Lon Chaney, Sr.

Lon Chaney has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and in 1994, he was honored with his image on a United States postage stamp designed by caricaturist Al Hirschfeld. He starred in "Dance of the Vampires" on Broadway during late 2002 & early 2003 and is currently appearing in Lloyd Webber's new musical "The Woman in White" which opened at the Palace Theatre, London in September 2004. The cause of death was lung cancer, and he was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, in Glendale, California. At the gala, Michael was presented with a Birthday cake. This earned both of them a mention in Warren Zevon's popular song, Werewolves of London. He also performed "Music of the Night" at the Inaugural Gala for President George Bush in Washington DC on Jan 19th 1989. His son, Lon Chaney, Jr., was also known for his acting in horror movies. Crawford has played leading roles in films such as Hello, Dolly (1968), but more often appears on stage, having starred in West End productions such as Billy (based on the novel, Billy Liar) (1974), Barnum (1981) (one of the longest runs by a leading man) and, most notably, Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera (1986), for which he won an Olivier Award (Best Actor in a Musical), a Tony Award (Best Performance By An Actor In a Lead Role, Musical), a N.Y's Drama Desk Award, and a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Distinguished Achievement in Theatre (Lead Performance).

In the 1957 biography Man of a Thousand Faces, James Cagney portrayed Chaney. It was one of the BBC's most successful series of all time. His ability to transform himself without sophisticated make-up techniques earned him the nickname of "Man of a Thousand Faces". Although he most often appears in musicals, he became known to millions for his role as the hapless Frank Spencer in the television sitcom, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, for which he performed most of his own stunts. Born to deaf parents in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Leonidas Frank Chaney, skilled in pantomime, made his silent movie debut in 1912 and is chiefly remembered as a forerunner in such horror films as The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Phantom of the Opera. Crawford began his acting career as a seven-year-old, appearing in the première of Benjamin Britten's work for children, Let's Make an Opera. Lon Chaney, Sr. (April 1, 1883 - August 26, 1930) was an American actor. Michael Patrick Dumble-Smith (born January 19, 1942), better known as Michael Crawford, is one of Britain's leading actors, so much so that he was voted into the Top "100 Greatest Britons" in a 2002 poll sponsored by the BBC.