Lon Chaney (I) (1883–1930)

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Although his parents were deaf, 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 ... See full bio »

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Known For

The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera The Phantom
(1925)
He Who Gets Slapped
He Who Gets Slapped Paul Beaumont / HE
(1924)
The Penalty
The Penalty Blizzard
(1920)
The Unholy Three
The Unholy Three Echo - The Ventriloquist
(1925)
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Filmography

Hide Hide Show Show Actor (162 credits)
 1930 The Unholy Three
Echo
 1929 Thunder
Grumpy Anderson
 1929 Where East Is East
Tiger Haynes
 1928 West of Zanzibar
Phroso
 1928 While the City Sleeps
Dan Coghlan
 1928 Laugh, Clown, Laugh
Tito
 1928 The Big City
Chuck Collins
 1927 London After Midnight
Professor Edward C. Burke
 1927 Mockery
Sergei
 1927 The Unknown
Alonzo
 1927 Mr. Wu
Mr. Wu / Wu's Grandfather
 1926 Tell It to the Marines
Sergeant O'Hara
 1926 The Road to Mandalay
Singapore Joe
 1926 The Blackbird
Dan - The Blackbird / The Bishop
 1925 The Tower of Lies
Jan
 1925 The Unholy Three
Echo - The Ventriloquist
 1925 The Monster
Dr. Ziska
 1925 The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom
 1924 He Who Gets Slapped
Paul Beaumont / HE
 1924 The Next Corner
Juan Serafin
 1923/I The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Quasimodo
 1923 The Shock
Wilse Dilling
 1923 While Paris Sleeps
Henri Santodos
 1923 All the Brothers Were Valiant
Mark Shore
 1922 A Blind Bargain
Dr. Arthur Lamb / The Ape Man
 1922 Quincy Adams Sawyer
Obadiah Strout
 1922 Shadows
Yen Sin - 'The Heathen'
 1922/I Oliver Twist
Fagin
 1922 The Light in the Dark
Tony Pantelli
 1922 Flesh and Blood
David Webster
 1922 The Trap
Gaspard the Good
 1921 Voices of the City
O'Rourke
 1921 The Ace of Hearts
Farralone
 1921 Bits of Life
Chin Chow
 1921 For Those We Love
Trix Ulner
 1920 Outside the Law
Black Mike Sylva / Ah Wing
 1920 Nomads of the North
Raoul Challoner
 1920 The Penalty
Blizzard
 1920 The Gift Supreme
Merney Stagg
 1920 Treasure Island
Blind Pew / Merry
 1920 Daredevil Jack
Royce Rivers
 1919 Victory
Ricardo
 1919 When Bearcat Went Dry
Kindard Powers
 1919 Paid in Advance
Bateese Le Blanc
 1919 The Miracle Man
The Frog
 1919 A Man's Country
'Three Card' Duncan
 1919 The False Faces
Karl Eckstrom
 1919 The Wicked Darling
Stoop Connors
 1918 Danger, Go Slow
Bud
 1918 The Talk of the Town
Jack Langhorne
 1918 That Devil, Bateese
Louis Courteau
 1918 Riddle Gawne
Hame Bozzam
 1918 A Broadway Scandal
'Kink' Colby
 1918 Fast Company
Dan McCarty
 1918 The Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin
Bethmann-Hollweg
 1918 Broadway Love
Elmer Watkins
 1918 The Grand Passion
Paul Argos
 1917 The Scarlet Car
Paul Revere Forbes
 1917 Bondage
Seducer (uncredited)
 1917 Anything Once
Waughnt Moore
 1917 The Empty Gun (Short)
Frank
 1917 Triumph
Paul Neihoff
 1917 Pay Me!
Joe Lawson
 1917 The Rescue
Thomas Holland
 1917 Fires of Rebellion
Russell Hanlon
 1917 A Doll's House
Nils Krogstad
 1917 The Flashlight
Henry Norton / Porter Brixton
 1917 The Girl in the Checkered Coat
Hector Maitland
 1917 The Mask of Love (Short)
Marino
 1917 Hell Morgan's Girl
Sleter Noble
 1917 The Piper's Price
Billy Kilmartin
 1916 The Price of Silence
Edmond Stafford
 1916 Accusing Evidence (Short)
 1916 The Place Beyond the Winds
Jerry Jo
 1916 Felix on the Job (Short)
Tad
 1916 If My Country Should Call
Dr. George Ardrath
 1916 The Mark of Cain
Dick Temple
 1916 The Grasp of Greed
Jimmie
 1916 Bobbie of the Ballet
Hook Hoover
 1916 The Gilded Spider
Giovanni
 1916/I Tangled Hearts
John Hammond
 1916 The Grip of Jealousy
Silas Lacey
 1916 Dolly's Scoop (Short)
Dan Fisher
 1915 Stronger Than Death (Short)
Attorney
 1915 Father and the Boys
Tuck Bartholomew
 1915 Under a Shadow (Short)
DeSerris
 1915 The Millionaire Paupers (Short)
Martin - the Landlord
 1915 Lon of Lone Mountain (Short)
Lon Moore
 1915 A Mother's Atonement (Short)
Ben Morrison
 1915 Alas and Alack (Short)
The Fisherman and Hunchback Fate
 1915 The Fascination of the Fleur de Lis (Short)
Duke of Safoulrug
 1915 The Pine's Revenge (Short)
Black Scotty
 1915 The Chimney's Secret (Short)
Charles Harding
 1915/I Quits (Short)
Frenchy
 1915 Mountain Justice (Short)
Jeffrey Kirke
 1915 Bound on the Wheel
Tom Coulahan
 1915 The Trust (Short)
Jim Mason
 1915 The Violin Maker (Short)
Pedro - the Violin Maker
 1915 Steady Company (Short)
Jimmy Ford
 1915 The Oyster Dredger (Short)
