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IMDbPro

Lon Chaney(1883-1930)

  • Actor
  • Director
  • Writer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Lon Chaney, c. 1923.
Watch Trailer
Play trailer2:46
The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
2 Videos
99+ Photos
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 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.
BornApril 1, 1883
DiedAugust 26, 1930(47)
BornApril 1, 1883
DiedAugust 26, 1930(47)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 3 wins

Photos516

Lon Chaney in Father and the Boys (1915)
Lon Chaney in The Lion, the Lamb, the Man (1914)
Pauline Bush and Lon Chaney in Her Escape (1914)
Lon Chaney in By the Sun's Rays (1914)
Lon Chaney in Alas and Alack (1915)
Lon Chaney in Laugh, Clown, Laugh (1928)
Lon Chaney, Fred Kelsey, and Angelo Rossitto in While the City Sleeps (1928)
Lon Chaney, Lila Lee, and Ivan Linow in The Unholy Three (1930)
Lon Chaney in The Unholy Three (1930)
Lon Chaney, Billie Dove, and Malcolm McGregor in All the Brothers Were Valiant (1923)
Lon Chaney and Ethel Grey Terry in The Penalty (1920)
Lon Chaney in The Penalty (1920)

Known for:

He Who Gets Slapped (1924)
He Who Gets Slapped
7.8
  • Paul Beaumont
  • HE
  • 1924
Lon Chaney, Norman Kerry, and Mary Philbin in The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
The Phantom of the Opera
7.5
  • The Phantom
  • 1925
Claire Adams and Lon Chaney in The Penalty (1920)
The Penalty
7.4
  • Blizzard
  • 1920
The Unholy Three (1925)
The Unholy Three
7.2
  • Echo - The Ventriloquist
  • 1925

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor

  • Lon Chaney, Harry Earles, and Ivan Linow in The Unholy Three (1930)
    The Unholy Three
    • Echo
    • 1930
  • Lon Chaney in Thunder (1929)
    Thunder
    • Grumpy Anderson
    • 1929
  • Lon Chaney, Lloyd Hughes, Estelle Taylor, and Lupe Velez in Where East Is East (1929)
    Where East Is East
    • Tiger Haynes
    • 1929
  • Lon Chaney in West of Zanzibar (1928)
    West of Zanzibar
    • Phroso
    • 1928
  • Lon Chaney and Anita Page in While the City Sleeps (1928)
    While the City Sleeps
    • Dan Coghlan
    • 1928
  • Lon Chaney in Laugh, Clown, Laugh (1928)
    Laugh, Clown, Laugh
    • Tito
    • 1928
  • Lon Chaney, Marceline Day, and James Murray in The Big City (1928)
    The Big City
    • Chuck Collins
    • 1928
  • Lon Chaney in London After Midnight (1927)
    London After Midnight
    • Professor Edward C. Burke
    • 1927
  • Ricardo Cortez and Barbara Bedford in Mockery (1927)
    Mockery
    • Sergei
    • 1927
  • Joan Crawford and Lon Chaney in The Unknown (1927)
    The Unknown
    • Alonzo
    • 1927
  • Renée Adorée, Lon Chaney, and Ralph Forbes in Mr. Wu (1927)
    Mr. Wu
    • Mr. Wu
    • Wu's Grandfather
    • 1927
  • Eleanor Boardman and William Haines in Tell It to the Marines (1926)
    Tell It to the Marines
    • Sergeant O'Hara
    • 1926
  • Lon Chaney and Lois Moran in The Road to Mandalay (1926)
    The Road to Mandalay
    • Singapore Joe
    • 1926
  • Lon Chaney in The Blackbird (1926)
    The Blackbird
    • Dan - The Blackbird
    • The Bishop
    • 1926
  • Lon Chaney, William Haines, and Norma Shearer in The Tower of Lies (1925)
    The Tower of Lies
    • Jan
    • 1925

Director

  • Lon Chaney, Norman Kerry, and Mary Philbin in The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
    The Phantom of the Opera
    • Director (uncredited)
    • 1925
  • The Chimney's Secret (1915)
    The Chimney's Secret
    • Director
    • Short
    • 1915
  • The Trust
    • Director
    • Short
    • 1915
  • The Violin Maker
    • Director
    • Short
    • 1915
  • The Oyster Dredger (1915)
    The Oyster Dredger
    • Director
    • Short
    • 1915
  • For Cash
    • Director
    • Short
    • 1915
  • The Stool Pigeon
    • Director
    • Short
    • 1915

Writer

  • Lon Chaney and Stanley Goethals in The Trap (1922)
    The Trap
    • story
    • 1922
  • The Chimney's Secret (1915)
    The Chimney's Secret
    • Writer
    • Short
    • 1915
  • The Oyster Dredger (1915)
    The Oyster Dredger
    • Writer
    • Short
    • 1915
  • Pauline Bush in Her Escape (1914)
    Her Escape
    • Writer
    • Short
    • 1914
  • The Tragedy of Whispering Creek (1914)
    The Tragedy of Whispering Creek
    • Writer
    • Short
    • 1914
  • The Menace to Carlotta
    • Writer
    • Short
    • 1914

Videos2

Badness: Live and Not Plugged In
Clip 15:49
Badness: Live and Not Plugged In
Trailer
Trailer 2:46
Trailer

Personal details

Edit
  • Official site
    • Official Site
  • Height
    • 5′ 9″ (1.75 m)
  • Born
    • April 1, 1883
    • Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
  • Died
    • August 26, 1930
    • Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA(throat hemorrhage)
  • Spouses
      Hazel HastingsNovember 1914 - August 26, 1930 (his death)
  • Children
    • Lon Chaney Jr.
  • Parents
      Frank H. Chaney
  • Other works
    Wrote entry on motion picture make-up in the 1929 edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica.
  • Publicity listings
    • 3 Biographical Movies
    • 5 Print Biographies
    • 43 Articles
    • 7 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Were it not for his death, he rather than Bela Lugosi would have been Tod Browning's choice for the starring role in Dracula (1931).
  • Quotes
    Between pictures, there is no Lon Chaney.
  • Trademarks
      Known as the Man of a Thousand Faces. Master of early screen make-up techniques.
  • Nicknames
    • The Man of a Thousand Faces
    • The Master of Horror
  • Salaries
      The Unholy Three
      (1930)
      $3,750 Per Week

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