1000 Faces

[caroljane]

I am watching "Man of a Thousand Faces" which I have never seen before. I did not know much about Lon Chaney except his name (I got him mixed up with Bela Lugosi), so I looked him up. What an extraordinary artist, and man he was.

Good movie too, so far.

[Dennis Hardin]

Carol,

You’re speaking of Lon Chaney, Sr, of course, the silent film actor. (His son, Lon Chaney, Jr., was equally famous for his Wolf Man roles.) Chaney the Senior was most famous for his role as "The Phantom of the Opera"—probably the most famous (and maybe the scariest) silent film of all time.

When I moved to Los Angeles in 1971, my first job was as a security guard at Universal Studios. On week-ends, I went on hourly tours of the various sound stages to insure all was well. I always looked forward to visiting stage 28 where much of the original "Phantom of the Opera" film set was still preserved, intact, almost 50 years after the film was released. I remember it as being a bit unsettling, but infinitely fascinating. I understand it is still there today. (I’ve read conflicting reports on whether the stage 28 set is actually the original or whether it may have been partially rebuilt after being destroyed by fire,)