Jekyll Island Beach 2012

Jekyll Island Beach 2012

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

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!

40 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh...oh...I think I just lost my appetite. And that's amazing, you know, due to the pregnancy and all.

I'm with you: I will never complain about shaving my legs again. I wonder how well laser hair removal would work for these guys?

Judie said...

Noelle, laser removal does work for some of these poor folks, but it is incredibly expensive!!

noexcuses said...

Thanks for the info on Lon. I did not know that about his dad.

The medical condition looks like it could be a problem, but I'm sure these people have adapted well.

I've gone through the big "M", and don't have much to shave on my legs anymore!

Great post!

EG CameraGirl said...

OH my goodness. Shaving my legs is easy peasy compared to living with hair all over.

Lola said...

wow! Wow! Wow!

Phew!

Great thought-provoking post as always!

XOXO Lola:)

JJ said...

Even a man who is pure of heart and says his prayers by night can turn into a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright.

Mary said...

What a horrible affliction... but I'm chuckling at "I will never again complain about having to shave my legs" :-)

Unknown said...

I dunno...as I get older and find crazy hair in the strangest of places (chin, upper lip, nose) I think I can feel a wee bit of empathy for these "wolfmen".

Unknown said...

I think it would tough to live with this problem. People can be so cruel.

Teresa said...

Good thing we live in an age where things like this can be taken care of. This so reminded me of the movie Transylvania 65000. If you haven't seen it, it is the funniest, stupid movie you could hope to see!

Linda Bob Grifins Korbetis Hall said...

are they real?
wow, wolfmen look like humans too.

glad that they are on movies only.
fun w post.
Bless you.

THE SNEE said...

Suddenly, I have an urge to howl at the moon.

Judie said...

Hahahaha! Howl at the moon? I do that every night!!! And, yes, they are real! I keep hoping that the hair on my legs will disappear, but so far that just has not happened!!

Unknown said...

Judie, I read about this disorder. I am grateful to be relatively normal. :-)

I am sorry, not sure what you meant by your comment. The reference of white is not literal and the poem is referring to how winter has so much less color than the other seasons. Some days the sky are solid white/gray and the ground is covered in snow - no leaves, no flowers and so forth; like a monochrome day...It shows how as humans we whine about not having our choice of weather but others have it much worse.

Pondside said...

My goodness - what an affliction!

21 Wits said...

Oh my goodness, wait I have to check and see if the moon is full tonight, with those hairy creatures! When ever I hear Wolfman ...my mind always goes to Wolfman Jack! Great information and wow totally awesome photos! Thanks!

Theresa Plas said...

How interesting! I had no idea there was such a thing as "Hypertrichosis". Always enjoy your research Judie!

Julie Kwiatkowski Schuler said...

I think it would be cool to be a wolf woman! Also, the Mexican brothers are very talented acrobats.

Judie said...

Judy, I left you a message on your post.

Sarah said...

I think "NoNo!" is a lot cheaper than laser but I'm not sure if it works on THAT much hair. On the other hand, a career in circus sounds fun.

~✽Mumsy✽~ said...

I can't imagine the tease and torture these people have to go through.

Wonderful post, Judie..

La said...

I didn't realize this affliction existed. Wow!

21 Wits said...

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you! May the luck of the Irish be with you all year long! Usually I'll post something for these festive times, but I'm dragging a bit in spirit...however sending good wishes always brightens my day! Looking forward to the next Centus!

HumorSmith said...

Judie; thanks for visiting my blog. No snakes in ireland because, according to the Smithsonian website nationalzoo.si.edu:Snakes, being cold-blooded animals, simply aren't able to survive in areas where the ground is frozen year round. Ireland thawed out for the last time only 15,000 years ago. Since then, 12 miles of icy-cold water in the Northern Channel have separated Ireland from neighboring Scotland, which does harbor a few species of snakes. There are no snakes in Ireland for the simple reason that they can't get there.

Su-sieee! Mac said...

I won't complain either about my mustache and stray hair chins, courtesy of postmenopause. The Chaney's werewolf was so scary for me as a kid, it put me off from wanting to watch any werewolf movies. I'm such a chicken. bok, bok.

Gattina said...

It's already terrible when you have to much hairs there were they shouldn't be and some women run around with a little moustache without removing it ! fortunately today there are enough means not to be a wolf man or women anymore !

Pat said...

Thanks for bringing up the memory of watching those vintage Wolfman films - my Mom had no desire to stay up late with Dad & I when one of these movies would come on TV - she thought we were nuts! I would peak out behind my hands which were covering my eyes and Dad would say it's okay to look now...He is 92 now and is still protective! And Mom still thinks we are nuts:o)

Amanda Lee said...

I vaguely remember watching these old horror films on Saturday morning TV when I was a kid!

My heart goes out to people with "cosmetic" disorders, as their insurance company is not likely to cover things like laser hair removal or electrolysis. The expense could be prohibitive for most people. And, of course, at any other time in history, there wasn't even an option for removal.

Anonymous said...

So I have to admit I was just complaining about shaving my legs yesterday (since I don't appear to have the skill necessary to do it without nicking myself somewhere), but seriously no more. Thanks for sharing this wacky 'w' post! (I used to stay up late watching the old monster movies myself)

jenn said...

howdy. picky's giving away ten lovely novels. you've got until midnight tonight (otherwise known as friday, march eighteenth). get to the bottom of this post: http://bit.ly/dUNq2l

Ames said...

I always like Lon Chaney. Hairy guys not so much! Great "W" post Judie!

Tammy said...

That last line says it all!!! :)

Barbara Rosenzweig said...

It was a real "tweet" to have you visit my blog!
I love the Moonlight Sonata, but can only play the first few pages. Thanks for a bit of listening heaven!
Barb

TJ Lubrano said...

Oh wow I never heard of this condition before! I did however knew about people who had 'snake skin' or 'elephant skin'. The documentary I saw was really interesting!

I never really watched movies from the past, other the Princess Sissi and few movies with Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn. I need to investigate this a bit more ^_^.

Have a great weekend Judie!

Xoxo!

Cher Duncombe said...

What a very sad abnormality to have. Sometimes it's easy to forget how blessed we are.

nothingprofound said...

Apart from the original Wolf Man classic, Lon Jr's most memorable role was in "Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein." One of my all-time favorite films and one of the greatest comedies ever made.

Judie said...

Hahaha! Marty, I LOVED Abbott an Costello! When I was a child, one year my father got a copy of that film and showed it in our carport on Halloween! We had quite a crowd!!

Rek Sesh said...

Yes I have seen a couple of articles on a few Indian children suffering from this syndrome...and in the villages their lives are anything but easy...interesting post. makes me wonder about these clean shaven wolverines hogging the theatre screen nowadays.

Jo said...

Oh I was so behind in my blogs last week ...I'm sorry to have missed this ... yes ... it is such a horrible disorder ...I can't imagine having to go through life with such a condition. We are truly blessed just as we are!

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