Editing Lon Chaney Jr. (section)

==Career==
===As Creighton Chaney===
[[File:Gigi Parrish and Lon Chaney Jr., in Girl o' My Dreams (1934).jpg|right|thumb|[[Gigi Parrish]] and Chaney in ''[[Girl o' My Dreams]]'' (1934)]]
It was only after his father's death that Chaney began to act in films, billed under his own name. He began with an uncredited [[bit part]] in the serial ''[[The Galloping Ghost (serial)|The Galloping Ghost]]'' (1931) and signed a contract with [[RKO]] where he was given small roles in a number of films, including ''[[Girl Crazy (1932 film)|Girl Crazy]]'' (1932), ''[[Bird of Paradise (1932 film)|Bird of Paradise]]'' (1932), and ''[[The Most Dangerous Game (film)|The Most Dangerous Game]]'' (1932) (from which Chaney's few scenes were edited out before the film was released).<ref name="Smith, Don G. 1996 Pg. 201">Smith, Don G. (1996). "Lon Chaney Jr.". McFarland & Co. Inc. Pg. 201. ISBN 0-7864-0120-6.</ref>

RKO gave him the starring role in a serial, ''[[The Last Frontier (serial)|The Last Frontier]]'' (1932). He got bigger film roles in ''[[Lucky Devils (1933 film)|Lucky Devils]]'' (1933), ''[[Son of the Border]]'' (1933), ''[[Scarlet River]]'' (1933), and ''[[The Life of Vergie Winters]]'' (1934). Over at [[Mascot Pictures]] he supported [[John Wayne]] in a serial, ''[[The Three Musketeers (1933 serial)|The Three Musketeers]]'' (1933), which was later re-edited into a film entitled ''Desert Command'' (1946).

"I did every possible bit in pictures" said Chaney later. "Had to do stuntwork to live. I bulldogged steers, fell off and got knocked off cliffs, rode horses off precipices into rivers, drove [[Covered wagon#Prairie schooner|prairie schooners]] up and down hills."<ref>{{Cite news|title=Filler of Father's Footwear |author=Smith, Frederick James|date=July 28, 1940|work=Los Angeles Times|page=J6}}</ref>

He had the lead in the independent film ''[[Sixteen Fathoms Deep]]'' (1934), and a memorable part in which his character sings in ''[[Girl o' My Dreams]]'' (1934) at [[Monogram Pictures|Monogram]]. The last film he made as Creighton Chaney was ''[[The Marriage Bargain]]'' (1935) for Screencraft Productions. After this point he was billed as Lon Chaney, Jr. until 1942, when he was usually billed, at the insistence of [[Universal Pictures|Universal Studios]], with his iconic father's name, although the "Jr." was usually added by others to distinguish the two.

===As Lon Chaney Jr.===
He had the lead in ''[[A Scream in the Night]]'' (1934) made for Commodore Pictures, a crime thriller.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Mary Pickford Considers Leading Drive to Produce Pictures in England: British Films Would Use American Actors Cycle of Kipling Stories Looms Both Here and Abroad; Lon Chaney, Jr., Follows in Noted Parent's Footsteps|author=Schallert, Edwin|date=Sep 7, 1935|work=Los Angeles Times|page=5}}</ref> He played small roles at Paramount: ''[[Hold 'Em Yale]]'' (1935), ''[[Accent on Youth (film)|Accent on Youth]]'' (1935) and ''[[Rose Bowl (film)|Rose Bowl]]'' (1936). A small outfit, Ray Kirkwood Productions, gave him a lead, ''[[The Shadow of Silk Lennox]]'' (1935).

At [[Republic Pictures|Republic]], he featured alongside [[Gene Autry]] in ''[[The Singing Cowboy (1936 film)|The Singing Cowboy]]'' (1936) and ''[[The Old Corral]]'' (1937). He was a henchman in a serial for Republic, ''[[Undersea Kingdom]]'' (1936). Universal got him to play a henchman in their serial, ''[[Ace Drummond (serial)|Ace Drummond]]'' (1937), and he was uncredited in Columbia's ''[[Killer at Large (1936 film)|Killer at Large]]'' (1936). He lent his name to a cafe which was embroiled in a liquor scandal.<ref>{{cite news|title=Cash Given to Werners, Says Witness at Hearing: Board Vote Boast Cited by Woman, Owner of Cafe Takes Stand Weinblatt Asked $1000 in Liquor License Renewal, She Testifies|work=Los Angeles Times|date=18 June 1936|page=1}}</ref>

Chaney Jr. was the main villain in ''[[Cheyenne Rides Again]]'' (1937) and also played a villainous part in a [[Serial film|serial]], ''[[Secret Agent X-9 (1937 serial)|Secret Agent X-9]]'' (1937).

