Question: Universal Monsters was a concept that began with the silent films starring which American stage actor?

full_context: Document 1: The Ghost of Frankenstein: The Ghost of Frankenstein is a 1942 American horror film, and the fourth in a series of films produced by Universal Studios based upon characters in Mary Shelley's novel "Frankenstein". The film features Lon Chaney, Jr. as the Monster, taking over from Boris Karloff, who played the role in the first three films of the series, and Béla Lugosi in his second and final appearance as the demented Ygor. The supporting cast features Lionel Atwill, Cedric Hardwicke, Ralph Bellamy and Evelyn Ankers.
Document 2: Horror icon: A horror icon is a person or fictional character that is considered to be significant to one or more genres of horror such as film, literature, or video games. Examples of people considered to be horror icons include directors Stephen King, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Roger Corman, and Wes Craven, and actors Vincent Price, Barbara Steele, Lon Chaney and Lon Chaney, Jr., Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Robert Englund, Tony Todd, Tim Curry, Brad Dourif, and Christopher Lee. Fictional horror icon characters include such as Dracula, Gill-man, Frankenstein's monster, Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Chucky, Candyman, Leatherface, Pennywise the Dancing Clown, Pinhead, and The Mummy.
Document 3: Boris Karloff: William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff, was an English actor who was primarily known for his typecast roles in horror films that depicted the characters Frankenstein and the Mummy. He portrayed Frankenstein's monster in "Frankenstein" (1931), "Bride of Frankenstein" (1935), and "Son of Frankenstein" (1939), which resulted in his immense popularity. He also appeared as Imhotep in "The Mummy" (1932).
Document 4: The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film): The Phantom of the Opera is a 1925 American silent horror film adaptation of Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel "Le Fantôme de l'Opéra", directed by Rupert Julian and starring Lon Chaney, Sr. in the title role of the deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House, causing murder and mayhem in an attempt to make the woman he "loves" a star. The film remains most famous for Chaney's ghastly, self-devised make-up, which was kept a studio secret until the film's premiere. The film was released on November 25, 1925.
Document 5: House of Dracula: House of Dracula is a 1945 American monster crossover horror film released by Universal Pictures. It was a direct sequel to "House of Frankenstein", and continued the theme of combining Universal's three most popular monsters: Frankenstein's monster (Glenn Strange), Count Dracula (John Carradine), and the Wolf Man (Lon Chaney Jr.). The film, which was the seventh Universal film to feature Frankenstein's monster, as well as the fourth with Count Dracula and the Wolf Man, was a commercial success, but was one of the last Universal movies featuring Frankenstein's monster, vampires, and werewolves, with the exception of the comedy "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" (1948), in which all three appear.
Document 6: House of Frankenstein (1944 film): House of Frankenstein is a 1944 American monster crossover horror film starring Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney Jr., directed by Erle C. Kenton, written by Curt Siodmak, and produced by Universal Studios as a sequel to "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man" the previous year. The cast includes a mad scientist (Karloff), the Wolf Man (Chaney), Count Dracula (John Carradine), a hunchback (J. Carrol Naish), and Frankenstein's monster (Glenn Strange). This "monster rally" approach would continue in the following film, "House of Dracula", as well as the 1948 comedy "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein".
Document 7: Bela Lugosi: Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (] ; 20 October 1882 – 16 August 1956), better known as Bela Lugosi ( ; ] ), was a Hungarian-American actor, famous for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 film and for his roles in various other horror films.
Document 8: Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man: Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man is a 1943 American horror film produced by Universal Studios starring Lon Chaney, Jr. as the Wolf Man and Bela Lugosi as Frankenstein's monster. This was the first of a series of "ensemble" monster films combining characters from several film series. This film, therefore, is both the fifth in the series of films based upon Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein", directly after "The Ghost of Frankenstein", and a sequel to "The Wolf Man".
