Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Johnny Depp as Chaplin in 21 Jump Street!

Jeff Schecter as Chaplin- Universal Studios CA

Channing and Chaplin, 1960


A great photo of this mysterious Charlie impersonator at the Stars Hall of Fame Wax Museum ceremony in Orlando Florida.
Another photo of him can be seen on the Faux Charlot here.
Can anyone out there identify this actor?

Spotlight on: Sammich the Tramp


Sammich the Tramp, the punk rock hobo, performs primarily out of St. Louis MO with burlesque artist Lola Van Ella. She may not always have a mustache, but I think you'll agree that her look is always pure Chaplin. You can catch Sammy in the 'Beggar's Carnivale: A Three-Penny Circus' this Friday Nov 19th at 2720 Cherokee. You can find more info on this Facebook event page.










All quiet on the western front...

Original photo reads 'OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN ON THE BRITISH WESTERN FRONT. Horse show, behind the lines, 1918.
Click on photo to view larger

Photo: The National Library of Scotland.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Steve Fairnie 1951-1993


Late British musician, painter, sculptor, actor, board game designer and chicken hypnotist, best known as the frontman of the post-punk band Writz, and as one half - with his wife Bev Sage - of the 1980s pop outfit Techno Twins (later just The Technos).
Fairnie also had success as a Chaplin impersonator, and had his own children's show with a Chaplinesque character 'The Kid' (seen below):


As a lookalike with a number of agencies, he travelled the world on a variety of assignments - including some of the famous IBM newspaper ads and a bizarre shoot in Japan, where he was asked to stand 10 feet underwater, weighed down with lead, to model clothing. He also featured in the pop video for Ricchi e Poveri's "Voulez Vous Danser" , a massive hit in mainland Europe in 1984.


When interviewed by the Bristol Evening Post for an article to tie in with the release of Attenborough's 'Chaplin' movie, Fairnie had this to say: "The good thing is that you never have to remember any lines. It's a nice character to do and people take to it very well - the old ladies and the kids love you."

More can be read about his life and career here.

Little Charlie...


Uknown youth dressed for a formal portrait.