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Behind Lon Chaney's Mask
Mrs. Chaney and her husband werephoto graphed at one of the few picture openings they have attended.
I with Chaney has not only been a stimulus, but a big factor in strengthening him in the courage of his convictions.
Mrs. Chaney sang and danced in a musical comedy with Lon many years ago at the old Belasco Theater in Los Angeles. Robert Z. Leonard, the director, and Fatty Arbuckle were members of the same troupe.
One of Chaney's strong convictions is that the public should never know who he is, and that he should rarely appear at premieres or large public functions where he will be recognized. Preserving the illusion has ever been his watchword. Not one person in a thousand would know him on the street, anyway, but notwithstanding this, he has isolated himself from the . glamorous side of Hollywood for many years.
And on the nights when he and
Lon Chaney, here seen with Joan Crawford, as an armless circus performer in "The Unknown."
Mrs. Chaney go to the theater, it is toward the close of the run of a play or picture, and not even the wide-awake ushers and managers are aware of their presence. At parties they almost never appear, and if they happened to be present at a dinner dance at the Mayfair Club, I am quite sure some one would drop dead from the shock.
Probably the most satisfying compliment ever paid Chaney's wizardry in make-up came from a man at the Los Angeles opening of "Tell It to the Marines," in which Lon plays a top sergeant minus disguise or any make-up at all. On this occasion, for the first time in his career, Chaney made a personal appearance at the theater. He broke his steadfast rule, not because of studio exhortation, but because he thought this was the one occasion and hour to let down the bars.
When he came out on the stage and bowed and smiled, he received a tremendous ovation. The aforesaid man clapped vociferously and then said, "I sure would like to see what that guy Chaney looks like without make-up some time."
I have already alluded to Chaney's business ability, which in his case is another way of acknowledging his judgment and vision. A particularly striking example of his farsightedness was evidenced years ago when he was still with Universal and decided to strike out and make character roles his forte.
"I had been playing everything from heroes to heavies in those early days," he said. "But I wasn't getting anywhere. Salary, yes, but no personal satisfaction out of my work. I'm one of those people who have to love an awful lot what they're doing, or else they're
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