Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Cruise ship, 1933


Photo reads: 'Young men in women and Chaplin costume. Neptune Party, Ship crossing the Ecuador Line 1933'

Vintage postcards




Impersonator-based postcards from the Chaplin craze era.

Kermit!


Kermit the Frog as Charlie. (The Jim Henson Studios are now housed in the previous Chaplin Studios in Hollywood.)

Monday, December 27, 2010

Chaplin crashes a wedding reception...


This Charlie is... me! (Damian Blake) hired for a wedding last October. A very lovely time, and a very lovely couple.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Life as a family vaudeville act...


Click on photo to view larger size

Photo information reads:
Capps family at Columbia vaudeville.
Baby of 21 months (been on stage for 6 months).
Girl of 5 years (been on stage for 2 years).
Boy of 7 years (been on stage for 1 year).
Girl of 8 years (been on stage for 5 years).
Boy of 12 years (been on stage for 8 years).
Boy of 14 years (been on stage for 9 years).
Oldest boy is acrobat, contortionist, etc. All do singing and dancing acts except baby, who appears in final scene as Charlie Chaplin. They appear 3 or 4 times a day--sometimes 7 days in the week, usually coming last on program (as a feature), which means they do not leave dressing room until nearly 11 p.m. Then, in addition, the life in cheap hotels and on the road "making new towns" is very unsettling. It was very touching to see the little ones curled up back of the scenes waiting for their act and getting 40 winks or the mother nursing the baby just before it was poked out onto the stage to do his little "turn."
In spite of their stage life, their manners are good. They are quiet, well-appearing children, and the parents are kind and sympathetic. The father acts as nursemaid to the baby, and the mother dresses and changes the others and appears herself. She said: "They're never sick. It's the healthiest kind of life." The 8-year-old girl said: "I don't like it--the men in some places are so rough." There was some familiarity shown to them, but not much.
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Photo from Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

Friday, December 3, 2010

Robert Downey Jr. in 'Chaplin'...


...as the tramp, in a fictional recreation of Chaplin's screen debut. Chaplin actually made several shorts for Mack Sennett before appearing as the Tramp in 'Kid Auto Races at Venice' and 'Mabel's Strange Predicament'.
Click on photo to view in high resolution

Robert Downey Jr.


in 'Chaplin', with Marisa Tomei as Mabel Normand.
Click on picture to view high-res version

Mickey Mouse!




...as Charlie, W.C. Fields, and Groucho Marx.

Tokyo, 1951



Picture caption reads 'Pete and Charlie in Tokyo'.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Happy Turkey Day!

The Faux Charlot will be taking a brief hiatus for Thanksgiving, returning on Monday Nov 29th.
Here's a picture of Hy Meyerowitz, who got a job impersonating Charlie Chaplin during the New York premier of City Lights in 1931. More can be read about Hy, who was the subject of the short PBS film 'Pop', by his son Joel Meyerowitz, here.