THE WOLF MAN!!

The Rogue Speaks:

We are all the way up to "W" in Jenny's Alphabe-Thursday, and there were certainly many words to choose from! It actually wasn't too hard for me to make up my mind, though. I have always loved the horror movies of the 30's and 40's, so Lon Chaney Jr. immediately came to mind as the quintessential wolf man!!

Lon Chaney, Jr. was born in Oklahoma City in 1906. His father was an actor who discouraged his son from a career in films. Instead, the younger Chaney went to work for an appliance company in L.A., and did not begin his acting career until after his father died. He starred in his first film in 1932. In 1939, he made quite a name for himself in "Of Mice and Men," but once he played "The Wolf Man" in 1941, he became typecast as a star of horror films.

Although he occasionally played character parts in other films, his typecasting and a serious bout with alcoholism made his acting life difficult. He died in 1973, but his wonderful horror films live on!!


Did you think that was the end of my post?? No, no, no! In keeping with my propensity for the somewhat bizarre, I feel compelled to write about Wolf Man Syndrome, or hypertrichosis.

Hypertrichosis is an extremely rare medical condition that causes thick hair to cover the body. The hair also grows in places not normally covered by hair to begin with. Not much is known about this rare condition, but one theory is that it is caused by a gene that becomes a throwback to the early evolution of humans.

The two young Mexican brothers shown above both suffer from this strange disease. They have made lives for themselves, however, displaying their strange affliction on the midway of a Mexican circus.

After researching this strange disease, I will never again complain about having to shave my legs. Things could be a lot worse!