===20th Century Fox===
Chaney Jr. signed a contract at 20th Century Fox and appeared in ''[[Love Is News]]'' (1937) with [[Tyrone Power]], ''[[Midnight Taxi (1937 film)|Midnight Taxi]]'' (1937) with [[Brian Donlevy]], ''[[That I May Live]]'' (1937), ''[[This Is My Affair]]'' (1937) with [[Robert Taylor (American actor)|Robert Taylor]] and [[Barbara Stanwyck]], ''[[Angel's Holiday]]'' (1937), ''[[Born Reckless (1937 film)|Born Reckless]]'' (1937) with Brian Donlevy, ''[[Wild and Woolly (1937 film)|Wild and Woolly]]'' (1937) with [[Walter Brennan]], ''[[The Lady Escapes]]'' (1937) with [[Gloria Stuart]], ''[[Thin Ice (1937 film)|Thin Ice]]'' (1937) with Tyrone Power, ''[[One Mile from Heaven]]'' (1937) with [[Claire Trevor]], ''[[Charlie Chan on Broadway]]'' (1938), ''[[Life Begins in College]]'' (1937) with the [[Ritz Brothers]], ''[[Wife, Doctor and Nurse]]'' (1937) with [[Loretta Young]], ''[[Second Honeymoon (1937 film)|Second Honeymoon]]'' (1937) with Tyrone Power and Loretta Young, ''[[Checkers (1937 film)|Checkers]]'' (1937), ''[[Love and Hisses]]'' (1938) with [[Walter Winchell]], ''[[City Girl (1938 film)|City Girl]]'' (1938), ''[[Happy Landing (1938 film)|Happy Landing]]'' (1938) with [[Ethel Merman]], ''[[Sally, Irene and Mary (1938 film)|Sally, Irene and Mary]]'' (1938) with [[Fred Allen]] and [[Jimmy Durante]], ''[[Mr. Moto's Gamble]]'' (1938) with [[Peter Lorre]], ''[[Walking Down Broadway]]'' (1938) with Claire Trevor, ''[[Alexander's Ragtime Band (film)|Alexander's Ragtime Band]]'' (1938) with Tyrone Power, ''[[Josette (1938 film)|Josette]]'' (1938) with [[Don Ameche]] and [[Robert Young (actor)|Robert Young]], ''[[Speed to Burn]]'' (1938) with [[Lynn Bari]], ''[[Passport Husband]]'' (1938), ''[[Straight, Place and Show]]'' (1938) with the Ritz Brothers, [[John Ford]]'s ''[[Submarine Patrol]]'' (1938) with [[Nancy Kelly]], and ''[[Road Demon]]'' (1939). He was almost killed by a train while filming a bank robbery scene in ''[[Jesse James (1939 film)|Jesse James]]'' (1939).<ref>{{Cite news|title=Lon Chaney, Jr., Escapes Injury|date=Oct 20, 1938|newspaper=The Washington Post|page=X7}}</ref> ''Jesse James'' also coincidentally featured [[Henry Hull]], the star of ''[[Werewolf of London]]'' (1935), in a supporting role.

Chaney Jr. later made ''[[Charlie Chan in City in Darkness]]'' (1939) with [[Lynn Bari]] and ''[[Frontier Marshal (1939 film)|Frontier Marshal]]'' (1939) with [[Randolph Scott]] and Nancy Kelly.

===''Of Mice and Men'' (1939)===
Chaney Jr's only stage appearance had been as [[Lennie Small]] in a production of ''[[Of Mice and Men (play)|Of Mice and Men]]'' with [[Wallace Ford]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Chaney Jr. Nixes Horror Make-ups|work=Los Angeles Times|date=15 Jan 1940|page=9}}</ref> He was cast in that role in [[Of Mice and Men (1939 film)|the 1939 film adaptation]], which was produced by [[Hal Roach Studios]]. The film was Chaney Jr's first major role in a film and was a critical success for him. Chaney had a screen test for the role of [[Quasimodo]] for the remake of ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939 film)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]'' (1939), a role which his father played back in 1923, but the role went to [[Charles Laughton]].

===''One Million B.C.''===
[[Hal Roach]] used him in his third-billed character role in ''[[One Million B.C.]]'' (1940) as [[Victor Mature]]'s caveman father, after which Chaney began to be viewed as a character actor in the mold of his father. He had in fact designed a swarthy, ape-like Neanderthal make-up on himself for the film, but production decisions and union rules prevented his following through on emulating his father in that fashion.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} [[Cecil B. DeMille]] used him in a supporting role in ''[[North West Mounted Police (film)|North West Mounted Police]]'' (1940) and MGM used him in ''[[Billy the Kid (1941 film)|Billy the Kid]]'' (1941) with [[Robert Taylor (American actor)|Robert Taylor]] as Billy and [[Brian Donlevy]] as [[Pat Garrett]]. That studio considered putting Chaney Jr in a remake of his father's hit ''[[He Who Gets Slapped (film)|He Who Gets Slapped]]'' but decided not to make it.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Young Chaney May Do 'He Who Gets Slapped': Preston 'Night' Star Fellows Subject Named Warners Sign Darwell Ink Spots, Faye Cast Bellamy Set for Comedy|author=Schallert, Edwin|date=Jan 4, 1941|work=Los Angeles Times|page=A9}}</ref>

===Universal Pictures===
Universal Pictures offered Chaney Jr the lead in ''[[Man Made Monster|Man-Made Monster]]'' (1941), a science-fiction horror thriller originally written with [[Boris Karloff]] in mind. Chaney's first horror film, it was successful enough for them to offer him a long-term contract.

Universal kept him in supporting roles for a while: a comedy ''[[Too Many Blondes]]'' (1941), a musical ''[[San Antonio Rose (film)|San Antonio Rose]]'' (1941) with [[Shemp Howard]], a serial ''[[Riders of Death Valley]]'' (1941) featuring [[Noah Beery Jr.]], the Western ''[[Badlands of Dakota]]'' (1941) and the "Northern" ''[[North to the Klondike]]'' (1942) with [[Broderick Crawford]].

===Horror film star: ''The Wolf Man'', ''The Mummy'', ''Inner Sanctum''===
[[File:HorrorMonstersNo1Pg1Crop (black and white).png|right|thumb|Chaney Jr. as ''The Wolf Man'' (1941)]]
[[File:TheWolfManLobbyCardCropped.png|thumb|{{center|[[Evelyn Ankers]] in ''The Wolf Man''}}]]
[[File:The-ghost-of-frankenstein-lobby-card001.jpg|right|thumb|Chaney Jr., Evelyn Ankers and [[Bela Lugosi]] in ''[[The Ghost of Frankenstein]]'' (1942)]]
[[File:FrankensteinMeetsTheWolfManCrop.png|thumb|right|[[Patric Knowles]], Chaney Jr. and [[Doris Lloyd]] in ''[[Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man]]'' (1943)]]
[[File:MummysGhost1944Crop002.png|right|thumb|Chaney Jr. as [[The Mummy (franchise)|the Mummy]] in ''[[The Mummy's Ghost]]'' (1944)]]
[[File:LonChaneyMummysGhost1944.jpg|right|thumb|Chaney Jr. as [[The Mummy (franchise)|the Mummy]] in ''[[The Mummy's Ghost]]'' (1944)]]
Chaney Jr. was then given the title role in ''[[The Wolf Man (1941 film)|The Wolf Man]]'' (1941) for Universal, a role which, much like Karloff's [[Frankenstein (1931 film)|Frankenstein]] monster, would largely [[typecasting (acting)|typecast]] Chaney as a horror film actor for the rest of his life. Universal dropped the "Jr." and billed him as "Lon Chaney" going forward within that studio, apparently to foster confusion with his father among audiences.

