Lon Chaney is born Leonidas Frank Chaney in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1883. One of the most respected actors and biggest stars of the silent film era, he built a reputation for playing disfigured and tortured characters and for often creating the makeup for them, including The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Monster, London After Midnight, and most famously, The Phantom of the Opera. He died in 1930 at age 47.
This Day in Halloween: Silent film star Lon Chaney is born Leonidas Frank Chaney in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1883. / Illustration by Mikayla Webb.