what caused Lon, Sr.'s, death on August 26, 1930 at age 47, well, you can take your pick. An obituary written the day after he died said the cause was lobar pneumonia from anemia. Another story printed the same day said it as a lung hemorrhage. Still another telling is it was a throat hemorrhage.

Most modern references, though, cite cancer, either throat or lung. Of course, none of these causes are necessarily mutually exclusive. But it's unlikely, as yet another source indicated, that the ultimate cause was from throat irritation because Lon performed as the ventriloquist in The Unholy Three. Possibly it was the then ubiquitous habit of smoking - and there are photographs of Lon taking a puff - that was the ultimate cause.

Lon was buried, as are so many of Hollywood's celebrities, at Forest Lawn Memorial Park. He's in the Great Mausoleum, Sanctuary of Meditation, Niche C-6407. And the story that his grave is unmarked - as photographs show - is apparently true.

References

Faces, Forms, Films: The Artistry of Lon Chaney, Robert Anderson, A. S. Barnes and Company, 1971

"The Man of a Thousand Memories", Dick Hyland, New Movie Magazine, November, 1930 pp. 45, 90, 104. Issues appear on the Internet Archive.

"Lon Chaney: Actor, Film Actor (1883 - 1930)", Biography.com.

"Lon Chaney: The Man of a Thousand Faces", American Masters, Public Broadcasting System, October, 2002.

"Man Of A Thousand Faces: A Skullduggery Spotlight On Lon Chaney, Sr. (1883 - 1930)", Skullduggery. A nice web biography of Lon.

Lon Chaney, Jr.: Of Mice and Werewolves", Lloyd's Beware of the Blog, A good webstite that discusses the life of Lon Chaney, Jr. and how the film the Man with a Thousand Faces compared with what we really know. Naturally there's quite a lot about Lon, Sr. as well.

"Man of Thousand Faces Takes But One to Grave", Los Angeles Times, August 27, 1930.

"Lon Chaney Dies: Wife at Bedside", The World, New York, August 27, 1930.

"Lon Chaney", Internet Movie Data Base.

Lon Chaney, Jr.: Horror Film Star, 1906 - 1973, Don Smith, McFarland, 1996.

"On the Screen", Dan Thomas, Battle Creek Enquirer, p. 19, February 27, 1935.

"Lon Chaney", Find A Grave, 2001.

"Francis Cleveland 'Cleva' Creighton Bush", Find A Grave, 2012.

"The Best Movies of 1957", Ranker Film.

"Secrets from Lon Chaney's Oklahoma Odyssey", Sam Henderson, Daily Oklahoman, November 14, 1982, Archived at NewsOK.

"Oklahoma's Wolf Man: Lon Chaney Jr.'s State Roots To Be Explored in Book", Jimmie Tramel, Tulsa World, Oct 30, 2016.