Chaney Jr. was now an official horror star, and Universal gave him the role of [[Frankenstein's monster]] in ''[[The Ghost of Frankenstein]]'' (1942), the first [[B-movie]] of the series, when Boris Karloff decided not to play the part again; [[Bela Lugosi]] returned in his role as Ygor and the [[leading lady]] was [[Evelyn Ankers]]. He was in a crime film, ''[[Eyes of the Underworld (1942 film)|Eyes of the Underworld]]'' (1942), and the wartime shorts ''[[Keeping Fit]]'' (1942) and ''What We Are Fighting For'' (1943).

Chaney Jr. played Kharis the Mummy in ''[[The Mummy's Tomb]]'' (1942), another hit. He was in a Western ''[[Frontier Badmen]]'' (1943), then reprised his role as the Wolf Man in ''[[Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man]]'' (1943) with [[Bela Lugosi]] as Frankenstein's monster. The film was originally filmed with the Monster being blind and speaking in Lugosi's distinctive "Ygor" voice, but the studio cut out all references to either so that audiences were left wondering why the Monster staggered around with his arms extended in front of him, not to mention why he had lost the ability to speak since ''Ghost of Frankenstein'', grievously damaging Lugosi's reputation.

Chaney Jr. was given the role of [[Dracula]] in ''[[Son of Dracula (1943 film)|Son of Dracula]]'' (1943); the film was actually about Dracula himself, who had no son in the film. This made him the only actor to portray all four of Universal's major horror characters: [[The Wolf Man (franchise)|the Wolf Man]], [[Frankenstein's monster]], [[The Mummy (franchise)|the Mummy]], and [[Count Dracula]].

After a cameo in ''[[Crazy House (1943 film)|Crazy House]]'' (1943) he was given the lead in ''[[Calling Dr. Death]]'' (1943), based on the [[Inner Sanctum Mystery|Inner Sanctum mysteries]]. It kicked off another series starring Chaney, the next of which was ''[[Weird Woman]]'' (1944).

He made a second mummy movie, ''[[The Mummy's Ghost]]'' (1944), and had a supporting part in ''[[Cobra Woman]]'' (1944), starring [[Maria Montez]], and ''[[Ghost Catchers]]'' (1944), with the comedy team [[Olsen and Johnson]].

''[[Dead Man's Eyes]]'' (1944) was the third Inner Sanctum, after which he was back as the Wolf Man in ''[[House of Frankenstein (1944 film)|House of Frankenstein]]'' (1944). ''[[The Mummy's Curse]]'' (1944) was Chaney's third and final appearance as Kharis.

He played an antagonist in the [[Abbott and Costello]] comedy ''[[Here Come the Co-Eds]]'' (1945), then made more Inner Sanctums: ''[[The Frozen Ghost]]'' (1945) with Evelyn Ankers and ''[[Strange Confession]]'' (1945) with [[Brenda Joyce (actress)|Brenda Joyce]]. He returned as the Wolf Man in ''[[House of Dracula]]'' (1945), one of the last of the Universal horror cycle. ''[[Pillow of Death]]'' (1945) was the last Inner Sanctum. ''[[The Daltons Ride Again]]'' (1945) was a Western featuring [[Noah Beery Jr.]] in a supporting role.

===Leaving Universal===
Despite being typecast as the Wolf Man, the 6-foot 2-inch, 220-pound actor managed to carve out a secondary niche as a supporting actor and villain.

He was in a Bob Hope comedy, ''[[My Favorite Brunette]]'' (1947), supported [[Randolph Scott]] in ''[[Albuquerque (film)|Albuquerque]]'' (1948) and had a supporting role in ''[[The Counterfeiters (1948 film)|The Counterfeiters]]'' (1948); he played a villain in ''[[16 Fathoms Deep]]'' (1948) for [[Monogram Pictures]], a remake of his 1934 film.

