As Creighton Chaney 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 (1931) and signed a contract with
RKO where he was given small roles in a number of films, including
Girl Crazy (1932),
Bird of Paradise (1932), and
The Most Dangerous Game (1932) (from which Chaney's few scenes were edited out before the film was released). RKO gave him the starring role in a serial,
The Last Frontier (1932). He got bigger film roles in
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), 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
prairie schooners up and down hills." 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. 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 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. He played small roles at Paramount: ''
Hold 'Em Yale (1935), Accent on Youth (1935) and Rose Bowl (1936). A small outfit, Ray Kirkwood Productions, gave him a lead, The Shadow of Silk Lennox'' (1935). At
Republic, he featured alongside
Gene Autry in
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 (1937), and he was uncredited in Columbia's
Killer at Large (1936). He lent his name to a café which was embroiled in a liquor scandal. Chaney Jr. was the main villain in
Cheyenne Rides Again (1937) and also played a villainous part in a
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) with
Brian Donlevy,
That I May Live (1937),
This Is My Affair (1937) with
Robert Taylor and
Barbara Stanwyck, ''
Angel's Holiday (1937), Born Reckless (1937) with Brian Donlevy, Wild and Woolly (1937) with Walter Brennan, The Lady Escapes (1937) with Gloria Stuart, 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) with Tyrone Power and Loretta Young, Checkers (1937), Love and Hisses (1938) with Walter Winchell, City Girl (1938), Happy Landing (1938) with Ethel Merman, 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 (1938) with Tyrone Power, Josette (1938) with Don Ameche and 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).
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) 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 with
Wallace Ford. He was cast in that role in
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), 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.
Cecil B. DeMille used him in a supporting role in
North West Mounted Police (1940) and MGM used him in
Billy the Kid (1941) with
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 but decided not to make it.
Universal Pictures Universal Pictures offered Chaney Jr the lead in
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 (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 in
The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942) , Chaney Jr. and
Doris Lloyd in
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) in ''
The Mummy's Ghost'' (1944) in ''
The Mummy's Ghost'' (1944) Chaney Jr. was then given the title role in
The Wolf Man (1941) for Universal, a role which, much like Karloff's
Frankenstein monster, would largely
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), 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); 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,
Frankenstein's monster,
the Mummy, and
Count Dracula. After a cameo in
Crazy House (1943) he was given the lead in
Calling Dr. Death (1943), based on the
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). 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. 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 (1948) and had a supporting role in
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. He recovered and played Harry Brock in a Los Angeles theater production of
Born Yesterday in 1949. Chaney kept busy in support roles:
Captain China (1950),
Once a Thief (1950),
Inside Straight (1951),
Bride of the Gorilla (1951),
Only the Valiant (1951),
Behave Yourself! (1951),
Flame of Araby (1952),
The Bushwackers (1952),
Thief of Damascus (1952),
Battles of Chief Pontiac (1952) (in the title role),
High Noon (1952),
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), The Black Pirates (1954), Jivaro (1955), Big House, U.S. (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 (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 (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 boomers 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. '' (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 (1957), featuring a semi-fictionalized version of Creighton's life story from his birth up until his father's death.
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" (1958), and appeared in numerous western series such as
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 specialized in horror films, such as
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) with
Dale Robertson,
Face of the Screaming Werewolf (1964),
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. 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 (1967) and
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 – and in a string of supporting roles in low-budget Westerns produced by
A. C. Lyles for
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 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 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,
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. 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. , his grandson, Ron Chaney Jr., was working on completing this project. ==Personal life==