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Lon Chaney
The Lon Chaney Theatre (originally called the Little Theatre, renamed in 1986), is named after Lon Chaney, one of the most famous silent film actors "man of a thousand faces," who died in Hollywood early on the morning of Aug. 26, 1930, reportedly of a throat hemorrhage. His given name was Leonard Frank (after his father) Chaney. He tried several "stage" names, early in his career. Among them were "Leonidas and "Alonso". Eventually, Leonard became "Lon". Lon Chaney's parents were deaf and mute, but they both had sight. His grandparents (the Kennedy's), all of whose children were deaf, founded the Deaf and Blind School in Colorado Springs when Colorado was still a territory in 1874.
Lon Chaney was born here, in Colorado Springs, on April 1, 1883. Lon Chaney Month was declared, by the City Council, in April 2006, 2007, and will be re-stated every year for the month of April, so that we may celebrate his birthday, with programs and his silent films, accompanied by the 1927 Wurlitzer Theatre Pipe Organ at the Historic Colorado Springs City Auditorium..
Lon's mother married Frank Chaney, who was a well known barber in Colorado Springs. His mother met Frank, at the D&B School, when she was a teacher there and they were married. She suffered from extremely bad arthritis and was bed ridden for years. Lon used to pantomime events in town so she would be able to share in the local gossip.
As a very young man, he worked at several jobs, including wall paper hanger, carpet installer and tour guide on Pikes Peak. He worked at the Colorado Springs Opera House for his brother, John, who was the manager. From there he went on to perform and got into the movies in California. The old opera house is still standing, on Tejon Street and is the building where Woolworth's was, downtown. It was built in 1880 and is now a nightclub. His mother died in 1914 and is buried in Evergreen Cemetery (see photo below). Creighton Chaney, his son, lived in Colorado Springs, for a short time, as a baby, with his grandparents, Frank and Emma Chaney. His father wanted him to learn a trade, so that he could make a living, rather than depend on show business. Creighton eventually went into acting, and was very successful. The studio wanted to capitolize on his father's fame, and wanted to change his name to Lon Chaney Jr, which Creighton was opposed to, since he wanted to "make it" on his own, and not his father's fame. The studio was not going to back down, and, in the end, they were probably right. As soon as his name was changed, parts were opened up, for him to play, and he became very successful. He was a fine actor, and became most well known, as the "Wolfman", although he played many rolls, in films and on television.
The D&B School has provided copies of the hand written ledgers and other historical items to put in a memorial showcase in the office of the City Auditorium and will be open for visitors to see.
See Lon Chaney Biography for more information and a picture.
Emma Chaney's Headstone, in Evergreen Cemetery. The inscription,
at the bottom reads: "Blessed are the dead who die in
the Lord"
We are raising money to restore the Original Theatre Seats in the Lon Chaney Theatre. We are doing three rows at a time (27 seats). At present we have raised the funds and have restored eighty-one 81) seats and are installing tile floor covering, to replace the painted floor, as funds come in. The first seat, shown below, has a brass plaque, on the back, with Lon Chaney's name on it. This seat is now in the center of the first row. Seats may be restored for a donation of $ 300.00 per seat and includes a plaque for the person or group in who's honor it is being restored and preserved. . We have been forced to raise the price, due to increased cost of materials, for the seats and plaques. Prices will be held through December 2007, or as long as we can. If you would like to take part in this project by donating money, please contact Friends of the Historic Colorado Springs City Auditorium Inc., by writing to Friends of City Auditorium, P.O. Box 1696, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80901-1696, or from the link on this web site. Please do not call or write to the City Auditorium, as they do not have the information or personnel to handle any requests for the Friends of the Historic Colorado Springs City Auditorium. We are a 501 (c)(3) non-profit, recognized by the Internal Revenue Service and the State of Colorado.
Restored Seat from the Lon Chaney Theatre. Note rack on the
bottom to hold
a man's hat!
Lon Chaney, as "Mr. Wu", from the Lon Chaney Showcase.
http://www.historiconline.org/lonchaney.html Updated April 3, 2008