He reprised his Wolf Man role to great effect in ''[[Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein]]'' (1948) but it did not cause a notable boost to his career. In April 1948 Chaney was hospitalized after taking an overdose of sleeping pills.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Lon Chaney Jr. Takes Too Many Sleeping Pills|work=Los Angeles Times|date=Apr 23, 1948|page=1}}</ref> He recovered and played Harry Brock in a Los Angeles theatre production of ''[[Born Yesterday (play)|Born Yesterday]]'' in 1949.<ref>{{cite news|title=Kanin's 'Born Yesterday' Well Acted at Biltmore|author=Scheuer, Philip K.|date=Jan 18, 1949|work=Los Angeles Times|page=A7}}</ref>

Chaney kept busy in support roles: ''[[Captain China]]'' (1950), ''[[Once a Thief (1950 film)|Once a Thief]]'' (1950), ''[[Inside Straight (film)|Inside Straight]]'' (1951), ''[[Bride of the Gorilla]]'' (1951), ''[[Only the Valiant]]'' (1951), ''[[Behave Yourself!]]'' (1951), ''[[Flame of Araby]]'' (1952), ''[[The Bushwackers (film)|The Bushwackers]]'' (1952), ''[[Thief of Damascus]]'' (1952), ''[[Battles of Chief Pontiac]]'' (1952) (in the title role), ''[[High Noon]]'' (1952), ''[[Springfield Rifle (film)|Springfield Rifle]]'' (1952), ''[[The Black Castle]]'' (1952) (a return to horror), ''[[Raiders of the Seven Seas]]'' (1953), ''[[A Lion Is in the Streets]]'' (1953) with [[James Cagney]], ''[[The Boy from Oklahoma]]'' (1954), ''[[Casanova's Big Night]]'' (1954), ''[[Passion (1954 film)|Passion]]'' (1954), ''[[The Black Pirates]]'' (1954), ''[[Jivaro (film)|Jivaro]]'' (1955), ''[[Big House, U.S.A.]]'' (1955), ''[[I Died a Thousand Times]]'' (1955), ''[[The Indian Fighter]]'' (1955), and ''[[The Black Sleep]]'' (1956)

He had a leading role in ''[[Indestructible Man]]'' (1956) then was back to supporting parts: ''[[Manfish]]'' (1956); a [[Martin and Lewis]] comedy, ''[[Pardners]]'' (1956); ''[[Daniel Boone, Trail Blazer]]'' (1957); ''[[The Cyclops (film)|The Cyclops]]'' (1957) and ''[[The Alligator People]]'' (1959).

Chaney established himself as a favorite of producer [[Stanley Kramer]]; in addition to playing a key supporting role in ''[[High Noon]]'' (1952) (starring [[Gary Cooper]]), he also appeared in ''[[Not as a Stranger]]'' (1955)—a hospital melodrama featuring [[Robert Mitchum]] and [[Frank Sinatra]]—and ''[[The Defiant Ones (film)|The Defiant Ones]]'' (1958, starring [[Tony Curtis]] and [[Sidney Poitier]]). Kramer told the press at the time that whenever a script came in with a role too difficult for most actors in Hollywood, he called Chaney.

He became quite popular with [[baby boomer]]s after Universal released its back catalog of horror films to television in 1957 (''[[Shock Theater]]'') and ''[[Famous Monsters of Filmland]]'' magazine regularly focused on his films.
[[File:Money, Women and Guns - 09 - Lon Chaney Jr.jpg|thumb|left|Chaney Jr. in ''[[Money, Women and Guns]]'' (1958)]]
In 1957, Chaney went to [[Ontario, Canada]], to costar in the first ever American-Canadian television production, as [[Chingachgook]] in ''[[Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans]]'', suggested by [[James Fenimore Cooper]]'s stories. The series ended after 39 episodes. Universal released their film biography of his father, ''[[Man of a Thousand Faces (film)|Man of a Thousand Faces]]'' (1957), featuring a semi-fictionalized version of Creighton's life story from his birth up until his father's death. [[Roger Smith (actor)|Roger Smith]] was cast as Creighton as a young adult.

He appeared in an episode of the western series ''[[Tombstone Territory]]'' titled "The Black Marshal from [[Deadwood, South Dakota|Deadwood]]" (1958), and appeared in numerous western series such as ''[[Rawhide (TV series)|Rawhide]]''. He also hosted the 13-episode television [[anthology]] series ''[[13 Demon Street]]'' in 1959, which was created by [[Curt Siodmak]].

