Made first stage appearance at age of six months

Worked as butcher boy, boilermaker, plumber and fruit picker before begining his acting career

Joined stock companies in the Middle West and played bit parts in film as Creighton Chaney

Film debut in serial, "The Last Frontier" and feature, "Girl Crazy"

First billed as Lon Chaney, Jr.

Major film breakthrough when he recreated his stage role of Lennie in a fine screen adaptation of John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men"

First starring roles in horror films, "Man Made Monster" and "The Wolf Man"; the latter marked the first of several times he played the cursed Lawrence Talbot