Rare and terrific roughly 7.5 x 9.5-inch 1939 Hal Roach Studios publicity portrait as Lenny in Of Mice and Men, boldly signed and inscribed in blue fountain pen-- bearing his full signature, as "Lon Chaney, Jr."-- at the time of the film. Trimmed down very slightly from the original size of 8x10 for framing purposes, removing what were originally white borders; otherwise, in fine condition for its age, with the original studio snipe on the verso. Carrying on his father's legacy, Lon Chaney, Jr. was a bona fide icon of the horror, science-fiction and fantasy genres, channeling his personal battle with chronic alcoholism into the role of the tormented lycanthrope Larry Talbot in The Wolf Man (1941). He reprised the role in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), House of Frankenstein (1944), House Of Dracula (1945), and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), and was also memorable as Captain Hakur in Undersea Kingdom (1936); the Monster in The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942); Kharis in The Mummy’s Tomb (1942), The Mummy’s Ghost (1944) and The Mummy’s Curse (1944); the Count in Son of Dracula (1943); Dr. Steel in Calling Dr. Death (1943); Professor Reed in Weird Woman (1944); Bear in Ghost Catchers (1944); the blind artist in Dead Man’s Eyes (1944); Alex Gregor in The Frozen Ghost (1944); Jeffrey Carter in Strange Confession (1945); Wayne Fletcher in Pillow of Death (1946); The invulnerable Butcher in Indestructible Man (1956); Dr. Munroe in The Black Sheep (1956); Martin Melville in The Cyclops (1957); Manon in The Alligator People (1959); the werewolf in La Case del Terror (1960); Satan in The Devil’s Messenger (1961); Simon Orne in The Haunted Palace (1963); the mummified wolf man in Face of the Screaming Werewolf (1963); Morgan Whitlock in Witchcraft (1964); Belial Desard in House of the Black Death (1965); Dr. Mendell in Dr. Terror’s Gallery of Horrors (1967); Bruno in Spider Baby (1968); and Groton in Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971).

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