===1960s===
In the 1960s, Chaney specialised in horror films, such as ''[[House of Terror (1960 film)|House of Terror]]'' (1960), ''[[The Devil's Messenger]]'' (1961) and ''[[The Haunted Palace]]'' (1963), replacing [[Boris Karloff]] in the last of those for [[Roger Corman]].
In January 1962, Chaney appeared in Season 4 episode titled "The Tarnished Badge" of the television show Lawman. Chaney plays Jess Bridges a US Marshal gone bad.  His Deputy was at one time Dan Troop (John Russell).  Bridges redeems himself at the episode's end by saving Deputy Johnny McKay

He was in a Western, ''[[Law of the Lawless (1963 film)|Law of the Lawless]]'' (1963) with [[Dale Robertson]], ''[[Face of the Screaming Werewolf]]'' (1964), ''[[Witchcraft (1964 film)|Witchcraft]]'' (1964), and ''[[Stage to Thunder Rock]]'' (1964).

He starred in [[Jack Hill]]'s ''[[Spider Baby]]'', which was made in 1964 but not released until 1968 and would not attain notoriety until after Chaney's death.<ref>{{cite book |title=Comedy-Horror Films: A Chronological History, 1914-2008 |url=https://archive.org/details/comedyhorrorfilm00hall|url-access=limited |last=Hallenbeck |first=Bruce G.|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|year=2009 |isbn=9780786453788|pages=86–87}}</ref> Then it was back to Westerns – ''[[Young Fury]]'' (1965), ''[[Black Spurs]]'' (1965), ''[[Town Tamer]]'' (1966), ''[[Johnny Reno]]'' (1967), ''[[Apache Uprising]]'' (1967), ''[[Welcome to Hard Times (film)|Welcome to Hard Times]]'' (1967) and ''[[Buckskin (film)|Buckskin]]'' (1968). There was also horror, such as ''[[Dr. Terror's Gallery of Horrors]]'' (1967) and ''[[Hillbillys in a Haunted House]]'' (1967).

His bread-and-butter work during this decade was television – where he made guest appearances on everything from ''[[Wagon Train]]'' to ''[[The Monkees (TV series)|The Monkees]]'' – and in a string of supporting roles in low-budget Westerns produced by [[A. C. Lyles]] for [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]]. In 1962, Chaney gained a chance to briefly play [[Quasimodo]] in a simulacrum of his father's make-up, as well as return to his roles of the Mummy and the Wolf Man on the television series ''[[Route 66 (TV series)|Route 66]]'' with friends [[Boris Karloff]] and [[Peter Lorre]] (Karloff wore a quickie version of the [[Frankenstein monster]] make-up toward the end of the episode).

===Final films===
[[File:Dracula vs. Frankenstein Chaney.jpg|thumb|Chaney Jr. in ''Dracula vs. Frankenstein'' (1971)]]
In later years, he suffered from [[throat cancer]] and chronic [[heart disease]] among other ailments after decades of heavy drinking and smoking. In his final horror film, ''[[Dracula vs. Frankenstein]]'', directed by [[Al Adamson]], he played Groton, [[Victor Frankenstein|Dr. Frankenstein]]'s mute henchman. He filmed his part in the spring of 1969, and shortly thereafter performed his final film role, also for Adamson, in ''[[The Female Bunch]]''.<ref>Weldon, Michael (1983). "The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film". Ballantine Books. {{ISBN|0-345-34345-X}}. Page 235</ref> Both films were released in 1971. Though filmed before ''The Female Bunch'', ''Dracula vs. Frankenstein'' was released some weeks later. Chaney had lines in ''[[The Female Bunch]]'' but his hoarse, raspy voice was virtually unrecognizable. Due to illness he retired from acting to concentrate on a book about the Chaney family legacy, ''A Century of Chaneys'', which remains to date unpublished in any form. {{As of|2008}}, his grandson, Ron Chaney Jr., was working on completing this project.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.midnightpalace.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=141 |title=Interview with Ron Chaney, including references to Lon's book |access-date=December 23, 2008 |archive-date=July 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714091233/http://www.midnightpalace.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=141 |url-status=dead }}</ref>