Lon Chaney

Born: April 1, 1883 Colorado Springs, Colorado
Died: August 26, 1930 Hollywood, California (age 47)
Cause of death: lung cancer
Real name: Leonidas Frank Chaney
Marriages: Two. The first to Frances Chaney ended in divorce after 10 years and produced one son. The second to Hazel Hastings lasted 15 years until his death.

Remarks: Lon Chaney’s enormous talent at pantomime was no doubt the result growing up with deaf-mute parents. But his artistry with makeup and prosthetic devices was self-taught to aid him in the creation of unforgettable characters and the pain he suffered in the process made him a legend. Two unique examples: the deformed cripple in “The Miracle Man” (1919) and the title role in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (1923). Chaney had been chosen to play “Dracula” in the first sound version when he died. Bela Lugosi got the part. In 1957 James Cagney portrayed Lon Chaney in “The Man of a Thousand Faces”.

Films (158) also include…”Oliver Twist” (1922)…”The Monster” (1925)…”The Phantom of the Opera” (1925)…and his only sound film “The Unholy Three” (1930)

Lon Chaney, Jr.

Born: February 10, 1906 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Died: July 12, 1973 San Clemente, California (age 67)
Cause of death: beri beri and liver failure
Real name: Creighton Tull Chaney
Marriages: Two. The first to Dorothy Hinckley lasted 9 years before they divorced. The second to Patsy Beck lasted 36 years until his death. One son, Ron Chaney.

Remarks: Creighton Chaney followed in his father’s footsteps doing for talkies what Lon Chaney had done for silent films. But he was denied the chance use the expertise in makeup and costume design he had learned from his father because new studio regulations prohibited it. Creighton became Lon Chaney, Jr. in 1935 as a marketing ploy and played almost the same gamut of classic monsters as his father. But he is also remembered for his sensitive portrayal of the mentally retarded Lennie in “Of Mice and Men” (1939).

Films (167) also include: “The Wolf Man” (1941)…”The Ghost of Frankenstein” (1942)…”The Mummy’s Tomb” (1942)…”Son of Dracula” (1943…”High Noon” (1952) and “Not As a Stranger” (1951).

Born: October 28, 1902 Lewisham, London, England
Died: December 26, 1986 Woodland Hills, California (age 84)
Cause of death: bronchial pneumonia
Real name: Elizabeth Lanchester Sullivan
Marriages: One to actor Charles Laughton from 1909 until his death in 1962. No children.

Remarks: She was trained to be a dancer but caught the acting bug in her teens and made her debut into Britain’s silent films in 1924’s “The Scarlet Woman”. Rather eccentric and definitely non-conformist, Elsa made a career of playing odd but delightful characters. James Whale gave her the role that brought her success on both sides of the Atlantic. It was her American debut film in “Bride of Frankenstein” (1935). She played both the monster’s bride and the authoress Mary Shelley to perfection. Elsa was nominated for her supporting role as the ditzy artist in “Come to the Stable” (1949) with Loretta Young and for the role of Laughton’s frustrated nurse in “Witness to the Prosecution”.(1957).

Films (62) also include: “Naughty Marietta” (1935)…”Sullivan’s Travels” (1941)… “The Spiral Staircase” (1946) and “Mary Poppins” (1964).

Born: September 15, 1907 Alberta, Canada
Died: August 8, 2004 Manhattan, New York (age 96)
Cause of death: natural causes

Real name: Vina Fay Wray
Marriages: Three. The first to screenwriter John Monk Saunders lasted 11 years with 1 daughter, Susan. The second to screenwriter Robert Riskin ended with his death after 13 years and a son, Robert, Jr. and daughter, Victoria. A third marriage to neurosurgeon Sanford Rothenberg in 1970 lasted until her death.

Remarks: She made 95 films but none more remembered than her climactic scene in “King Kong” (1933) when the giant ape holds her in the palm of his hand as he climbs to the top of the Empire State Building. He gently places her on a ledge as he fights valiantly against fighter planes before falling to his death in the street below. In her autobiography “On the Other Hand” Fay describes her other loves and other roles on screen and off but none apparently brought her the fame and success as the primitive passion of one giant ape!

