Lon Chaney, Jr. on the set
of SPIDER BABY, 1964.

Born Creighton Chaney on February 10th, 1906 - the son of famous silent film star Lon Chaney Sr. – Lon went against his parent’s wishes and pursued a career in acting after the untimely death of his father in 1930. He appeared in nearly a dozen films under his real name, until a film producer persuaded him to adopt his father’s name. Chaney’s breakout role came in 1939 as the simple-minded Lenny in the screen adaptation of John Steinbeck’s OF MICE AND MEN. But it was two years later that he would take on his most cherished film role, in Universal Pictures’ THE WOLF MAN (1941.) Chaney’s role in the film, as the werewolf-cursed Larry Talbot, is one of horror filmdom’s most sensitive and tortured characters. The film would solidify the actor to generations of horror film fans for decades to come.

In the 1950’s, Chaney would continue to play memorable roles in HIGH NOON (1952), I DIED A THOUSDAND TIMES (1955), THE DEFIANT ONES (1958), and THE ALLIGATOR PEOPLE (1959), among many others. As the fifties drew to a close, Chaney found increasing work in television,