Universal Monsters Royalty (Happy Birthday Glenn Strange!)

 George Glenn Strange was born on. August 16th, 1899 in New Mexico. At a commanding 6 foot 5 he took over the role of the Frankenstein's Monster when the legendary Boris Karloff decided to retire playing the character after playing him for the last time in "Son Of Frankenstein," closing out the original Frankenstein Trilogy. 

When legendary make-up artist Jack Pierce noticed Strange in "The Mad Monster," he was cast as the Frankenstein Monster in 1944's "House Of Frankenstein" with John Carradine replacing the great Bela Lugosi as Count Dracula. The only original member of the monster mash was Lon Chaney Jr., playing his iconic Wolf Man role. A follow-up, "House Of Dracula," featured the same trilogy of Universal Monsters and is a fun team-up for fans of the classic monsters.

But it was his appearance as the Frankenstein's Monster in the horror comedy "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" that came the closest to a full on Universal Monster reunion, with Mr. Lugosi returning as Count Dracula. It will forever be a jewel in the crown of Universal Studios as this film brings fun and thrills to the Universal Monsters era. And Mr. Strange was a part of it.

Because of Mr. Karloff's riveting and groundbreaking performance as the Frankenstein Monster, it can be easy to overlook Mr. Strange's contributions to the classic age of Universal Monsters horror. But I hope his mark in horror is remembered by the fans. He is worthy.