Lon Chaney

If you know more information about Lon Chaney help us to improve this page

Birthday:

1 April 1883, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA

Birth Name:

Leonidas Frank Chaney

Height:

170 cm

Although his parents were deaf-mutes, Leonidas Chaney became an actor and also owner of a theatre company (together with his brother John). He made his debut at the movies in 1912, and his filmography is vast. Lon Chaney was especially famous for his horror parts in movies like e.g. Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923). Due to his special make-up effects he carried the characterization to be "the man with the thousand faces." He only filmed one movie with sound: The remake of one of his earlier films The Unholy Three (1930). His son, Lon Chaney Jr., became a famous actor of the horror genre. Show less «

Between pictures, there is no Lon Chaney.

My whole career has been devoted to keeping people from knowing me.

When a makeup is as painful as that which I wore as Blizzard in The Penalty (1920), when I had my legs strapped up and couldn't bear it that...Show more »

When a makeup is as painful as that which I wore as Blizzard in The Penalty (1920), when I had my legs strapped up and couldn't bear it that way more than 20 minutes at a time - when I have to be a cripple, as in The Miracle Man (1919) or have to keep a certain attitude of body, as I did in Shadows (1922), it sometimes takes a good deal of imagination to forget your physical sufferings. Yet, at that, the subconscious mind has a marvelous way of making you keep the right attitudes and make the right gestures when you are actually acting. Show less «

I wanted to remind people that the lowest types of humanity may have within them the capacity for supreme self-sacrifice. The dwarfed, missh...Show more »

I wanted to remind people that the lowest types of humanity may have within them the capacity for supreme self-sacrifice. The dwarfed, misshapen beggar of the streets may have the noblest ideals. Most of my roles since The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), such as The Phantom of the Opera (1925), He Who Gets Slapped (1924), The Unholy Three (1925), etc., have carried the theme of self-sacrifice or renunciation. These are the stories which I wish to do. Show less «

There's nothing funny about a clown in the moonlight.

The parts I play point out a moral. They show individuals who might have been different, if they had been given a different chance.

I hope I shall never be accused of striving merely for horrible effects.

[advice to Boris Karloff] Find something no one else can or will do. The secret of success in movies lies in being different from anyone els...Show more »

[advice to Boris Karloff] Find something no one else can or will do. The secret of success in movies lies in being different from anyone else. Show less «

You know, one of the most effective of all disguises is the hair and the way in which it is combed. I always make my own hair serve when I c...Show more »

You know, one of the most effective of all disguises is the hair and the way in which it is combed. I always make my own hair serve when I can and to make silvery hair I use neck-white, if you know what that is. Some people use aluminum, but that shows too much on the screen. Show less «

As for my hair, 'I'm glad it's all there,' as the poet says; yet in character parts life is just one wig after another. I have had all mine ...Show more »

As for my hair, 'I'm glad it's all there,' as the poet says; yet in character parts life is just one wig after another. I have had all mine made especially and I keep them labeled and carefully stored, having them examined once a month to fight the moths. I have a collection of more than one hundred of these wigs and you'd be surprised to know the investment they represent. Show less «

One of the most difficult characters I ever played from the make-up standpoint was that of a blind boy. All through that picture in order to...Show more »

One of the most difficult characters I ever played from the make-up standpoint was that of a blind boy. All through that picture in order to look blind I had to roll my eyes clear up in what seemed to me to be the very top of my head. Did you ever try to do that? Try it, and then at the same time try to act naturally. You'll get my idea then. Show less «

Of course make-up goes much deeper that mere wrinkles, whiskers or grease paint. No, I don't mean thought this time, although that is the pr...Show more »

Of course make-up goes much deeper that mere wrinkles, whiskers or grease paint. No, I don't mean thought this time, although that is the principal part. I mean you must study all the previous history of the character and realize its effect on his physical being. For instance, in playing a music master who constantly led an orchestra with his bow or baton I made him appear all through the picture as having one shoulder just a little higher than the other. Men in different walks of life have little differences in the manner in which they carry themselves. Some of these are psychological effects and others come from the nature of their occupations. Show less «

One of the hardest make-ups I ever carried over was that of King Canute. He was hairy of face and breast and besides I had to use putty to b...Show more »

One of the hardest make-ups I ever carried over was that of King Canute. He was hairy of face and breast and besides I had to use putty to build out my nose and cheeks. One day I tried wax instead and when the sun got hot my nose began to run, literally. Show less «