 1915 The Stronger Mind (Short)
The Crook's Pal
 1915 An Idyll of the Hills (Short)
Lafe Jameson
 1915/I The Stool Pigeon (Short)
 1915 The Girl of the Night (Short)
Jerry
 1915 The Grind (Short)
Henry Leslie
 1915 Maid of the Mist (Short)
Lin - Pauline's Father
 1915 The Desert Breed (Short)
Fred
 1915 All for Peggy (Short)
Seth Baldwin
 1915 Outside the Gates (Short)
Perez
 1915 Where the Forest Ends (Short)
Paul Rouchelle
 1915 Such Is Life (Short)
Tod Wilkes
 1915 When the Gods Played a Badger Game (Short)
Joe - The Property Man
 1915 The Threads of Fate (Short)
The Count
 1915 The Measure of a Man (Short)
Donald MacDermott
 1915 A Small Town Girl (Short)
The Procurer
 1915 The Star of the Sea (Short)
Tomasco - a Fisherman
 1915 The Sin of Olga Brandt (Short)
Stephen Leslie
 1914 Her Escape (Short)
Pete Walsh - Pauline's Brother
 1914 A Night of Thrills (Short)
The Visitor
 1914 The Lion, the Lamb, the Man (Short)
Fred Brown - the Lion
 1914 Lights and Shadows (Short)
Bentley
 1914 Damon and Pythias
Wild Man (unconfirmed, uncredited)
 1914 Her Life's Story (Short)
Don Valesquez
 1914 Virtue Is Its Own Reward (Short)
Duncan Bronson
 1914 The Pipes o' Pan (Short)
Arthur Darrell
 1914 Richelieu
Baradas
 1914/I The Higher Law (Short)
Sir Stephen Fitz Allen
 1914 Her Bounty (Short)
Fred Howard
 1914 A Miner's Romance (Short)
John Burns
 1914 The Oubliette (Short)
Chevalier Bertrand de la Payne
 1914 The Trey o' Hearts
One of Judith's Henchmen (uncredited)
 1914 By the Sun's Rays (Short)
Frank Lawler - the Clerk
 1914 Her Grave Mistake (Short)
Nunez
 1914 A Ranch Romance (Short)
Raphael Praz
 1914 The Hopes of Blind Alley (Short)
The Vendor
 1914 The Old Cobbler (Short)
Wild Bill
 1914 The Forbidden Room (Short)
John Morris
 1914 Heart Strings (Short) (unconfirmed)
 1914 The Unlawful Trade (Short)
The Cross Blood
 1914 The Tragedy of Whispering Creek (Short)
The Greaser
 1914 The End of the Feud (Short)
Wood Dawson
 1914 The Lamb, the Woman, the Wolf (Short)
The Wolf
 1914/I The Embezzler (Short)
J. Roger Dixon
 1914 The Menace to Carlotta (Short)
Giovanni Bartholdi
 1914 Discord and Harmony (Short)
Lon - the Sculptor
 1914 Remember Mary Magdalen (Short)
The Half-Wit
 1914 The Honor of the Mounted (Short)
Jacques Laquox
 1914/I The Lie (Short)
Young MacGregor
 1913 Bloodhounds of the North (Short)
Mountie Lieutenant
 1913 Red Margaret, Moonshiner (Short)
Lon
 1913/I Back to Life (Short)
The Rival
 1913 An Elephant on His Hands (Short)
Eddie's Uncle
 1913 Almost an Actress (Short)
Cameraman
 1913 The Restless Spirit (Short)
The Russian Count (uncredited)
 1913/I The Trap (Short)
Lon
 1913 Shon the Piper (Short)
Clansman
 1913 The Blood Red Tape of Charity (Short)
Marx, a Gentleman Thief
 1913 The Sea Urchin (Short)
Barnacle Bill
 1913 Poor Jake's Demise (Short)
The Dude
 1913 Suspense (Short)
A Hobo (unconfirmed, uncredited)
 1913 The Ways of Fate (Short)
 1912 The Honor of the Family (Short) (unconfirmed)
Show Show Director (7 credits)
Show Show Writer (6 credits)
Show Show Makeup Department (4 credits)
Show Show Soundtrack (1 credit)
Show Show Additional Crew (1 credit)
Show Show Thanks (2 credits)
Show Show Self (3 credits)
Show Show Archive footage (56 credits)

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Personal Details

Other Works:

Wrote the preface to the book "The Art of Make-Up For Stage & Screen" by Cecil Holland. This was the first book to specifically deal with make-up for motion pictures. See more »

Publicity Listings:

3 Biographical Movies | 5 Print Biographies | 43 Articles | 7 Magazine Cover Photos | See more »

Official Sites:

Official Site

Height:

5' 9" (1.75 m)

Spouse:

Hazel Hastings  (his death) | See more »

Children:

Lon Chaney Jr.

Parents:

Frank H. Chaney | Emma Alice Kennedy
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Did You Know?

Personal Quote:

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 ... See more »

Trivia:

The working title of his film The Unknown (1927) was "Alonso the Armless", which seems to have led to a great deal of confusion over the years regarding the actor's actual name. As committed to their faith as Chaney's parents were, they would probably have never considered giving one of their children a name not shared by a religious saint, and to this date there is neither a St. Alonso nor a St.... See more »

Trademark:

Extremely expressive performances in silent horror films See more »

Nickname:

The Man of a Thousand Faces See more »
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