<Tr> <Th> Children </Th> <Td> Lon Chaney Jr. (born as, Creighton Tull Chaney) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Website </Th> <Td> lonchaney.com </Td> </Tr> <P> Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883--August 26, 1930) was an American stage and film actor, make - up artist, director and screenwriter . He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of early cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and afflicted characters, and his groundbreaking artistry with makeup . Chaney was known for his starring roles in such silent horror films as The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) and The Phantom of the Opera (1925). His ability to transform himself using makeup techniques he developed earned him the nickname "The Man of a Thousand Faces". </P> <P> Leonidas Frank Chaney was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to Frank H. Chaney and Emma Alice Kennedy . His father was of English and French ancestry, and his mother was of Scottish, English, and Irish descent . Chaney's maternal grandfather, Jonathan Ralston Kennedy, founded the "Colorado School for the Education of Mutes" (now, Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind) in 1874, and Chaney's parents met there . His great - grandfather was congressman John Chaney . Both of Chaney's parents were deaf, and as a child of deaf adults Chaney became skilled in pantomime . He entered a stage career in 1902, and began traveling with popular Vaudeville and theater acts . In 1905, Chaney, then 22, met and married 16 - year - old singer Cleva Creighton (Frances Cleveland Creighton) and in 1906, their only child, a son, Creighton Tull Chaney (later known as Lon Chaney Jr .) was born . The Chaneys continued touring, settling in California in 1910 . </P>

Who was known as the man of a thousand faces