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Sam says on 29/Apr/09
He looked right around the same height as 6'1" Claude Akins and just slightly shorter than 6'2.5" Sidney Poitier in The Defiant Ones. He's in his 50s in that movie and has somewhat slack posture. Anonymous says on 13/Jan/09
He looked to be two inches shorter than Vincent Price. Price was 6'4 or 6'5.
Chaney was 6'2.
adam says on 24/Nov/08
Was Bela as tall as 6-1½? I dont think that he was quite that tall... Also did mr. Chaney have 2 inches on him? Steven DeMarco says on 17/Oct/08
When talking to his grandson Ron, who knew his Grandfather better than anyone else, told me that Lon Chaney Jr. (Gramps) was 63'-64'. He was 2 inches taller than Bela who was 6'1 1/2'' which makes Lon Chaney Jr. 6'3"1/2 on the button.He was 6'3.5 250LBS Ron said.There you guys go,...Ron should know better than anyone else.By the way Ralph Ballemy was 6'2" even. KingNick says on 24/May/08
Probably my favorite actor, at the least tied in with his father. An easy 6'2" and well built. In "The Wolfman" there's a scene where they comment on it. "Big boy. Huge. He should be one of the guards." pjama says on 13/May/08
does any one remember Abbot and costello meet Frankenstien? he looked so big compared to bud and lou. this guy was pretty big back in the day. i think 6'2 is fairly accurate. Anonymous says on 4/May/08
looked an inch taller than raymond burr in bride of the gorilla Scott B. says on 2/Apr/08
I heard Robert Mitchum was 6'2. In his Prime Lon Chaney jr was 6'2 as well. Bob says on 18/Mar/08
I think it's truly ironic that Chaney Sr. objected to his son becoming an actor because of his height of 6'2,yet the first role for which Chaney Jr. got major notice was Lennie in Of Mice and Men, a role the 'Man of a Thousand Faces,' would have been too short to play even with lifts! glenn says on 16/Sep/07
lon chaney senior was 5-9. Scott says on 16/Sep/07
Lon Chaney Jr was a solid 6'2. When standing next to Vincent Price he look
to be at most 2 incher shorter, Vincent Price being 6'4. BK says on 16/Apr/07
I always thought he had to be 6'2"-6'3". I watched "The Invincible Man (made ca.1956)when I was 12-13. I remember thinking he was a very big, strong, and scary-looking man! Mike says on 27/Jul/06
Chaney appears to be a few inches shorter than 6'-1" Robert Mitchum in "Not As a Stranger"...in their scene together, Chaney is wearing a bathrobe, so he may have been wearing slippers or was barefoot. Mitchum was most likely wearing thick soled shoes. Chaney appeared to be slightly stooped over, whether due to physical ailment or maybe possibly fitting into his role as the alcoholic father.What do you say Frank2 ?...do you think Mitchum was actually taller than Chaney ? Mike says on 25/Jul/06
Chaney looked a couple of inches shorter than Robert Mitchum in "Not as a Stranger...their scene together showed Chaney in a bathrobe so he might have been wearing slippers or was barefoot...whereas 6'-01" Mitchum was most likely wearing thick soled shoes...Chaney also seemed slighly stooped over...I dont know if this was due to physical ailments or just the way Chaney wanted to portray his character...what do you think, Frank ? was Mitchum actually taller than Chaney ? Frank2 says on 24/Jun/06
Claud Raines was 5'5". So at 6'2", Cheney would be nine inches taller. Larry says on 21/Jun/06
Today was "short therapy" day, so I watched several of my DVD's. In THE WOLFMAN, Chaney Jr. is more like 8" taller than Claud Raines. They are in many scenes together & Claud comes up to about Lon's chin. 4.5 to 5" is about eye-level. Also, In the MUMMY'S GHOST, Lon is a good 2" taller than John Carradine, even though Lon was wrapped as THE MUMMY wearing nothing but briefs. Famous Monsters of Filmland had several pics of Jack Pierce "wrapping Lon" for the part. John Carradine was ~ 5'11.5" at the time. Maybe they DID enhance Lon's height TO 6'6" in OF MICE AND MEN, but it was from 6'2". But, to my eyes, he looks 6'2" in OF MICE AND MEN. He is about 9-10 inches taller than 5'4 or 5" Burgess Merridith. He's an inch taller than Charles Bickford, who portrayed SLIM & was 6'1" at the time. Lon was in a few movies BEFORE OF MICE & MEN. He acted under his real name then. In THE BIRD OF PARADISE he is only 1" less than 6'3" Joel Macrea. Glenn says on 19/Jun/06
Correct on all Frank. Anonymous says on 19/Jun/06
the problem with trying to compare chaney snr to other actors is that in quite a few of his films his posture is affected by deformities. hes listed as 5'9" in most places. john carradine was that thin that he probably looked taller than he was Frank2. says on 19/Jun/06
Lon Jr. was a solid 6'2". His dad was about 5'9".
By the way, Lionel Atwill wasn't 5'10.5". More like 5'9" at the very most. And John Carradine was never, ever 6'2". He was about 5'11.5" when he was younger and dropped down to about 5'10" when he got older. In The Unearthly he was about two inches shorter than 6' Myron Healey. Carradine also weighed about 125 lbs. Glenn says on 19/Jun/06
I read 6-3.5 once.I swear.his father was 5-9. Larry says on 19/Jun/06
BK - Well, Chaney Jr. down-played his OWN height, partly because his father (Chaney Sr.) told him 6'2" was "Too tall to be an actor" (in HIS opinion). Chaney wore the standard 6" asphault spreader boots to play the Frankenstein monster in THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN. Chaney was in many movies & never looked less than 6'2". There are many stills from OF MICE AND MEN and Lon's footwear looks normal. Also, he RAN more than once in that movie & you can't run in 6" lifts. Notice how everyone who played the Frankenstein monster ambled along in those things? If Lon Chaney Jr. was "only" 6', then Vincent Price was barely 6'2" and Gary Cooper was 6'1". It would downgrade a bunch of actors. Universal Studios and Chaney parted ways in an "unfriendly" fashion. A lot of unfavorable publicity got out from them about many actors & actresses who left. Ron Chaney (Lon's grandson) has a website devoted to both his granddad and his great granddad. He certainly knows how tall his grandfather was. Anyway, when an actor makes a GREAT number of movies, one can compare their stature to the height of other actors AND look for consistency. Watch ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN. Lon is 6" taller than 5'8" bud Abbott and 1" (at least) taller than 6'1" Lugosi. Gramps says on 19/Jun/06
Sorry, I forgot that you can't link to specific photos on that Brian's Drive-In site. Guess they figure you won't be able to see their advertising. Larry says on 31/May/06
Thanks Rob! :-)I believe I have all of The Universal Classic Monsters series and grew up watching these and Roger Corman and Hammer Films. Chaney Jr. (real name: Creighton Tull Chaney) always looked this height. He was only 2" shorter than 6'4" vincent Price in THE HAUNTED PALACE and was at least an inch taller than 6'1" Ralph Bellamy in THE WOLFMAN. He towered over 5'8" Tony Curtis in THE DEFIANT ONES and was a good 1" taller than Claud Atkins (who was 6'1") in the same movie. Was a very big and solidly built guy in his glory days. Very underrated actor IMHO. |