Lon Chaney

Lon Chaney transformed cinema through radical mastery of makeup and physical performance. Born in Colorado Springs in 1883, he began his career in vaudeville before Universal Studios recognized his talent for character roles. His breakthrough came in 1919 with The Miracle Man, but he achieved immortality through two roles: as Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) and the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera (1925).