Chaney, Lon

Chaney, Lon (1883-1930), American film actor. Chaney became known as “the man of a thousand faces” because of his versatility as a character actor and expertise with make-up, which enabled him to portray a variety of gruesome and grotesque characters warped by psychological or physical deformities. Chaney was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado. His parents were deaf-mutes, and the pantomimic skill Chaney learned as a child in order to communicate with his parents served him well in his acting career. He first performed in vaudeville and in 1912 appeared in his first film. He played the title roles in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) and The Phantom of the Opera (1925), two of his most important films. He was portrayed by James Cagney in the 1957 biopic Man of a Thousand Faces. His son, Lon Chaney, Jr. (1906-1973), was also an actor.