USA, Canada 1911 1912 1913 next previous
Chaplin at Karno´s, USA/Canada Clippings 160/286
Winnipeg Tribune, Winnipeg, Canada, November 25, 1912
CHARLES CHAPLIN
(...) Photo, Winnipeg Tribune, Nov. 26, 1912
& IS IT DUAL PERSONALITY?
If Not, Why is it That „Charles Chaplin on the Stage“
is Not the Same Charles Chaplin in Private Life?
To be able to dodge adverse criticism is a mighty useful
art. But to be compelled to sidestep credit when credit
is due, is not a task that the average mortal is hankering after.
But this is the sad lot of Charles Chaplin, and yet,
despite this gloomy decree of fate, his business is to make
people laugh. As everyone knows, he is the leading
comedian with Fred Karno‘s English company in „The Wow
Wows“ at the Empress. Let it be first distinctly
understood, however, that Mr. Chaplin does not seek
notoriety; on the contrary, he is one of the most
retiring of men, and insists that he has no more than ordinary
ability. But it would prove galling, even to a saint,
to be continually told, in actions if not by words, that „you
don‘t look like the clever guy on the stage.“ Yet
this is what happens to Mr. Chaplin every day in the week.
It invariably starts before breakfast when a bellboy,
who had been to the show the night before, makes some
excuse to peep into the room. And a new bellboy
does it every morning. Nor does it end until somewhere
about the time Mr. Chaplin disgustedly drops
his boots under the bed and prepares to crawl dejectedly
between the sheets.
Really, for a man who makes other people happy,
he isn‘t getting a square deal from Fate. It‘s
this way: Charles Chaplin, while on the stage, looks about
thirty-five years of age. And he‘s got the stamp
of a real lady-killer – one of the „horrible example“ fraternity.
But when he washes off the paint and removes
the other stage paraphernalia, the real Charles Chaplin
that emerges therefrom is a youngish-appearing
chap who looks no older than he is – which is 24. And as for
being a sport – well, he‘s actually refined and
well-bred, and – listen, girls – he never took a drink in his life!
Furthermore, he‘s so blamed modest that, while
the crowd is still talking about him and still laughing at his
comedy, he asks himself for the millionth time why
they laughed so much and why they applauded so loudly –
and what there is in him to appeal so irresistibly.
And he‘s quite glad to find, when he leaves the theatre,
that nobody looks at him. BUT – when he gets back
to the hotel, someone who knows him points him out to a friend,
or to a conglomeration of friends, and in an audible
undertone says: „There‘s Charles Chaplin.“ And always
the reply comes back: „Aw, quit yer kiddin‘.“ Of
course, they don‘t put it that way every time, but it always
means the same. Then Charles Chaplin, the idol
of the populace half an hour before, slinks away to his room
and surveys the Charles Chaplin that he sees
in the mirror. And, curling his lip, he shakes his fist at the
reflection in the glass and hisses: „You‘re a fake!
You‘re an imposter! You ought to be pinched!“ With which
comforting philosophy he slips downstairs as the
dinner bell rings, and as he seats himself at a table he
hears someone say: „There‘s Charles Chaplin
over there. See him? The fellow that‘s looking at the menu.“
And the reply is wafted across the room:
„What! That kid? You‘re mixed, bo. Why, he is ––––.“
But what‘s the use?
(...) Winnipeg Tribune, Nov. 26, 1912
„Twenty and four shows a night“
Editorial content. „Fred Karno, Laugh-Maker
One of Fred Karno‘s companies of English comedians
is in Winnipeg this week. The same company has
been here before, and the fact that they drew record houses
shows that Winnipeggers appreciate English humor –
something that isn‘t obtainable very often on the Canadian
stage. But Fred Karno himself is unknown to
Winnipeggers. For this reason The Tribune publishes for
the first time in Western Canada a likeness of the
man whose companies are amusing millions of people
annually all over the world.
At the same time an interview obtained by a London, Eng., correspondent will not be amiss. The interview follows:
,My very first real sketch,‘ said Mr. Karno, ,was one called
Hilarity, in which only five or six people were engaged,
and in which I played myself. I very rarely play now. It is enough
to write and supevise, and to run round and see that
everything is going smoothly, with a company of twenty and
four shows a night.“ (...)
Empress Theatre, 175 Portage Ave. East at Main, Winnipeg,
The Wow Wows, November 25, 1912.
Opening Sunday.
Redaktioneller Inhalt
USA, Canada 1911 1912 1913 next previous