Films (95) also include: “The Legion of the Damned” (1928)…”Doctor X” (1932)…”The Affairs of Cellini” (1934)…”Alias Bulldog Drummond” (1935)…”Hell on Frisco Bay” (1955) and “Tammy and the Bachelor” (1957)

Born: October 20, 1882 Lugos, Austria-Hungary (now Romania)
Died: August 16, 1956 Los Angeles, California (age 73)
Cause of death: heart attack
Real name: Bela Ferenc Dezso Blasko
Marriages: Five. 3 ended in divorce. His fourth produced a son and his fifth lasted until his death after one year.

Remarks: Bela Blasko became Bela Lugosi and then he became Dracula forever! He took his stage name from the village where he was born, the youngest of four children and the son of a banker. Bela went off to fight in WWI after already establishing a career in the stage in Hungary. After the war, he fled to Germany as a political pariah for trying to start a union then emigrated to the US. In 1927 Broadway gave him the role of Dracula and he played it for 3 years before taking his cape to Hollywood. It was his greatest, and perhaps only triumph. Bela Lugosi was buried in his Dracula cape.

Films (110) also include: “Murder in the Rue Morgue” (1932)…”The Raven” (1935)…”Son fo Frankenstein” (1939)…”Ninotchka” (1939) and “The Body Snatcher” (1945).

Born: May 1, 1906 New York, New York
Died: August 29, 2000 Woodland Hills, California (age 94) Cause of death: natural causes
Real name: Rose Kefer
Marriages: Two. One, to Benjamin Winter ended in divorce. The second to Barton Bosworth ended with his death. One child.

Remarks: The daughter of cellist Paul Kefer and opera singer, Marguerite Hobart, Rose made her stage debut in 1921 at 15. She worked on Broadway exclusively through the 1920’s when her performance in “Death Takes a Holiday” won her a screen test in Hollywood. She was given a contract and the lead in her first picture, Frank Borzage’s “Liliom” (1930). Rose followed that with performances in “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” (1931) and “Tower of London” (1939). But Rose Hobart became another one of the real ‘untouchables’ when she was blacklisted by the HUAC. The ban lasted for 10 years and she never returned to films. However, she did work later in television.

Films (42) also include: “East of Borneo” (1931)…”The Shadow Laughs” (1933)…”Wolf of New York” (1940)…”Ziegfeld Girl” (1941 and “The Boston Strangler” (1945).

Born: May 27, 1911 St. Louis, Missouri
Died: October 25, 1993 Los Angeles, California (age 82)
Cause of death: lung cancer
Real name: Vincent Leonard Price, Jr.
Marriages: Three. The first to Edith Barrett lasted 10 years and produced one child before ending in divorce. The second to Mary Grant lasted 24 years but also ended in divorce…one child. His third wife, Coral Browne died after 17 years of marriage.

Remarks: An art lover first and an actor second, Vincent also wrote several books on art. He had a voice recognized everywhere and when he was on screen and coupled it with a sly sneer and an unholy chuckle, he could make your blood run cold. Educated at Yale, he made his film debut in 1933 and spent the next 10 years doing minor roles in costume epics, dramas and low budget chillers. His breakthrough role came in 1960’s “The Fall of the House of Usher”. His last role was that of the kindly inventor in “Edward Scissorhands” but obviously in frail health.

Films (104) also include: “The Song of Bernadette” (1943)…”Laura” (1944)… “His Kind of Woman” (1951)… “The Fly” (1958) …”The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961) and “Tower of London” (1962).

Born: July 29, 1876 Tula, Russia
Died: December 3, 1949 Los Angeles, California (age 73)
Cause of death: a stroke 3 days after a tragic fire in her apartment
Real name: Maria Ouspenskaya Marriages: none listed

Remarks: A tiny, feisty and beloved actress, Maria came to the Us in 1923 with the Moscow Art Theater and stayed to play on the Broadway stage. She also ran a New York acting school until Hollywood beckoned in 1936. However, she took her acting school with her (John Garfield, Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg were among her students). Maria was nominated for supporting Oscars for “Dodsworth” (1936) and “Love Affair” (1939) but her gypsy fortuneteller Maleva in “Wolf Man” (1941) was the most memorable. Maria died of a stroke 3 days after a dropped cigarette set fire to her bed and eventually destroyed her Los Angeles apartment.

