Chaney may have been the greatest character actor of all time. Each Chaney film character was different. He could play a moll, a handicapped charlatan, a murderer, a hunchback, the Phantom of the Opera, etc. It is a testament to his talents that, after all these years, his Phantom is the definitive version. Yet, most folks of my generation never saw more than a few scenes of Chaney, usually from his Hunchback and Phantom movies. A shame, really.

My generation’s Chaney was Lon Chaney Jr. Chaney Jr. always seemed to place himself in the shadow of his father. He could not live up to the acclaim that surrounded his father’s film accomplishments. But, to kids growing up in the 1950’s, there was a no better treat than to stay up late on a saturday night and watch a Chaney Jr. horror film. (He played, variously, Frankenstein’s creature, the son of Dracula, the mummy, an “Atomic Monster”, and, of course, The Wolfman, his signature creation).

Unlike his father, Chaney Jr. brought to his characters something sympathetic: pathos. Whether as the cursed Larry Talbot (THE WOLF MAN), the mentally challenged Lenny (OF MICE AND MEN), or the old, ailing lawman (HIGH NOON), we always felt for him.

So here is a toast to the Chaneys, father and son. Great actors, and makers of immortal monsters.