Did you know...?

Lon Chaney's appearance in
Phantom of the Opera

Before Andrew Lloyd Webber created the famous musical, The Phantom of the Opera, the story of The Phantom was told through the 1925 film of the same name. The silent film went through production thrice, being turned down by test audiences twice. It is most famous, however, for Lon Chaney Senior's self-applied make up.

The elder Lon Chaney (as his son was Lon Chaney Jr) was an infamous American film star. On the silver screen he appeared in multiple films, each time sporting self-designed and self-applied make up which distorted his image dramatically. Prior his famous role as Erik, the apparition of the Paris Opera House, he sported the make up for Quasimodo in the 1923 edition of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.

Lon Chaney without
makeup

He is still known for pioneering modern film make up, using revolutionary and even somewhat eccentric approaches to don his infamously hideous visages. Phantom of the Opera was no different. For the 1925 film, he designed and applied his own make up (as he did in most of his films). He painted his eye sockets black, giving him the famous skull-like look which Gaston Leroux originally described in his novel. (Gaston Leroux was the author of The Phantom of the Opera, a book published in the nineteenth century and which went from an unknown work to an instant classic near the end of his life with the release of the American film.) Black paint was also applied around his nostrils to enlarge their appearance. Further enhancing the unsightly appearance was Chaney's nose, its tip pulled up and pinned in place with wire. Chaney also wore jagged prosthetic teeth to complete the look.

According to reports, women in the test audience reportedly fainted when Chaney made his abrupt appearance unmasked. Others in the audience merely screamed. His appearance has been hailed as the most accurate appearance (in accordance with Leroux's specifications) to date. (I can confirm this, as I have read the novel.)