Lon Chaney, Jr.


Lon Chaney, Jr. circa 1940

Born Creighton Tull Chaney, Lon Chaney Jr. was the son of the film star Lon Chaney.  In 1935 he changed his screen name to mirror his father as a marketing ploy, and in 1939 he was cast in his first big role, that of Lennie in a film adaptation of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men.  In 1941 Universal Pictures wished to revitalize their horror film franchise and Chaney, Jr. was cast in his most memorable role as Lawrence Talbot in The Wolf Man.  Although he never achieved the fame of his father, his career as an actor tallied over 150 movies.


L.C. Subject Headings

The following Library of Congress Subject Heading is for use in searching the on-line catalog for materials pertaining to Lon Chaney, Jr.


Biographies

Smith, Don G.  Lon Chaney, Jr.: Horror Film Star, 1906-1973.  Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., 1996.
[Davis, 7th floor stacks: PN2287.C49 S65 1996]

An actor whose career was overshadowed by his father, Lon Chaney, Jr. has not been the subject of nearly as many biographies as the other major actors from this period in Universal Studio’s history.  This book is the only biography of the actor available in the North Carolina system, although there is a biography of Lon Chaney, Jr. as part of the Midnight Marquee Actors Series  Smith's work, however, does a very good job of encompassing Chaney’s entire life.  This book does not contain many pictures, although it does have a filmography in the back.

World Wide Web Resources

Lon Chaney Jr's. Home Page

Lon Chaney, Jr. never achieved the status of his father, but he did appear in over 150 movies, most of which were not very popular.  This website does the best job of portraying Chaney Jr. as who he was.  There is a full filmography, a galley of photos and links to other pages.  The setup of the actual page is not the greatest (the filmography, for example, is constantly scrolling up), but the information provided exceeds all the others.
 

To Universal Pictures Page
To The Wolf Man Page