Chaney, Lon, Jr. (1906-1973), was an American motion-picture actor best known for his roles in horror movies. His most famous role was as Larry Talbot, a man who is bitten by a werewolf and becomes a werewolf himself with each full moon in The Wolf Man (1941).
Chaney was born on Feb. 10, 1906, in Oklahoma City. His real name was Creighton Tull Chaney. He was the son of the famous silent film star Lon Chaney. Creighton Chaney acted on the stage and later worked in films under his birth name. He changed his name to Lon Chaney, Jr., in 1935. In 1939, he achieved stardom and received critical acclaim for his sensitive portrayal of Lennie Small, a gentle but large and strong migrant worker with mental retardation, in Of Mice and Men.
After his success as the Wolf Man in 1941, Chaney was generally typecast for much of his career, often in low-budget films. He returned to the role of the Wolf Man in the horror films Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), House of Frankenstein (1944), House of Dracula (1945), and the comedy Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948). Chaney also portrayed Frankenstein’s monster in The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942); Kharis the mummy in The Mummy’s Tomb (1942), The Mummy’s Ghost (1944), and The Mummy’s Curse (1944); and Count Dracula the vampire in Son of Dracula (1943).
Chaney also appeared in the classic Western High Noon (1952), the medical melodrama Not As a Stranger (1955), and the crime drama The Defiant Ones (1958). He acted on television as well. He died on July 12. 1973.
See also Chaney, Lon ; High Noon ; Of Mice and Men ; Universal Pictures .
