The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1930-09-03

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in 1t out Of joint.
The one-eyed dive keeper in ION
the Road to Mandalay."
The d~oubled-up crook In 1.-THE
Blackbird," which he effected by
curving his spine, drawing up one
leg and having the tailor accentuate
this apparent bodily deformity by
making one side Of his suit Of clothes
longer than the other.
The armless circus freak in 1.-The
Unknown in which he had his
arms bound closely to his sides.
The paralyzed African trader in
West of Zanzibar" who dragged
himself around with his hands.
The Dracula-nke vampire in Lon
don After Midnight" in which he
used a chemical to distend his eyes
after a formula prepared by an ocu-
list.
The hideous, Sinking creature OF
the cellar in The Phantom of the
Opera"
The ng-haired Sergei in his Rus
sian drama, "Mockery."
The sad-hearted circus clown In
He Who Gets Slapped"
The fiend-like Gaspard the Good
in THE Trap" his north woods
drama Of revenge.
The grandmotherly old woman and
Prof. Echo, the ventriloquist, whose
parts he played in 1.-THE Unholy
Three"
sHe made one picture in which he
wore no makeup at all-not even
powder. That was Tell It to the
Marines" in which CLANCY played
the hard-boiled Sergeant O'FIara. 1t
proved one Of his greatest successes;
his acting did 1t.
X X X
Chaney's success at make-up was
not gained at the price Of pain alone.
For years after he first tackled Holly
wood Al an EXTRA" he spent several
hours each day before his. mirror,
putting makeup on and taking It off
just to see what he could do. After
he got to be- a star. he often spent
three hours a day making DIP; in the
filming of "Mr. WI" he arrived at
the studio regularly at 6 a.. m. so he
could have his makeup completed
when the cameras began grinding
at 9.
He visited police courts, water
front dives and all sorts Of places in
search OF types. The pictures in the
rogues' gallery at police headquarters
proved q gold mine; his sinister, leer-
ing Singapore Joe" whose blind eye
he simulated by inserting q milky
glass eye under his own lid, was one
Of the rogue gallery's. products.
Layer on layer he built up his face
to change its appearance, using putty
or plastic wax for the purpose. Lines
he graved thereon with a sharp trac-
er. Scars he initiated with chemicals.
Cotton stuffed in his jaws to make
his face puff out: bits Of rubber worn
in his nostrils to make his nose ap-
pear flat; hidden face clamps to warp
his features; false teeth that fitted
over his own; wigs, artificial eye
brows and the like-all these were
the implements of his trade.
- X \ \
CLANCY had none of those eccen-
tricities like Richard Mansfield, his
famous predecessor of the legitimate
theater, who is said to have COM
PEELED stage hands to wear soft-soled
shoes so they would not make q
sound during his great dramatic mo-
ments. Lon was congenial with
everybody around the studio.N But he
was a hard worker-as hard as any
Hollywood has ever seen.
He went into his roles with an in
tensity that might lead one to be-
neve. he had hypnotized himself into
actually living the part of the cripple
or the deformed man whom he play
ed. All else seemed forgotten. But
the instant the cameras ceased to
grind CLANCY vas himself again.
Hes just like an electric light
he switches himself on and off," a
studio spectator once described it..
\ \ X
OF all the horrible demons in HUI
man form that Chaney's fantastic
mind conceived and his genius OF
makeup gave birth, perhaps none
was more hideous than the sinking
and masked cellar creature who
haunts the memory of those who
saw "The Phantom of the Opera
The great moment came when this
villain was finally cornered and his
mask was withdrawn, revealing a face
that nothing less than a grinning
tight-skinned Death Head could
equal for. pure horror.
NEXT: Lon CLANCY as q man and
q husband 80. the little known pri-
vatc life Of the screens best known
actor.
Plant diseases cost the U. s. abou,
81, SOC, 000, 900 last year.