Films (26) also include: “The Rains Came” (1939)….”Waterloo Bridge” (1940)… “The Mortal Storm” (1940)…”Kings Row” (1942) and “A Kiss in the Dark “ (1949).

Born: June 26, 1904 Rozsahegy, Austria-Hungary (now Slovakia)
Died: March 23, 1964 Los Angeles, California (age 59)
Cause of death: stroke
Real name: Laszlo Lowenstein
Marriages: Three. Two ended in divorce. His third to Annamarie Brenning lasted 11 years until his death and produced one daughter.

Remarks: A bank clerk, Lorre began his stage training in Vienna and made his debut in Zurich. But despite 7 years on the stage across Switzerland, Austria and Germany, he was virtually unknown until he was chosen by Fritz Lang to play the central character in the director’s first sound picture “M” in 1931. His first American films were also successful…”Mad Love” and “Crime and Punishment” in 1935, “The Maltese Falcon” in 1941, “Casablanca” in 1942 and “The Mask of Dimitrious” in 1944. He was often paired with Sydney Greenstreet where his small stature was a distinctive contrast to the bulky Greenstreet.

Films (83) also include: “The Cross of Lorraine” (1943)…”Arsenic and Old Lace” (1944)…”The Beast with Five Fingers” (1946) and “The Raven” (1963).

Born: August 17, 1918 Valparaiso, Chile
Died: August 29, 1985 Haiku, Maui, Hawaii (age 67)
Cause of death: ovarian cancer
Real name: Evelyn Ankers
Marriages: One to actor Richard Denning that lasted 43 years until her death.

Remarks: “The Queen of Screamers” got her tag name because of her ability to produce blood-curdling screams on demand and it made her very popular in the “B” horror and suspense thriller films of the 1940’s. Born in Chile to British parents, she appeared in British films before coming to the New York stage. At 20 she got the second lead in “The Villiers Diamond” (1938) but most of her career was spent in “B” thrillers. She was engaged to Glenn Ford when she met and married Richard Denning. They retired to Hawaii and lived there until her death.

Films (52) also include: “The Wolf Man” (1941)…”The Ghost of Frankenstein” (1942)….”Son of Dracula” (1943)…”The Invisible Man’s Revenge” (1944) and “Black Beauty” (1946).

Born: August 16, 1899 Weed, New Mexico
Died: September 20, 1973 Los Angeles, California (age 74) Cause of death: lung cancer
Real name: George Glenn Strange
Marriages: One to Min Thompson and one daughter, Janine.

Remarks: Glenn had been riding the range and usually menacing other cowboys through most of the 30’s and early 40’s before donning the monster costume for the first time in “The House of Frankenstein” (1944). The cowboy star/singer (6’5”) was much taller than Boris Karloff and the costume no longer required the torturous metal casings now replaced by foam rubber. Glenn portrayed the monster in two more films …”House of Dracula” (1945) and “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” (1948). But he is probably best remembered as Sam the bartender in television’s “Gunsmoke” series.

Films (263) also include: “In Old Mexico” (1938)…”Action in the North Atlantic” (1948)…”Red River” (1948) and “The Red Badge of Courage” (1951).

Born: April 14, 1917 Larne, Northern Ireland
Died: November 13, 1998 London, England (age 81)
Cause of death: heart attack
Real name: Valerie Babette Louise Hobson
Marriages: Two. The first to British producer Anthony Havelock-Ellis ended in divorce after 13 years and 2 children. The second to politician John Profumo produced 1 son and lasted until her death.

Remarks: Born in Northern Ireland and the daughter of a British Army officer, Valerie made her stage debut at 15 and her film debut at 16. Invited to Hollywood in 1934, she soon tired of her roles in horror and thriller films and returned to England where she became one of Britain’s prime leading ladies. She retired from the screen after her divorce from Havelock-Ellis and remarried. But her second marriage to John Profumo involved her in the Profumo/Christine Keeler scandal that literally toppled the British cabinet in 1963. However, Valerie faithfully stood behind her husband through it all.

Films (45) also include: “Mystery of Edwin Drood” (1935)…”Bride of Frankenstein” (1935)…”Werewolf of London” (1935)…”Great Expectations” (1946) and “Kind Hearts and Coronets” (1949).