“The Wolfman,” Universal Studios Florida, 2009.
On this date in 1973, Lon Chaney Jr., the only actor to have played all four of the major Universal Monsters creatures, died of heart failure.
Chaney Jr. starred as Frankenstein’s Monster in “The Ghost of Frankenstein” (1942), the titular character in “Son of Dracula” (1943) and Kharis the mummy in “The Mummy’s Tomb” (1942), “The Mummy’s Ghost” (1944) and “The Mummy’s Curse” (1944). His most famous role was undoubtedly that of the likeable, yet ultimately doomed, Larry Talbot in“The Wolf Man” (1941).
In 2010, a remake of “The Wolf Man” was released in theaters. Prior to its release, the film was used as the basis for Halloween Horror Nights house, 2009’s “The Wolfman” (seen at top).
“The Wolfman” photo by Dick Johnson. Lon Chaney Jr. photo courtesy of Doctor Macro.