7. Universal Studios exploited Lon Chaney’s name by dropping the Jr.
Lon Chaney Sr. was a silent film star known as the “Man of a Thousand Faces”. He was an innovator in the use of makeup and costume which set him apart from other actors of his day, beginning his career onstage in Vaudeville. When his young wife attempted suicide in Los Angeles (she survived) the ensuing scandals resulted in Chaney leaving the stage for film, and sparked his interest in changing his character to the point that he as the actor was unrecognizable by the audience. It was Chaney who created Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (silent) and the title character in The Phantom of the Opera.
Chaney’s son Creighton changed his name to Lon Chaney Jr. when his film career began, aware of the box office drawing power of his father’s name. Universal Studios took it a step further and for a time dropped the Jr. in the hope of convincing potential audiences that it was the same actor. The second Lon Chaney found his initial success as Larry Talbot/The Wolf Man, and was soon typecast in that role, offered other horror picture roles on the Universal lot but never got the serious dramatic parts he craved. Later in his career, he gained some parts in films of the Western genre.
