Lon Chaney, Jr.

He achieved immortality by appearing on one of a series of United States postage stamps portraying movie monsters, as the Wolf Man, in 1977. His sons, Paul and Pádraig, work as a producer with RTÉ and in computers, respectively. He maintained a strong career in horror movies, playing all four of the classic horror roles -- the Wolf Man, Frankenstein's monster in The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), The Mummy in The Mummy's Tomb (1942) and (the son of) Dracula in Son of Dracula (1943). His four daughters, Niamh, Sorcha, Sinéad and Catherine are actresses. In 1941 he starred in the title role of The Wolf Man, the characterization which would be his stereotypical role for the rest of his life. Cusack's last stage performance was in Chekhov's The Three Sisters, in which three of his daughters played the sisters. He did not achieve stardom until the 1939 feature film version of Of Mice and Men, in which he played Lennie Small. In 1989 his performance in the film My Left Foot, with Daniel Day-Lewis, contributed to its success.

His first movie was an uncredited role in the 1932 film Girl Crazy. In 1984 he appeared as the shop-keeper and Thought Police spy Charrington in the film version of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. He did not take any movie roles until after his father's death. He received honorary doctorates in 1977 and 1980 from the NUI and the University of Dublin respectively. But he also studied makeup under his father. Two years later in 1979 he married Mary Rose Cunningham. He worked menial jobs in order to make his own way. In 1977 Cusack's wife, Maureen Kiely, an actress, died.

Chaney worked hard to avoid his father's shadow. By this stage he had established a successful career in films. Chaney was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and died in San Clemente, California. In 1963 he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in London and appeared there for several seasons. He was born Creighton Tull Chaney, and was first credited as "Lon Chaney, Jr." in 1935, as a studio marketing ploy. In 1947 Cusack formed his own company and staged productions in Dublin, Paris and New York City. Lon Chaney, Jr. (February 10, 1906 - July 12, 1973) was an American character actor, well-known mainly for his roles in monster movies and as the son of his better-known father, Lon Chaney. Between then and 1945 he performed in over sixty productions, particularly excelling in the plays of Sean O'Casey.

He left without a degree and joined the Abbey Theatre in 1932. Cusack was educated in Newbridge, Kildare, and University College, Dublin. Cyril made his first stage performance at the age of seven. Cusack's mother and her partner, Breifne O'Rorke, joined the O'Brien and Ireland Players.

His parents separated when he was young and his mother took him to England, and then to Ireland. He was the son of a sergeant in the mounted police and an actress. Cyril Cusack (26 November 1910 - 7 October 1993) was an Irish actor, born in Natal, South Africa.