FRIGHT-CLASS POSTAGE SET FOR DEBUT.

Byline: Bob Thomas Associated Press 

Boo! Just in time for Halloween, the U.S. Postal Service is issuing five new 32-cent stamps with faces designed to chill you. They are five boogie men of the silver screen.

The ``Classic Movie Monsters'' stamps will be celebrated on the first day of issue Tuesday at Universal Studios, where all of the monsters did their evil deeds. The actors' descendants will attend the festivities, along with hundreds of children who will be treated to games and contests. It's part of National Stamp Collecting Month in October.

Similar hoopla attended the issuance of the Humphrey Bogart stamp last month. How come the post office is indulging in Hollywood-style premieres? Because the stamps bring a hefty bit of income.

The Postal Service would like its customers to collect the celebrity stamps. A stamp unlicked is 32 cents profit.

The movie monsters: Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's monster and the Mummy; Lon Chaney Sr. as the Phantom of the Opera; Lon Chaney Jr. as the Wolf Man; and Bela Lugosi as Dracula.

The children and grandchildren of the actors lobbied long and hard for the stamps. All are devoted to preserving the actors' legacy.

Bela Lugosi, 1882-1956, acted in theater and films in his native Hungary before emigrating to Germany and the U.S. He created a sensation with ``Dracula'' on Broadway and repeated the role in the 1931 movie. To his dismay, he became typecast in monster and mad scientist roles to the end of his career (depicted by Martin Landau in ``Ed Wood'').

Bela Lugosi Jr., 59, practices entertainment law in nearby Glendale with emphasis on the rights of dead actors. Among his clients: Bela Lugosi and the Three Stooges.

``My father really perfected the role of Dracula on the New York stage, the mode of dress and so forth,'' Lugosi said. ``I used to watch him work and study scripts. I know he went over lines again and again to get them the way he wanted.''

Lon Chaney Sr., 1883-1930, became the master of horror make-up and body contortion in silent films and early talkies. He was billed as ``The Man With a Thousand Faces,'' the title of a 1957 film biography starring James Cagney.

Born in Colorado Springs, Colo., the son of deaf-mute parents, Chaney learned to communicate with pantomime, a powerful asset when he ventured into films in 1912. The Phantom and Quasimodo in ``The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' were his most memorable roles.

Lon Chaney Jr., 1906-1973, was born Creighton Chaney in Oklahoma City; he took his father's name in 1935. He won critical acclaim as Lenny, the dimwitted giant in ``Of Mice and Men'' in 1939. But after ``The Wolf Man'' in 1942, he became typecast as a monster or Western heavy.

Ron Chaney, 41, grandson of Lon Chaney Jr., operates Chaney Enterprises with his brother Gary in Cathedral City, near Palm Springs. The company authorizes commercial uses of the Chaney images.

``I never heard my grandfather express disappointment that he was stuck in the horror and heavy roles,'' Ron Chaney said. ``I think he was thankful for the opportunity, especially with the Wolf Man, to create a character with his own personality. It also helped him to step out of the shadow of his father.''

Boris Karloff, 1887-1969, was born William Henry Pratt in a London suburb, and left Kings College at 21 to tour in stage companies in North America. Arriving in Hollywood in 1918, he worked his way up from extra to villain. He had appeared in 80 films before the 1931 ``Frankenstein.'' He was cast as the monster after Lugosi turned down the role.

One of the 10 founders of the Screen Actors Guild, Karloff enjoyed a surprisingly varied career. He often appeared in horror films, but he also played in ``Arsenic and Old Lace'' and ``Peter Pan'' on Broadway.

Sara Karloff, 58, and her husband, Bill Sparkman, conduct Karloff Enterprises from their homes at Lake Tahoe and Rancho Mirage, near Palm Springs. They enforce the rights of the estate aLnd license merchandising.

She commented that her father harbored no resentment about the monster:

``Heavens, no. The monster was his 81st film. How foolish of him to be anything but grateful. He never lost sight of that; he said he was just jolly lucky. He was on the right corner at the right time. It was a very unfortunate career decision for Bela, and a fortuitous one for my father.

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2 Photos

PHOTO (1) The U.S. Postal Service is releasing stamps of five movie monsters from the black-and-white era.

Associated Press

(2 -- color) no caption (Frankenstein, The monster)