Document 9: Night Monster: Night Monster is a 1942 American black-and-white horror film featuring Bela Lugosi and produced and distributed by Universal Pictures Company. The movie uses an original story and screenplay by Clarence Upson Young and was produced and directed by Ford Beebe. For box office value, star billing was given to Bela Lugosi and Lionel Atwill, but the lead roles were played by Ralph Morgan, Irene Hervey and Don Porter, with Atwill in a character role as a pompous doctor who becomes a victim to the title character, and Lugosi in a small part as a butler.
Document 10: Vincent Price: Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and performances in horror films. His career spanned other genres, including film noir, drama, mystery, thriller, and comedy. He appeared on stage, television, radio, and more than one hundred films. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: one for motion pictures, and one for television. Born and raised in the Saint Louis, Missouri, area, Price also has a star on the Saint Louis Walk of Fame.
Document 11: Lon Chaney Jr.: Creighton Tull Chaney (February10, 1906 –July12, 1973), known by his stage name Lon Chaney Jr., was an American actor known for playing Larry Talbot in the 1941 film "The Wolf Man" and its various crossovers, and Count Alucard (son of Dracula) in numerous horror films produced by Universal Studios. He also portrayed Lennie Small in "Of Mice and Men" (1939). Originally referenced in films as Creighton Chaney, he was later credited as "Lon Chaney Jr." in 1935, and after 1941's "Man Made Monster", beginning as early as "The Wolf Man" later that same year, he was almost always billed under his more famous father's name as Lon Chaney. Chaney had English, French, and Irish ancestry, and his career in movies and television spanned four decades, from 1931 to 1971.
Document 12: Boris Karloff filmography: This is the filmography of Boris Karloff. Born as William Henry Pratt, he joined a touring company and adopted the stage name Boris Karloff. During these early stages of his career he was mostly left in obscurity. By 1919, Karloff found regular work as an extra at Universal Studios. Karloff's first significant hit film was in Howard Hawks's "The Criminal Code" (1931). While shooting "Graft", director James Whale convinced Karloff to star as a character in one of his most popular roles as Frankenstein's monster in "Frankenstein" which led to him becoming an overnight superstar. After "Frankenstein" and starring in several high-profile films such as "Bride of Frankenstein" and "Scarface", Karloff spent the remainder of the 1930s continuing to work at an incredible pace, but progressively more into less financially successful films. Karloff starred in a few acclaimed Val Lewton produced horror films of the 1940s and by the mid-1950s, he was a familiar presence on television hosting his own series including "Thriller" and "The Veil" and guest starring on such variety programs as "The Donald O'Connor Show".
Document 13: Universal Monsters: Universal Monsters is a phrase used to describe the horror, suspense and science fiction films made by Universal Studios during the decades of the 1920s through the 1950s. They began with "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and "The Phantom of the Opera", both silent films starring Lon Chaney. Universal continued with talkies including monster franchises "Dracula", "Frankenstein", "The Mummy", "The Invisible Man", "The Wolf Man" and "Creature from the Black Lagoon". The films often featured Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney, Jr.
Document 14: Lon Chaney: 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".
Document 15: Le Pustra: Le Pustra (1 July 1977) is a multidisciplinary performance artist, actor, singer, musical saw player, model and was originally part of the comedy Cabaret duo, Pustra/Vile-een's Vaudeville that performed from 2006 to mid 2009. The character of Le Pustra is loosely based on Commedia dell'arte's stock character, Pierrot and the Gothic visual style of film director, Tim Burton. Le Pustra is known for his often macabre white face make-up, "pointy" red lips and romantic and glamorous style, sometimes resembling a Weimar porcelain doll. A self-proclaimed Bon Vivant and 'Vaudeville's Darkest Muse', He appears regularly on the International Circuit in Cabaret, Burlesque, Variety and has appeared in cities such as Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, New York, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Perth (Australia), Stockholm and Venice. He is much admired and respected for his personal style, unique persona and melancholic live performances. Other influences include "shock" artist and fashion designer, Leigh Bowery, countertenor Klaus Nomi, silent film actress Theda Bara, singer/actor David Bowie and the iconic Marlene Dietrich.
ground_truth: Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney