Agee, James (1909–55). Screenwriter, novelist, poet, critic. Chaplin’s most vigorous and distinguished US defender in the McCarthy years, notably in his series of Verdoux criticisms and his Life essay, ‘The Golden Age of Comedy’. Own screenplays: The Quiet One (1950), The African Queen (1951), The Night of the Hunter (1955).
Aldrich, Robert (1918–83). Director. Associate director of Limelight. Was also assistant to Renoir, Milestone, Wellman, Rosson, Polansky, Losey. Own first film: Big Leaguer (1953); later work included Kiss Me Deadly (1955), Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962).
Allen, Phyllis (1861–1938). Actress, Caught in a Cabaret, The Property Man, The Rounders, Dough and Dynamite, Gentlemen of Nerve, His Trysting Place, Tillie’s Punctured Romance, Getting Acquainted, Pay Day. Began career in vaudeville and musical comedy; screen debut 1910 with Selig Company; Keystone 1913–16; later Fox, Vitagraph.
Anderson, G. M. (‘Broncho Billy’; born Max Aronson) (1883–1971). The first great Western star, Anderson made some 400 one-reelers between 1907 and 1914. Co-founder (1907) of Essanay Company, which engaged Chaplin in 1914–15. Explained principle of own films: ‘We don’t change the stories – only the horses.’ Reappeared on screen 1967 in The Bounty Killer. Special Academy Award, 1957. Appears as actor in The Champion.
Arbuckle, Roscoe (1887–1933). Actor, A Film Johnnie, Tango Tangles, His Favorite Pastime, The Knockout, The Masquerader, His New Profession, The Rounders. Began career in vaudeville and musical comedy, touring with Leon Errol. Film debut, Selig Company, 1909; Keystone, 1913. Two-reeler partners included Mabel Normand and Buster Keaton. At peak of career earned $1000 a day, but was ruined by scandal in 1921 when an actress, Virginia Rappe, died in the course of a party given by Arbuckle at the St Francis Hotel, San Francisco. Attempted comeback as director in late 1920s under pseudonym, Will B. Goodrich, and as actor for Vitaphone in the early 1930s.
Armstrong, Billy (1891–?1924). British-born actor, The Champion, In the Park, The Tramp, By the Sea, Work, A Woman, The Bank, Shanghaied, Police, Triple Trouble. Began career in music hall, with Karno companies and Harry Tate Company. Film debut, Essanay 1915; later Horsley, Cub Comedies, L-Ko and Keystone, including Skirts (1921).
Arnold, Cecile (?1895–1931). Character actress, The Masquerader, Those Love Pangs, Getting Acquainted, His New Profession, Dough and Dynamite, The Face on the Bar Room Floor, His Prehistoric Past.
d’Arrast, Henri d’Abbadie (Buenos Aires, 1897–Monte Carlo, 1968). Research assistant, A Woman of Paris, assistant director The Gold Rush, and for a time a regular companion of Chaplin in Hollywood. Born of Basque parents, d’Arrast had a brief, brilliant but stormy career as director of sparkling social comedies at Paramount, including Service for Ladies, A Gentleman of Paris (both 1927) and Laughter (1930). His perfectionism gained him the reputation of ‘difficult’ and his last Paramount film, Raffles (1930), was taken over by George Fitzmaurice. After one more Hollywood film, Topaze (1933), he returned to Europe. His last film, La Traviesa molinera (1934), was made in Spain.
Audley, Maxine (1923–92 London). Actress, A King in New York. Stage from 1940; films from 1947 (Anna Karenina).
Austin, Albert (Birmingham, England, 1885–Hollywood, 1953). Actor, The Floorwalker, The Fireman, The Vagabond, One A.M., The Count, The Pawnshop, Behind the Screen, The Rink, Easy Street, The Cure, The Immigrant, The Adventurer, A Dog’s Life, Shoulder Arms, Sunnyside, A Day’s Pleasure, The Kid, Pay Day, The Gold Rush, City Lights. Also assistant director. Early career in musical comedy and music hall; arrived in America with Karno companies; stock in Denver for two years before film debut with Chaplin at Mutual. Other films as actor included Suds. Directed Trouble (1922 with Jackie Coogan), A Prince of a King (1923; with Dean Riesner).
Ayres, Agnes (Agnes Hinkle) (Carbondale, Illinois 1898–Hollywood, 1940). Actress, His New Job. Debut at Essanay. Later known as ‘The O. Henry Girl’. Starring roles in The Sheik (1921), The Ten Commandments (1924), Son of the Sheik (1926).
Bacon, Lloyd (1889–1955). Director. Actor in The Champion, In the Park, A Jitney Elopement, The Tramp, The Bank, The Floorwalker, The Fireman, The Vagabond, Behind the Screen, The Rink, Easy Street. Debut as director with Mack Sennett, 1921. Later films included The Singing Fool (1928), Forty-Second Street (1933), A Slight Case of Murder (1937), The French Line (1954).
Baker, Nellie Bly (1894–?). Actress, The Kid, A Woman of Paris. Originally employed at the Chaplin Studio as a secretary (she is seen bringing Chaplin his morning mail in How To Make Movies); her appearances in Chaplin films led to a career as a character player throughout the 1920s, including von Sternberg’s The Salvation Hunters.
Barton, Ralph (1891–1931). Artist and illustrator. Reported First World War in pictures for British magazine Puck, though subsequently developed pathological dislike of British. Illustrated Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Contes Drolatiques, many caricatures in the New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Liberty, Harpers. Accompanied Chaplin – whom he considered ‘the greatest man alive’ – on the first stage of his 1931 world trip, but returned to New York, where he killed himself. In his suicide note he deplored ‘beautiful lost Carlotta’ (Monterey); but Eugene O’Neill, then married to Carlotta, told reporters, ‘I never saw Barton in my life. Mrs O’Neill hasn’t seen him in five years. He made no attempt to see her at any time.’ Barton was married four times.
Baumann, Charles O. Co-founder with Adam Kessel of Keystone. Was bookmaker, exhibitor, producer from 1909, when founded New York Motion Picture Company (with Kessel).
Bell, Monta (1891–1958). Director. Assisted Chaplin in writing My Trip Abroad and was literary editor on A Woman of Paris. Early career: reporter on Washington Post, actor in stock. Director debut, The Snob (1924); later films include The King on Main Street (1925), The Torrent (1926), China’s Little Devils (1945).
Bennett, Charles (?1889–1943). Actor, Tillie’s Punctured Romance, The Property Man. Later films included America (1924), Treasure Island (1934). Not to be confused with British-born script-writer of same name.
Bennett, Marjorie (Australia, 1895–Hollywood, 1982). Actress, Monsieur Verdoux, Limelight. Sister of Enid Bennett and long active in Hollywood as character player in films including Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady and Charley Varrick.
Bergman, Henry (1868–1946, Hollywood). Actor, The Pawnshop, Behind the Screen, The Rink, Easy Street, The Cure, The Immigrant, The Adventurer, A Dog’s Life, The Bond, Shoulder Arms, Sunnyside, A Day’s Pleasure, The Kid, The Idle Class, Pay Day, The Pilgrim, The Gold Rush, The Circus, City Lights, Modern Times. Co-ordinator, The Great Dictator. Originally on operatic and musical stage; films from 1914 (Henry Lehrman’s L-Ko Company). From 1916 worked exclusively at Chaplin studios as actor and assistant. Also owned restaurant, ‘Henry’s’, on Hollywood Boulevard, in which Chaplin appears to have been an investor.
Bloom, Claire (b. 1931). Actress, Limelight. Trained at Guildhall School of Speech and Drama, Central School of Speech Training. Stage from 1946: Ring Round the Moon (1950); several seasons at Old Vic. Films from 1948 (The Blind Goddess), including Look Back in Anger (1959). Autobiographies, Limelight and After (1992), Leaving a Doll’s House (1996).
Bodie, ‘Dr’ Walford (1870–1939). Music hall performer, at first as ventriloquist, later performing ‘miraculous’ electrical cures for all ills. Chaplin impersonated him on stage during the Casey’s Circus tour.
Brando, Marlon (b. 1924). Actor, A Countess From Hong Kong. Studied painting; worked as lift boy; Stella Adler’s Dramatic Workshop, 1943; summer stock 1944; Broadway, 1944 (I Remember Mama); films from 1950.
Bruce, Nigel (1895–1953). Actor, Limelight. Stage (in England) from 1920; films from 1930. Born in US to English parents, Bruce specialized in quintessentially British characters. His most famous screen role was Dr Watson in numerous Sherlock Holmes pictures – a fact which undoubtedly recommended him to Chaplin.
Bryan, Vincent (1877–1937). Writer, assisted Chaplin at Essanay and Mutual. Early career in theatre, writing plays, vaudeville sketches, songs. Began screen career at Keystone; later with Goldwyn.
Burkan, Nathan (d. 1936). Noted film industry lawyer who represented Chaplin’s legal interests from his arrival in Hollywood.
Burke, Thomas (1886–1945, London). Novelist and essayist. Their common south London background and mutual admiration brought Burke and Chaplin together; and the friendship resulted in Burke’s remarkable study of Chaplin, ‘A Comedian’, in City of Encounters. The most notable film adaptation of a Burke story was D. W. Griffith’s Broken Blossoms, from ‘The Chink and the Child’, a story in Limehouse Nights.
Campbell, Eric Stuart (or Alfred Eric) (Birmingham, 1878 or 1880–Hollywood, 1917). Actor, The Floorwalker, The Fireman, The Vagabond, The Count, The Pawnshop, Behind the Screen, The Rink, Easy Street, The Cure, The Immigrant, The Adventurer. Campbell was long believed to have been born in Dunoon. He made his stage debut at the age of eight, and had a varied stage career in Britain – including a spell with the Karno companies, though probably not, as often reported, with D’Oyly Carte – before arriving in the USA in 1914. There he continued his stage career until he was spotted, while playing in Pom Pom in New York, by the Chaplin brothers, and was signed up for the Mutual productions. He had already been re-engaged for the Chaplin First National films (and meanwhile loaned out for a role in Mary Pickford’s Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley) when he was killed in an automobile accident on 20 December 1917. Campbell was the subject of a 1996 documentary, Chaplin’s Goliath, by Kevin MacDonald.
Cargill, Patrick (1918–96). Actor, A Countess From Hong Kong. Sandhurst and Indian Army. Stage, in repertory, from 1939. West End debut in revue, High Spirits (1953); films and television from 1952.
Carroll, Paul Vincent (1900–68). Dramatist. Author of Shadow and Substance (1934), of which Chaplin proposed a screen adaptation.
Chaplin, Albert. Younger brother of Charles Chaplin Senior. Emigrated before 1900 to South Africa, where he achieved considerable prosperity and raised a large family. Paid for the funeral of Charles Chaplin Senior.
Chaplin, Annette Emily (b. 1959). Chaplin’s youngest daughter. In 1984 made debut as screen actress in A Sense of Wonder and has subsequently worked in theatre, as actress and producer.
Chaplin, Aubrey (1889–1932). Chaplin’s cousin, son of Charles Chaplin Senior’s older brother, Spencer. After death of his father became youngest licensee in London. Father of Betty and Pauline Chaplin.
Chaplin, Betty (May) (b. 1916). Daughter of Aubrey Chaplin. Emigrated to USA in 1939, where she married Drew Tetrick, costumier on later Chaplin films.
Chaplin, Charles Senior (1863–1901). Father of Charles Chaplin. See Chapter I, passim.
Chaplin, Charles Spencer, Junior (1925–68). Chaplin’s elder son by his second marriage. Brought up by mother, Lita Grey, though increasingly in contact with father during boyhood and adolescence. Army; indifferent stage and screen career. Appeared in Limelight. Wrote My Father, Charlie Chaplin (1960) in collaboration with N. and M. Rau.
Chaplin, Christopher James (b. 1962). Chaplin’s youngest son. An able musician, in 1984 he made debut as screen actor in Where is Parsifal? and has subsequently appeared in Labyrinth (1992), Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992), La Piste du telegraphe (1994) and Total Eclipse (Rimbaud/Verlaine) (1995).
Chaplin, Eugene Anthony (b. 1953). Chaplin’s second son and fifth child by his marriage to Oona O’Neill. Worked as recording engineer in Montreux and as proprietor of curio and video shops in Vevey; and subsequently created and appeared in a musical stage presentation, Smile, The Concert, on the life of his father (first presented in Amsterdam, 21 January 1998). Following the death of his mother, he moved into the Manoir de Ban, Corsier sur Vevey.
Chaplin, Geraldine Leigh (b. 1944). First child of Chaplin’s marriage to Oona O’Neill. First film appearance in Limelight. Appeared in ballroom scene in A Countess From Hong Kong. Royal Ballet School and stage experience as dancer. In 1965 made adult film debut in Par un beau matin d’été, directed by Jacques Deray. Subsequently many films, notably Doctor Zhivago and works by Carlos Saura and Robert Altman. In Richard Attenborough’s 1993 film Chaplin, she played the role of her own grandmother, Hannah Chaplin.
Chaplin, Hannah Harriett Pedlingham (née Hill) (1865–1928). Chaplin’s mother. See Chapters 1, 2, 3 passim.
Chaplin, Jane Cecil (b. 1957). Chaplin’s sixth child and fourth daughter by his marriage to Oona O’Neill. Briefly an experimental film-maker, and later executive producer of Christopher Columbus: The Discovery, she has subsequently taken up writing.
Chaplin, Josephine Hannah (b. 1949). Chaplin’s second daughter. As child appeared in Limelight; later in A Countess From Hong Kong. As adult, work in television and films, including I Racconti di Canterbury (1971), L’Odeur des fauves (1971), Nuits rouges (1973), Les quatre Charlots mousquetaires (1974), Docteur Françoise Gailland (1975), Jack the Ripper (1976), Vrhovi Zelengore (1976), Bay Boy (1984), Poulet au vinaigre (1985), Ciudad baja (1994).
Chaplin, Lita Grey (Lillita MacMurray) (1908–95). Chaplin’s second wife (marriage dissolved) and mother of Charles Spencer and Sydney Earl Chaplin. See Chapters 10, 11 passim.
Chaplin, Michael John (b. 1946). First son of Chaplin and Oona O’Neill. Appeared in Limelight and A King in New York. Subsequently RADA, work as pop musician and actor. Having worked his own smallholding in France, he moved into the Manoir de Ban, Corsier sur Vevey, following the death of his mother.
Chaplin, Mildred Harris (1901–44). Child actress from 1910; reputed to have appeared in the Babylonian sequence of Intolerance. Her career prospered after the publicity derived from marriage to Chaplin in October 1918, and she was put under contract by Louis B. Mayer, with whom she had worked in The Warrens of Virginia (1918). After the Chaplin divorce, her popularity declined rapidly, though she appeared in more than fifty films, the last, Alan Crosland’s Lady Tubby, in 1933. De Mille used her as an extra, along with other of his former stars, in Reap The Wild Wind (1941). Later appeared in vaudeville, night clubs. Died of pneumonia, following surgery.
Chaplin, Norman Spencer (born and died July 1919). Chaplin’s first child, by Mildred Harris, born severely handicapped and survived only three days.
Chaplin, Oona O’Neill (1925–91). Chaplin’s fourth wife. Daughter of Eugene O’Neill. See Chapters 16 et seq.
Chaplin, Pauline (Pauline Mason) (b. 1928). Youngest child of Aubrey Chaplin (q.v.), by second wife, Louise Ella Orton. As licensee of the Princess of Wales, 11 Circus Road, London NW8, until the late 1980s, she represented the fourth generation of Chaplins to manage public houses in London.
Chaplin, Spencer (1834–97). Chaplin’s grandfather; apprenticed as butcher, but became publican. See Chapter 1.
Chaplin, Spencer William Tunstill (1855–99). Brother of Charles Chaplin Senior and uncle of Charles Chaplin. Publican, notably of the Queen’s Head. See Chapter 1.
Chaplin, Sydney (1885–1965). Chaplin’s half-brother. See text, passim. Films with Chaplin: A Dog’s Life, The Bond, Shoulder Arms, Pay Day, The Pilgrim. Other films: Gussle the Golfer (1914), Gussle’s Day of Rest (1914), Gussle Rivals Jonah (1915), Gussle’s Backward Way (1915), Gussle’s Wayward Path (1915), Gussle Tied to Trouble (1915), Submarine Pilot (1915), That Springtime Feeling (1915), Giddy, Gay and Ticklish (1915), Hushing the Scandal (1915), No Mother to Guide Him (1919), King, Queen, Joker (1921), Her Temporary Husband (1923), The Rendezvous (1923), The Perfect Flapper (1924), Galloping Fish (1924), The Man on the Box (1925), Charlie’s Aunt (1925), The Better ’Ole (1926), Oh! What a Nurse (1926), The Fortune Hunter (1927), The Missing Link (1927), A Little Bit of Fluff (1928).
Chaplin, Sydney Earl (b. 1926). Second son of Chaplin by Lita Grey. Actor, Limelight, A Countess from Hong Kong. On stage he co-starred with Judy Holliday in Bells Are Ringing and with Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl. Film appearances include Follow That Man (1961) and The Adding Machine (1969), both directed by Jerry Epstein, with whom Sydney Chaplin had earlier established the Circle Theatre (see Chapter 17).
Chaplin, Victoria Agnes (b. 1951). Chaplin’s third daughter. Intended for leading role in The Freak, Chaplin’s last and unrealized film project. With her husband, Jean-Baptiste Thierrée, formed minimalist circus, originally called ‘Le Cirque Imaginaire’ and subsequently variously renamed. Appeared in A Countess From Hong Kong.
Chase, Charley (Charles Parrott) (Baltimore, 1893–Hollywood, 1940). Actor, The Knockout, Mabel’s Busy Day, The Masquerader, His New Profession, The Rounders, Dough and Dynamite, Gentlemen of Nerve, His Musical Career, Tillie’s Punctured Romance. Early career in vaudeville and burlesque, as Irish monologist. Film debut, Keystone, 1914. A comedian of great style and originality, he wrote, directed and acted in hundreds of two-reelers for Keystone, Roach (Laurel and Hardy series) and Columbia.
Cherrill, Virginia (Carthage, Illinois, 1908–Santa Barbara, California, 1996). Actress, City Lights. Previous career: Chicago society girl. Later films included Charlie Chan’s Latest Case (1933), White Heat (1934), Troubled Waters (1935). Husbands were Irving Adler, William Rhinelander Stewart, Cary Grant, the Earl of Jersey, Florian Martini.
Clifton, Emma (1874–1922). Actress, Between Showers. Later films with Henry ‘Pathé’ Lehrman’s L-Ko comedy company.
Cline, Edward (1892–1961). Actor, The Knockout. Stage, then actor and gagman with Sennett. Later became notable director of comedy, including Sherlock Junior (Buster Keaton) and several films with W. C. Fields.
Codd, Elsie. Chaplin’s British press representative from 1918 to early 1920s. Appears as extra in The Kid. Seems to have operated from 264 Eastern Road, Kemp Town, Brighton. ‘I should like the British press,’ she wrote, ‘to feel that they can rely upon me as Chaplin’s sole press representative for this country for the only true and reliable information about him and his work – that which reaches me direct from the studio.’
Coleman, Frank J. Actor, The Floorwalker, The Fireman, The Vagabond, The Count, The Pawnshop, Behind the Screen, The Rink, Easy Street, The Cure, The Immigrant, The Adventurer. Apparently coming from the theatre, Coleman had a prolific career as a supporting player in films until 1926.
Conklin, Chester (Jules Cowles) (1888–1971). Actor, Making a Living, Mabel’s Strange Predicament, Between Showers, Tango Tangles, Cruel, Cruel Love, Mabel at the Wheel, Twenty Minutes of Love, Caught in a Cabaret, Mabel’s Busy Day, The Face on the Bar Room Floor, The Masquerader, Those Love Pangs, Dough and Dynamite, Gentlemen of Nerve, Modern Times, The Great Dictator. Early career, circus clown, vaudeville, stock and road companies. Film debut, Majestic Company, c. 1913; Keystone from 1913; innumerable shorts. A useful supporting player in later silent films, his most prestigious role was in Erich von Stroheim’s Greed. He remained active in films until the early 1950s, and after a period in an institution for industry veterans, made a final screen appearance in 1966 (Big Hand for a Little Lady).
Conklin, Heinie (or Charles) (1880–1959). Actor, Modern Times. Film debut, Keystone; one of original Keystone Kops. Later many silent features. Apparently unrelated to Chester Conklin.
Coogan, Jackie (1914–84). Child actor, A Day’s Pleasure, The Kid. Discovered by Chaplin when appearing in father’s vaudeville act. Said to have made his first screen appearance in Essanay’s Skinner’s Baby (1915). See Chapter 7, passim.
Cooke, Alfred Alistair (b. 1908). Journalist, broadcaster, film critic. Worked with Chaplin on Napoleon script. See pp. 509–10.
Courant, Curt (or Kurt) (1899–1968). Cameraman, Monsieur Verdoux. Born and worked in Germany from 1917 (with Fritz Lang, etc.). Great Britain from 1933; France from 1937 (with Jean Renoir, Max Ophuls). Shot one other film, It Happened in Athens (1962), in Hollywood.
Crocker, Harry (1895–1958). Actor, assistant, The Circus, City Lights; publicist, Limelight. Scion of prominent San Francisco banking family, took up screen career. A familiar of the San Simeon circle, was also columnist for Hearst newspapers. A few film appearances with other directors included Tillie the Toiler, South Sea Love.
Dandy, Jess (1871–1923). Real name Jesse A. Danzig. Stout actor in Keystone films, hitherto often confused with Fritz Schade. Originally trained for medicine, he worked extensively in theatre and vaudeville. According to the Swedish researcher Bo Berglund, he appears in The Property Man, Dough and Dynamite, The Face on the Bar Room Floor, His New Profession, The Rounders, The New Janitor and The Masquerader.
Daniell, Henry (1894–1963). Actor, The Great Dictator. Stage; then films from 1929, including Cukor’s Camille, with Garbo. Last film appearance, My Fair Lady (1964).
Davenport, Alice (1864–1936). Actress, Making a Living, Mabel’s Strange Predicament, The Star Boarder, Caught in a Cabaret, Caught in the Rain, Gentlemen of Nerve, Tillie’s Punctured Romance. Stage from infancy; films from 1911 (Nestor), with daughter Dorothy Davenport. One of original Keystone Company, 1912; later with Fox, Sunshine Comedies. Tradition has it that she lent Chaplin the dress he wears in A Busy Day.
Davies, Marion (1897–1961). Actress, comedienne and long-time mistress of William Randolph Hearst. For years a friend of Chaplin, who made guest appearance in her film Show People, directed by another of his friends, King Vidor.
Davis, George (1889–1965). Dutch-born actor, The Circus (Professor Bosco). Much in demand for character work in 1920s and 1930s; continued in films until 1963 (Come Blow Your Horn).
De Haven, Carter (1886–1977). Assistant director, Modern Times; actor, The Great Dictator. Long vaudeville career in partnership with wife, Flora. Films from 1915 until early 1920s. Father of actress Gloria De Haven.
Delluc, Louis (1890–1924). Pioneer French film critic and author of first serious book-length appreciation of Chaplin, Charlot (1921).
Desmonde, Jerry (James Robert Sadler) (1908–67). Actor, A King in New York. Variety experience, especially as straight man to comedians like Sid Field and Norman Wisdom. Films from 1946 (London Town).
Doro, Marie (1882–1956). Actress, played leading role of Alice Faulkner in William C. Gillette’s 1905 production of Sherlock Holmes at Duke of York’s Theatre, London. The adolescent Chaplin worshipped her from afar; and much later, as a Hollywood star, met her again. In 1916, when she was working with the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company, Chaplin was guest at a house-warming given by Miss Doro and her husband Elliott Dexter, and presented her with a miniature ciné-camera he had had specially made.
Dressler, Marie (Leila Koerber) (1869–1934). Actress, Tillie’s Punctured Romance. Stage career in vaudeville and musicals, notably Tillie’s Nightmare. When stage career faltered, returned to the screen with singular success (Let Us be Gay, Anna Christie, 1929, Min and Bill, 1930, Tugboat Annie, 1933). At the time of her death she was one of Hollywood’s top box-office stars.
Dryden, Leo (George Dryden Wheeler) (1863–1939). Music hall star and father of Chaplin’s half-brother Wheeler Dryden. Specializing in enthusiastically patriotic and imperialist ballads, he enjoyed huge success in the early 1890s with ‘The Miner’s Dream of Home’.
Dryden, Wheeler (1892–1957). Chaplin’s half-brother, the son of Leo Dryden and Hannah Chaplin. Taken from his mother by Dryden as a baby, Wheeler seems to have been brought up in India. He reappeared in the lives of the Chaplin brothers around 1918, and received a money allowance from the studio, though he made his own career as actor and (occasionally) playwright. Assistant to Sydney Chaplin in his abortive British film ventures in late 1920s. Joined Chaplin Studios as assistant director on The Great Dictator and remained until Chaplin’s departure from USA in 1952. Appears as actor in Limelight. Last days troubled by paranoid fears of persecution by FBI.
Durfee, Minta (1891–1975). Actress, Making a Living, A Film Johnnie, Tango Tangles, Cruel, Cruel Love, The Star Boarder, Twenty Minutes of Love, Caught in a Cabaret, The Knockout, The Masquerader, The Rounders, The New Janitor, Tillie’s Punctured Romance. Musical comedy, vaudeville, stock. Keystone from 1913–16. Married Roscoe Arbuckle. After retirement, ran dress shop in Hollywood.
Edwards, Vivian (1897–?). Actress, The Property Man, The Face on the Bar Room Floor, His New Profession, The Masquerader, Those Love Pangs, Dough and Dynamite, His Trysting Place, His Prehistoric Past. With Keystone, as extra, from early 1914; last recorded appearance in Sole Mate (1917).
Elsom, Isobel (1893–1981). Actress, Monsieur Verdoux (Madame Grosnay). Stage, then films in Britain; then Hollywood from 1941, including Ladies in Retirement (1941), Who’s Minding the Store? (1963), My Fair Lady (1964). Was married for a time to Maurice Elvey, Britain’s most prolific director between 1913 and 1957.
Epstein, Jerry (1921–91). Chaplin’s close associate from Limelight onwards. First met Chaplin when running Hollywood little theatre, The Circle, in association with Sydney Earl Chaplin; Chaplin subsequently directed productions there. Assistant on Limelight, associate producer on A King in New York and producer on A Countess From Hong Kong. Directed a few films, including The Adding Machine. Published memoir of Chaplin, Remembering Charlie (1988).
Fairbanks, Douglas (Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman) (1883–1939). Swashbuckling, all-American star of the 1910s and 1920s. Married Mary Pickford; co-founder with Pickford, Chaplin and D. W. Griffith of United Artists. Late in life Chaplin said Fairbanks was the only close friend he had ever had.
Fiske, Minnie Maddern (1865–1932). One of the most respected American stage actresses of the early twentieth century, Mrs Fiske made her debut at the age of three. Her 1916 essay, ‘The Art of Charlie Chaplin’, in Harper’s did much to stimulate the evaluation of Chaplin as a serious artist.
Florey, Robert (1900–79). French cinephile with passionate admiration for both Hollywood and Chaplin. In 1927 wrote monograph on Chaplin in series Les Grands Artistes de l’Ecran. Later, working in Hollywood as assistant to such directors as von Sternberg, Vidor and King, he came to know Chaplin personally. Associate director on Monsieur Verdoux. As director, Florey made the first Marx Brothers film, Cocoanuts, and two horror classics, Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932) and The Beast With Five Fingers (1946).
Ford, Rachel (1904–95). Business manager for Charles Chaplin from 1953 until c. 1981 (her retirement was gradual). Born of an English father and French mother, she lived in France until the German occupation during the Second World War, when she became the only British officer in the Free French Forces. After the war, she worked for the European Movement until it ceased its activities, and went to work for Chaplin soon after his arrival in Switzerland.
Garcia, Allan (1887–1938). Actor, The Idle Class, Pay Day, The Gold Rush, The Circus, City Lights, Modern Times.
Gardiner, Reginald (1903–80). Actor, The Great Dictator. Trained as an architect, but decided to study at RADA instead. Stage debut, London; film debut in Born to Dance (1936). Subsequently made career as character actor in American films, playing silly-ass British roles. In 1950s and 1960s returned to the stage, and played Doolittle in Broadway production of My Fair Lady.
Gilbert, Billy (1894–1971). Actor, The Great Dictator (Herring). Stage, films from 1916; then comedy shorts for Hal Roach Studios in 1930s. Feature films include A Night at the Opera (1935) and Anchors Aweigh (1945). Also provided voice of Sneezy in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). Final screen appearance in Five Weeks in a Balloon (1962).
Gillette, William C. (1855–1937). Actor and dramatist, noted for restraint and elegant comedy style. Most famous role was Sherlock Holmes, which he revived in London in 1905 (Duke of York’s Theatre) with Chaplin in the role of Billy.
Goddard, Paulette (Pauline Levy) (1910–90). Actress, Modern Times, The Great Dictator. Chaplin’s third wife (1936) – though some doubt exists about the legitimacy of their marriage. On stage from 1927 (chorus of Rio Rita), films from 1931. After separating from Chaplin, continued to work in films until 1966 (Time of Indifference). Married Erich Maria Remarque. See Chapters 14 and 15, passim.
Goodwins, Fred (1891–1923). British-born actor, A Night Out, A Jitney Elopement, The Tramp, The Bank, Shanghaied, A Night in the Show, Police. Journalist, then on stage with George Alexander, Charles Frohman. Screen with Edison, Imp, Horsley companies. Also acted as unofficial press representative for Chaplin at Essanay. Goodwins continued to appear in Hollywood films until 1919, after which he returned to England to direct several pictures.
Gould, Florence (1895–1983). American philanthropist, art patron, Riviera hostess and collector. Wife of Frank J. Gould. Entertained Chaplin in Nice, where the Goulds were then proprietors of the Majestic Hotel, during his 1931 world tour.
Gould, Frank J. (d. 1956). American millionaire, son of railway king, George J. Gould, creator of ‘Gould System’ of railways in American south-west. Amateur archaeologist, and Riviera hotelier and host. Wives included (1909–17) Edith, sister of Hetty and Arthur Kelly (q.v.), and Florence Gould (q.v.).
Grey, Lita, see Chaplin, Lita Grey.
Griffith, Gordon (1907–58). Child actor at Keystone, Kid’s Auto Races, The Star Boarder, Twenty Minutes of Love, Caught in a Cabaret, Tille’s Punctured Romance. Stage at one year old with mother, Katherine Griffith. Remained in pictures until 1926: appearances included Tarzan of the Apes, Huckleberry Finn, Little Annie Rooney. Later assistant director at Monogram Pictures, and production manager, The Jolson Story.
Guyonvarch, Kate. Current (2001) business manager to the Chaplins. Succeeded Rachel Ford and Pam Paumier, to both of whom she was in turn assistant.
Hale, Georgia (1900–85). Actress, The Gold Rush. Arrived in Hollywood after winning beauty contest. Worked as extra until Josef von Sternberg made her star of his first film, The Salvation Hunters (1924). Remained in pictures until 1928 (Paul Fejös’s The Last Moment). Afterwards worked as dance teacher. Close but intermittent friendship with Chaplin continued until 1943. Her memoirs, edited by Heather Kiernan, were published posthumously as Charlie Chaplin, Intimate Close-ups.
Hall, Charles D. (1899–1959). Art director with Chaplin Studios on First National films and on The Gold Rush, The Circus, City Lights, Modern Times. Previously worked with Karno companies. Later films included James Whale pictures, among them The Bride of Frankenstein and Showboat. Continued in films until 1951 (Robert Florey’s The Vicious Years).
Harrington, Tom. Chaplin’s valet and amanuensis during his early bachelor days in Hollywood.
Harris, Mildred, see Chaplin, Mildred Harris.
Hedren, Tippi (Nathalie Hedren) (b. 1935). Actress, A Countess From Hong Kong. Best known for roles in Hitchcock’s The Birds and Marnie. In 1981 made Roar, based on her husband’s and family’s experiments in co-existence with wild animals.
Henderson, Jack (1878–1957). Actor, The Vagabond (Gypsy Chief). Active in films until 1940 (Little Man).
Hill, Charles Frederick (c. 1839–after 1911). Chaplin’s maternal grandfather, a boot-maker. See Chapter 1, passim.
Hill, Kate (1870–1916). Chaplin’s maternal aunt. See Chapters 1 and 5, passim.
Hill, Mary Ann (c. 1839–1892). Chaplin’s maternal grandmother. See Chapter 1, passim.
Horne, Sir Alan Edgar (1889–1984). 2nd Bt; succeeded father, Sir Edgar Horne, 1941. Husband of Henrietta Florence (Hetty) Kelly (q.v.), whom he married in 1915, when he was Lieutenant in the Surrey Yeomanry.
Howell, Alice (1888–1961). Actress, Caught in a Cabaret, The Knockout, Mabel’s Married Life, Laughing Gas. A comedienne greatly admired by Stan Laurel, Alice Howell began in vaudeville and burlesque, and moved west for the sake of the health of her tubercular husband and stage partner. She was recruited to Keystone, moved on to star with Lehrman’s L-Ko Comedies and subsequently had her own series at Universal. Career continued until 1925 (Under a Spell).
Ince, Thomas H. (1882–1924). Outstanding early Hollywood producer, who systematized film-making methods and is credited with the general adoption of the film script. Peter Bogdanovich’s 2001 film, The Cat’s Meow, explored the circumstances of Ince’s mysterious, violent death aboard William Randolph Hearst’s yacht, on which CC was a fellow guest.
Insley, Charles. Actor, His New Job, Work, A Woman, The Bank, A Night in the Show. A pioneer film performer, with Edison, Biograph, Bison, Kalem and Essanay, he worked in a number of D. W. Griffith films at Biograph, including Griffith’s directorial debut, The Adventures of Dollie (1908).
Jackson, John William. Founder and impresario of The Eight Lancashire Lads. Previously school teacher. See Chapter 2, passim.
James, Dan (1911–88). Assistant on The Great Dictator. Educated Yale; worked for family firm of china importers, then became interested in left-wing politics. Wrote Winter Soldiers (1942), Bloomer Girl (1944). While blacklisted, worked on scripts of The Giant Behemoth and Gorgo under pseudonym ‘Daniel Hyatt’. In 1983 published prize-winning novel Famous All Over Town – inspired by experiences as volunteer social worker among chicanos of East Los Angeles – under pseudonym ‘Danny Santiago’.
James, Eric (b. 1913). Pianist and arranger. Having impressed Chaplin with his facility in dubbing a piece of piano music for A King in New York, he was subsequently engaged to assist Chaplin with the score for A Countess From Hong Kong, as well as the new scores fitted to A Dog’s Life, Shoulder Arms, The Pilgrim (assembled together as The Chaplin Revue), The Idle Class, Pay Day, A Day’s Pleasure, Sunnyside, The Circus, The Kid and A Woman of Paris. As Chaplin grew older, James’s contributions to the music evidently became greater, though his agreement with Chaplin bound him ‘never to claim authorship of any music whatsoever that was created while working with Mr Chaplin’. James’s 2000 memoir, Making Music With Charlie Chaplin, suggests that a combination of patience and genuine affection contributed to making their collaboration last longer than that between Chaplin and any previous musician.
James, Sidney (1913–76). Actor, A King in New York. Arriving in Britain from South Africa in 1946, he soon established himself as a popular comedy player, specializing in cockney and American characters. His major success came with the Carry On film series.
Jamison (or Jamieson), Bud (William) (1894–1944). Actor, His New Job, A Night Out, The Champion, In the Park, A Jitney Elopement, By the Sea, The Bank, Shanghaied, A Night in the Show, Charlie Chaplin’s Burlesque on Carmen, Police. Before joining Chaplin at Essanay, had experience in vaudeville, stock and as café entertainer. He subsequently worked extensively with Hal Roach, partnered W. C. Fields in two Mack Sennett shorts, and continued in films until 1940 (Captain Caution).
Johnston, Oliver (1888 or 1889–1966). Actor, A King in New York, A Countess From Hong Kong. Son of producer and actor Herbert Jenner, was trained at RADA. On stage from 1910 till retirement in 1947. Returned to stage in 1951, and played in television, including early BBC series. The Grove Family.
Karno, Fred (1866–1941). Music hall performer, producer and manager. See Chapter 3, passim. From 1913 until his bankruptcy in 1926 he ran a Thames pleasure complex ‘The Karsino’ on Tagg’s Island. His principal sketch presentations, with dates where ascertainable, were Hilarity (1895), Jail Birds (1899), Early Birds (1901), The New Woman’s Club (1901), His Majesty’s Guests (1901), The Dandy Thieves (short version of His Majesty’s Guests), Mumming Birds (1904), Saturday to Monday (1904), The Thirsty First (1906), The Smoking Concert (1906), The Football Match (1906), Moses and Sons (1906), London Suburbia (1907), The Casuals (1908), The Yap Yaps (1908), Skating (1909), The Wow Wows (1910), Jimmy the Fearless (1910), The Wontdetainia (1910), The Bailiff, The GPO, The Hydro, Perkins M.P., Mr Justice Perkins, Perkins the Punter, Perkins the Purser, Parlez-vous Français?, Hot and Cold, All Women, The Police Station, Fred Karno’s Army. His last stage production was Real Life (1935). Of various attempts at film production towards the end of his career, the only realized project seems to have been Don’t Rush Me (1935), with Robb Wilton.
Karno, Fred, Junior. Son of Fred Karno. Accompanied Chaplin on Karno tours of United States; later worked on The Gold Rush and Monsieur Verdoux.
Keaton, Joseph Frank (Buster) (1895–1966). One of the great comic stars of the silent screen. Entered films in 1917, after many years in vaudeville, since early childhood. Early shorts with Roscoe Arbuckle, then star in his own right. After a series of brilliant feature comedies in the 1920s, his career declined with the new economies of sound films. His appearance in Limelight teamed the two comic geniuses of the twentieth century.
Kelly, Arthur (1890–1954). Brother of Hetty Kelly and Chaplin’s representative in United Artists. Began career at twenty-one when he joined Frank J. Gould Enterprises in USA (Gould had married another Kelly sister, Edith). Major in British tank corps in First World War, after which joined United Artists as treasurer. In 1924, head of UA foreign sales, and subsequently in charge of domestic sales. In 1944, Vice-President and US representative for Eagle Lion Pictures. Rejoined UA as Executive Vice-President, 1947.
Kelly, Henrietta Florence (Hetty) (1893–1918). Chaplin’s first love; subsequently married Alan Edgar Horne (q.v.). See Chapters 3 and 8, passim.
Kelly, James T. (1854–1933). Irish-born actor, A Night in the Show, Police, The Floorwalker, The Fireman, The Vagabond, The Count, The Pawnshop, Behind the Screen, The Rink, The Cure, The Immigrant, A Dog’s Life. Irish-born stage veteran of stock and vaudeville, who always played elderly and decrepit roles in Chaplin films. Also worked at Universal, Rolin and Roach studios.
Kennedy, Edgar (1890–1948). Actor, The Star Boarder, Twenty Minutes of Love, Caught in a Cabaret, The Knockout, Mabel’s Busy Day, Dough and Dynamite, Tillie’s Punctured Romance, Getting Acquainted. Vaudeville and musical comedy, films (at Keystone) from 1914. Credited as inventor of ‘the slow burn’, he became a comedy star in his own right, notably in sound shorts. Later films included Duck Soup, A Star is Born (1937). Also directed, as E. Livingston Kennedy.
Kennedy, Merna (1908–44). Actress, The Circus. Musical comedy, as dancer, from childhood. Later films include Broadway (1929) and King of Jazz (1930). Last picture, I Like it that Way (1934), after which married dance director Busby Berkeley.
Kessel, Adam, Junior. Co-founder, with Charles O. Bauman (q.v.), of New York Motion Picture Company and its affilitate, Keystone Film Company.
Kirtley, Virginia (1883–1956). Actress in Chaplin’s first film, Making a Living. Stage from 1910; films (Imp Company) from 1912; joined Keystone 1913. Married comedian Eddie Lyons.
Knoblock, Edward (Edward Knoblauch) (1874–1945). Actor and later dramatist and screenwriter. A naturalized British subject, he became friendly with Chaplin through Fairbanks, and was in London at the time of Chaplin’s 1921 visit. Appeared as extra in The Idle Class.
Knott, Lydia (1866–1955). Character actress in A Woman of Paris. Stage, then films, 1917–30. Mother of director Lambert Hillyer.
Kono, Toraichi. See Toraichi, Kono.
Lampton, Dee (1898–1919). Three hundred-pound juvenile actor in A Night at the Show. Also appeared in Harold Lloyd’s Lonesome Luke films and starred in ‘Skinny Lampton’ series.
Lane, Rose Wilder (1887–1968). American writer, author of the unauthorized and suppressed Charlie Chaplin’s Own Story (1916). Daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the Little House series which chronicled the family’s homesteading experiences in Dakota, Missouri and Louisiana. Miss Lane began her career as a Western Union telegraphist. In 1965, close to eighty, she was a correspondent in Vietnam for Woman’s Day.
Lauder, Sir Harry (1870–1950). Great Scottish star of the British music halls. Visited Chaplin Studios in 1918 and shot film with Chaplin, intended to raise money for Lauder’s war charity fund.
Laurel, Stan (Arthur Stanley Jefferson) (1890–1965). Created role of Jimmy the Fearless, later taken over by Chaplin, with Karno Company. Accompanied Chaplin on 1910 and 1912 Karno tours of USA. From 1917 in films as star in own right; from 1926 as partner to Oliver Hardy. During vaudeville days performed Chaplin impersonation in ‘The Keystone Trio’.
Lehrman, Henry (1886–1946), nicknamed ‘Pathé’ by D. W. Griffith. Director, Making a Living, Kid’s Auto Races, Mabel’s Strange Predicament, Between Showers. Viennese-born, he was reputed to have been a tram conductor before becoming a director at Biograph, Imp, Kinemacolor, Keystone, Sterling and his own company L-Ko (Lehrman-Knockout). Continued to direct until 1929 (New Year’s Eve), then became writer. Was fiancé of Virginia Rappe, whose death in the course of a party precipitated the Fatty Arbuckle trial (1921), in which Lehrman was main prosecution witness.
Limur, Jean de (1886–1976). Research assistant, A Woman of Paris. Of aristocratic birth, Limur came to USA after war service as aviator and was actor in Fairbanks’s The Three Musketeers. Later assistant to De Mille and Rex Ingram, then directed early sound films, The Letter and Jealousy. Returned to Europe and continued to direct in France and Italy until 1944 (La Grande Meute).
Loren, Sophia (Sofia Scicolone) (b. 1934). Actress, A Countess From Hong Kong. In films from 1950, became a major international star in the 1960s. Married producer Carlo Ponti.
Lourié, Eugène (1895–1991). Art director on Limelight. Emigrating to Paris after the Russian Revolution, Lourié trained as a painter, but became involved with émigré film-makers. As a designer he worked with outstanding success with Jean Renoir in the 1930s, and joined him in Hollywood during the 1940s. Later directed monster films, The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953) and The Colossus of New York (1958).
McCoy, Harry (1894–1937). Actor, Mabel’s Strange Predicament, Mabel at the Wheel, Caught in a Cabaret, Mabel’s Busy Day, Mabel’s Married Life, The Property Man, The Face on the Bar Room Floor, The Masquerader, His New Profession, Those Love Pangs, Tillie’s Punctured Romance, Getting Acquainted. Vaudeville and legitimate stage before films, with Flying ‘A’, Selig and Keystone. Left Keystone for Lehrman’s L-Ko Comedies, but later returned to Sennett as scenarist. Actor in Sydney Chaplin’s Skirts (1928; also known as A Little Bit of Fluff).
McGuire, Paddy. Actor, The Champion, A Jitney Elopement, The Tramp, By the Sea, Work, The Bank, Shanghaied, A Night in the Show. Musical comedy; films from 1915 (Essanay). Later with Vogue and Triangle Keystone companies; career lasted until 1920. Specialized in ‘rubes’ and Irish characters.
MacDonald, Wallace (1891–1978). Canadian-born actor, Caught in a Cabaret (?), Mabel’s Busy Day, Mabel’s Married Life, The Face on the Bar Room Floor, The Rounders, Dough and Dynamite, Tillie’s Punctured Romance. Continued in films until 1959 (Gunmen from Laredo).
MacMurray, Lillian (1888–1985). Mother of Lita Grey (q.v.).
Mann, Hank (David W. Liebman) (1888–1971). Actor, Mabel’s Strange Predicament, Twenty Minutes of Love, Caught in a Cabaret, The Knockout, Mabel’s Married Life, The Face on the Bar Room Floor, City Lights, Modern Times, The Great Dictator. Stage, then films (Keystone) from 1914. Left Keystone for Lehrman’s L-Ko Comedies, but subsequently rejoined Sennett. In films until 1957 (Man of a Thousand Faces).
Marceline (1873–1927). Spanish-born clown. Chaplin saw and admired him when he was appearing in the pantomime Cinderella at the newly opened London Hippodrome, where Marceline remained a popular star for several seasons. Chaplin records that he later saw him in the USA when Marceline’s talent and confidence had deserted him.
Menjou, Adolphe (1890–1963). Actor, A Woman of Paris. Cornell University, First World War service, then vaudeville and stage. Screen from 1912 at Vitagraph; but only achieved principal roles from 1921 (The Three Musketeers). Continued in films until 1959 (Pollyanna). Notable later performance in Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory. Reckoned one of Hollywood’s best-dressed men. One of the most voluble ‘friendly’ witnesses in Hollywood Un-American Activities Committee investigations.
Mineau, Charlotte (1891–?). Actress, His New Job, A Night in the Show, The Floorwalker, The Vagabond, The Count, Behind the Screen, The Rink, Easy Street. Previously with Selig, George Ade Fables, Swedie series; later films include Sparrows, with Mary Pickford.
Morrissey, Betty (1908–44). Actress, A Woman of Paris, The Gold Rush, The Circus. Discovered by Erich Von Stroheim, who used her in Merry-Go-Round (1922). Screen career continued throughout 1920s, until The Circus.
Murray, Charles K. (1872–1941). Actor, Her Friend the Bandit, Mabel’s Married Life, The Masquerader, Tillie’s Punctured Romance. Twenty years in vaudeville in Murray and Mack act, then films with Biograph, Keystone. Prolific later career, including Cohens and Kellys series.
Murray, Tom (1874–1935). Actor, The Pilgrim, The Gold Rush (Black Larson). Vaudeville, in black-face double act, Gillihan and Murray. Films from 1914, with Eagle Film Company. First Hollywood film, My Boy (1922), with Jackie Coogan.
Murray, Will (1877–1955). Managed Casey’s Circus company during Chaplin’s tour. First stage appearance, 1890; first London appearance, 1892. Gymnastic speciality act, Lord, Murray and Lord; then teamed with Arthur Woodville as The Freans. Joined Casey’s Circus in 1906, and continued to tour the act until 1950. Casey’s Circus alumni included – besides Chaplin – Stan Laurel, Stanley Lupino, Jack Edge, Hall Jones, Leslie Strange, George Doonan, the Terry Twins, Jerry Verno, Tom Gamble and Jimmy Russell.
Myers, Harry (1882–1938). Actor, City Lights. Stage; films from 1908 at Biograph; then Lubin and Vim Comedies series with wife, Rosemary Theby. Starring roles in 1920s (including A Connecticut Yankee at King Arthur’s Court, Exit Smiling); continued in films until 1936 (San Francisco, Hollywood Boulevard).
Nash, Marilyn (b. 1926). Actress, Monsieur Verdoux. A pre-medical student when spotted (on his tennis court) and auditioned by Chaplin, she made only one other film, Unknown World (1951), and later became a television actress and subsequently producer. Married Hollywood screenwriter Philip Yordan.
Newman, Alfred (1901–70). Composer and musical director. Worked on City Lights but walked off Modern Times after disagreement with Chaplin. Began his career as a child prodigy at the piano; composed more than 250 film scores, and won nine Oscars (rarely for his best work).
Nichols, George ‘Pop’ (1865–1927). Director, A Film Johnnie, His Favorite Pastime, Cruel, Cruel Love, The Star Boarder. Nearing fifty, he was reckoned a veteran in 1914. Left Keystone for Lehrman’s L-Ko Comedies. Appears as actor in Mabel Normand features Molly O’ (1922) and The Extra Girl (1923).
Normand, Mabel (1892 or 1894–1930). Actress, Mabel’s Strange Predicament, Mabel at the Wheel, Caught in a Cabaret, The Fatal Mallet, Her Friend the Bandit, Mabel’s Busy Day, Mabel’s Married Life, Gentlemen of Nerve, His Trysting Place, Tillie’s Punctured Romance, Getting Acquainted. Photographic model. Entered films at Vitagraph, then Biograph and Keystone (1912). Enjoyed a long if turbulent romance with Mack Sennett. Later features included Mickey, Molly O’ and Raggedy Rose. Later career troubled by scandals; died of tuberculosis.
Northrup, Harry (1875–1936). Actor, A Woman of Paris. Theatre (specializing in villains), then films from 1911. Character actor much in demand during 1920s (Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, etc.).
Oakie, Jack (Lewis Delaney Offield) (1903–78). Actor, The Great Dictator. After early work as chorus boy in musical comedy and as song-and-dance man in vaudeville, Oakie arrived in Hollywood in 1927 and established himself as a comedian. Debut in Finders Keepers. Later films include Around the World in Eighty Days (1956) and Lover Come Back (1962).
O’Neill, Oona, see Chaplin, Oona O’Neill.
Parrish, Robert (1916–95). Actor, City Lights (newsboy). Subsequently became film editor and (from 1951) director. Autobiography: Growing Up in Hollywood, 1976.
Parsons, Louella (1880–1972). Columnist on Hearst newspapers, known for her malice but generally (unlike Hedda Hopper) cordial to Chaplin. Was a member of party on Hearst boat trip which proved fatal for Thomas Ince.
Paumier, Pamela (b. 1930). Business manager to the Chaplins from the retirement of Rachel Ford until 1995. English (a descendant of George Cruikshank, the illustrator) and married to a Frenchman, Pam Paumier previously worked for some twenty years as Miss Ford’s assistant.
Pearce, Peggy (1894–1964). Actress, His Favorite Pastime, also Chaplin’s first recorded Hollywood girlfriend. Films from 1913 (Biograph, Keystone). Born Gladys Wilson, and also known as Viola Barry, film career lasted till 1920.
Périnal, Georges (1897–1965). Director of photography, A King in New York. Outstanding cinematographer whose career began in 1913; notable collaborations with René Clair, Alexander Korda, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.
Pickford, Mary (Gladys Louise Smith) (1892–1979). Dominant star of 1910s and 1920s; wife of Douglas Fairbanks; friend of Chaplin and co-founder of United Artists. Stage debut, 1898; film debut, 1909, under D. W. Griffith at Biograph. An outstanding businesswoman, she was in constant competition with Chaplin to be the highest earner in Hollywood in the period of the First World War. Retired from acting in 1933.
Pollard, Harry ‘Snub’ (1886–1962). Comedian, Limelight. May also have supporting roles in By the Sea and Police. Arrived in US from Australia with Juvenile Opera Company; joined Broncho Billy at Essanay in 1913. Subsequently many slapstick shorts. In sound period became character player: career continued until 1961 (Pocketful of Miracles).
Polo, Malvina (or Malvine). Actress, A Woman of Paris. Daughter of serial star Eddie Polo (1875–1961), who claimed Italian descent from Marco Polo. Also played half-wit girl in Von Stroheim’s Foolish Wives.
Postance, William. Stage Manager at Duke of York’s Theatre, London, in 1905 when Chaplin played there. Chaplin remembered his kindness, and paid tribute to him in the character ‘Mr Postant’ in Limelight.
Purviance, Edna Olga (1895–1958). Actress, A Night Out, The Champion, In the Park, A Jitney Elopement, The Tramp, By the Sea, Work, A Woman, The Bank, Shanghaied, A Night in the Show, Charlie Chaplin’s Burlesque on Carmen, Police, The Floorwalker, The Fireman, The Vagabond, The Count, The Pawnshop, Behind the Screen, The Rink, Easy Street, The Cure, The Immigrant, The Adventurer, A Dog’s Life, The Bond, Shoulder Arms, Sunnyside, A Day’s Pleasure, The Kid, The Idle Class, Pay Day, The Pilgrim, A Woman of Paris. Afterwards (1926) starred in von Sternberg’s Sea Gulls (produced by Chaplin; never released) and Henri Diamant-Berger’s Education du Prince (in France); then retired. Speculation that she appears as an extra in Monsieur Verdoux and Limelight seems to be unfounded. The correct pronunciation of ‘Purviance’ is with the accent on the ‘i’, pronounced as the letter of the alphabet. Chaplin used to joke that the name was in fact unpronounceable, and that she should change it to Edna Pollolobus.
Raksin, David (b. 1912). Arranger of music for Modern Times. Composer, conductor, author, lecturer and teacher. Son of a conductor of orchestras for silent films; studied piano in Philadelphia, then composition with Isadore Freed and Arnold Schoenberg. Was working as Broadway arranger when Chaplin asked him to go to Hollywood to assist on score for Modern Times. Subsequently remained active in Hollywood, where he composed music for more than a hundred films, including Laura. President, Composers and Lyricists Guild of America.
Rand, John (1872 or 1878–1940). Actor, The Bank, Shanghaied, A Night in the Show, Carmen, Police, The Fireman, The Vagabond, The Count, The Pawnshop, Behind the Screen, The Rink, Easy Street, The Cure, The Immigrant, The Adventurer, Shoulder Arms, The Idle Class, Pay Day, The Circus, City Lights, Modern Times. Former circus clown.
Raye, Martha (1916–94). Actress, Monsieur Verdoux. Gifted, wide-mouthed American comedienne. Daughter of vaudeville artists (Pete Reed and Mabelle Hooper); had experience in musical comedy, radio, vaudeville and band work before making her first film in 1936 (Rhythm on the Range). Many films until 1970; then television work.
Reeves, Alfred (1876–1946). General Manager, Chaplin Film Corporation, 1918–46. Son of a lion tamer who lost an arm to the animals; worked in circus, then management for Fred Karno. Managed Karno’s US tours from 1905. Chose Chaplin for 1910 tour. Brother of Billie Reeves, Karno player who later did Chaplin imitation. Walk-on appearances in A Dog’s Life and cut section of Shoulder Arms.
Reeves, Amy. Wife of Alf Reeves. Karno artist (as Amy Minister) who played the Saucy Soubrette in Mumming Birds, and accompanied Chaplin on 1910 and 1912 Karno US tours. Settled in Hollywood from 1918 and befriended Hannah Chaplin during her last days there.
Reeves, Billie (1866–1945). Brother of Alfred Reeves; Karno player, who preceded Chaplin in Mumming Birds. Began his career as a performer at seven, and was acrobat, clown, bareback rider, animal trainer and tamer like his father. Also knockabout skater and member of Fletcher’s Skaters. Remained in America after Karno tour, in vaudeville and later in films (Lubin). In one year made fifty-three films, earning $1000 from each. In 1918 did vaudeville tour with drunk sketch, ‘The Right Key But The Wrong Flat’.
Reeves, May. Young woman, apparently of Czech origin, who was Chaplin’s companion during much of his 1931 holiday and wrote her memoirs of the period, Charlie Chaplin intime, edited by Claire Goll (1935).
Reynolds, Dr Cecil. Hollywood neighbour of Chaplin, who played prison chaplain in Modern Times. Died by suicide.
Riesner, Charles Francis (‘Chuck’) (1887–1962). Actor, A Dog’s Life, The Kid, The Pilgrim, assistant director, First National films and The Gold Rush. Left Chaplin to direct Sydney Chaplin pictures (The Man on the Box, The Better ’Ole). Later films include Buster Keaton’s Steamboat Bill, Jr. Last film, made in Italy, L’Ultima Cena (1950). Before joining Chaplin in January 1918 Riesner, a former prize-fighter, had ten years’ experience on the stage; featured on Keith and Orpheum vaudeville circuits, and as star of musical comedy, Stop, Look, Listen. The name is sometimes spelt and always pronounced as ‘Reisner’.
Riesner, Dean (b. 1918). Child actor, as ‘Dinky Dean’ in The Pilgrim, son of Charles F. Riesner. Later screenwriter (sometimes as ‘Dean Franklin’); scripts include Coogan’s Bluff, Play Misty for Me, Dirty Harry. Directed Bill and Coo.
Ritchie, Billy (1874–1921). Vaudeville and musical comedy; then Karno Company. Created role of drunk in Mumming Birds. Following Karno tour, remained in US starring in vaudeville, on Broadway, and Orpheum Circuit. On screen in L-Ko comedies, was persuaded by Henry Lehrman to undertake Chaplin impersonation. Died from injuries received from ostrich during making of a film.
Ritchie, Winifred. Wife of Billy Ritchie and a former Karno player. Expert in making trick costumes, she worked frequently at the Chaplin studios. Her daughter Wyn Ritchie married Ray Evans, Hollywood song-writer (‘Buttons and Bows’, ‘Que Sera, Sera’, ‘Mona Lisa’, etc.). Winifred and Wyn were among Hannah Chaplin’s selected Hollywood friends.
Robinson, Carlyle T. Chaplin’s press representative from 1917 to 1932, and accompanied him on 1921 and 1931 European trips. Appears in The Idle Class, The Pilgrim. Educated in New York, worked in a bank before turning to journalism. Worked as obituary reporter for Brooklyn Standard Union before moving to California to work as press agent for motion picture companies.
Rosher, Dorothy (1913–2000). Child actress in The Bond (Cupid), born Nancy Ann Rosher. Daughter of the outstanding cinematographer Charles Rosher, and on screen from two years old, she appeared in a number of films as a child, including Daddy Long Legs (1919) and Pollyanna (1920). In 1930 she returned to the screen as an adult under the name of Joan Marsh, generally playing glamorous blondes. Films included King of Jazz (1930), All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), Anna Karenina (1935), The Road to Zanzibar (1941). Retired from the screen after The Man in the Trunk (1942), but appeared in interview documentary, I Used To Be in Pictures (2000).
Ruggles, Wesley (1889–1972). Actor, The Bank, Shanghaied, A Night in the Show, Charlie Chaplin’s Burlesque on Carmen, Police, The Pawnshop (?), Behind the Screen. Stage, then films at Keystone (1914) as Keystone Kop, and in Sydney Chaplin ‘Gussle’ shorts. Director from 1917 (For France). Later films include I’m No Angel, with Mae West. Last picture, London Town (1940) in England.
Rutherford, Dame Margaret Taylor (1892–1972). Actress in A Countess From Hong Kong. Well-loved English character player. Originally teacher of music and speech; stage from 1925; films from 1936 (Dusty Ermine). Later famous for title role in Agatha Christie Miss Marple series.
St John, Al (1893–1963). Actor, Mabel’s Strange Predicament, Mabel at the Wheel, The Knockout, Mabel’s Busy Day, Mabel’s Married Life, The Rounders, The New Janitor, Tillie’s Punctured Romance. Nephew of Roscoe Arbuckle. Musical comedy and trick bicycling, then Keystone from 1914. Later, bearded, made career as Western character actor, Al ‘Fuzzy’ St John, and was still active in the 1950s.
Saintsbury, H. A. (1869–1939). Actor and dramatist. Educated St John’s College, Leatherhead, then engaged as clerk at Bank of England. Stage debut, 1887. Played wide repertory of Shakespearean roles but his favourite part remained Sherlock Holmes, which he acted more than 1400 times. Chaplin made his first appearances on the legitimate stage under Saintsbury, in Saintsbury’s own Jim, A Romance of Cockayne and in a touring production of Sherlock Holmes.
Sandford, Stanley J. ‘Tiny’ (1894–1961). Burly, 6' 5" actor, The Gold Rush, The Circus, City Lights, Modern Times, The Great Dictator. Films from 1910. Appearances in Von Stroheim’s Blind Husbands (1922) and Fairbanks’s The Iron Mask (1929). Remained in films until 1942 (Shoe Shine Boy), though last credited appearance was in Clean Sweep (1937).
Sennett, Mack (1880–1960). Producer. See Chapter 4, passim.
Sheridan, Clare (1885–1970). British sculptor, writer and traveller, whose improvised camping trip with Chaplin in November 1921 sparked a flurry of press and social speculation. First cousin of Winston Churchill and Shane Leslie (their mothers were the three brilliant Jerome sisters), she was widowed in the First World War, but neither this nor the loss of her adored son Dickie at twenty-one lessened her lifelong dedication to art and good causes. She is the subject of a biography by Anita Leslie, Cousin Clare, The Tempestuous Life of Clare Sheridan (London, 1976).
Spoor, George K. (1872–1953). Producer and co-founder with G. M. Anderson of Essanay in 1907.
Sterling, Ford (1880–1939). Actor, Between Showers, A Film Johnnie, Tango Tangles. Began career in circus as Keno the Boy Clown; later stock, vaudeville, musical comedy. Films from 1911 at Biograph; then in original Keystone Company (1912). Formed own company in 1914, but later returned to Sennett. Most famous as the goatee-bearded chief of the Keystone Kops. Career continued until 1935 (Black Sheep).
Sternberg, Josef von (1894–1969). Impressed by Sternberg’s first film, The Salvation Hunters, Chaplin financed and produced his next project, Sea Gulls (or A Woman From the Sea), starring Edna Purviance. The film was never shown, however, and the negative was destroyed in 1933. Later was most famous for his films with Marlene Dietrich, notably The Blue Angel (1930).
Stockdale, Carl (Carlton) (1874–1953). Actor, The Champion, A Jitney Elopement, By the Sea, The Bank. University of North Dakota; amateur, then professional stage. Films from 1912 at Essanay. Early roles included Belshazzar’s Father in Griffith’s Intolerance. Career continued in sound films until 1941 (All That Money Can Buy, Dangerous Lady).
Struss, Karl (1886–1981). Resourceful cinematographer, The Great Dictator, Limelight. Work as Hollywood cameraman began with Cecil B. De Mille in 1920 and included early Technicolor footage in Ben Hur (1926).
Sully, Janet Miller. Actress, Easy Street, The Cure, The Adventurer, A Dog’s Life. In 1918, Motion Picture Magazine reported that she had just played ‘68 comedies with George Ovey without a break’.
Summerville, George (‘Slim’) (?1891–1946). Actor, Mabel’s Busy Day, Laughing Gas, Dough and Dynamite, Tillie’s Punctured Romance. Vaudeville and musical comedy; films (at Keystone) from 1913; was also gagman for Mack Sennett. Remained in films as character player until death: most famous later performances in All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) and Tobacco Road (1941).
Sutherland, A. Edward (1895–1974). Assistant director, A Woman of Paris, The Gold Rush. Nephew by marriage of actor Thomas Meighan. Educated Paris and US. Stage and musical comedy. Screen from 1914 in Helen Holmes serial. Director from 1925 (Coming Through). Later films included The Old Army Game and Poppy, both with W. C. Fields. Continued to direct until 1956 (Bermuda Affair, in England). Wives included Louise Brooks.
Swain, Mack (1876–1935). Heavyweight actor, Caught in the Rain, A Busy Day, The Fatal Mallet, The Knockout, Mabel’s Married Life, Laughing Gas, Gentlemen of Nerve, His Musical Career, His Trysting Place, Tillie’s Punctured Romance, Getting Acquainted, His Prehistoric Past, The Idle Class, Pay Day, The Pilgrim, The Gold Rush. The son of Mormon pioneers (his middle name was Moroni, from the trumpeter angel on the Mormon temple), he established his own infant minstrel troupe at the age of seven. At fifteen, toured with Martin Josey Minstrel Show. 1900, Kempton and Graves Stock Company, Chicago. Films from 1913, at Keystone. Career interrupted by blacklisting following a dispute with a producer, but revived after The Gold Rush. Last appearance in 1932, The Midnight Patrol.
Swanson, Gloria (1897 or 1898–1983). Actress, His New Job. One of the greatest Hollywood stars of the 1920s, Swanson for long denied that she appeared in this film. Later she acknowledged it, but claimed that she deliberately tried not to give a successful comedy performance, so as to avoid getting typecast as a slapstick artist. Later Swanson was to perform brief but clever impersonations of Chaplin in Manhandled (1924) and Sunset Boulevard (1950).
Swickard, Josef (or Joseph or Joe), (1866–1940). German-born actor, Twenty Minutes of Love, Caught in a Cabaret, Laughing Gas. In films from 1912; established career as character actor in the 1920s, notably in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and King of Kings (1927). Continued in films until Frank Capra’s You Can’t Take It With You (1938).
Terrell, Maverick (1875–?). University of Indiana Law School, writer of plays and magazine fiction. Said by Theodore Huff (Charlie Chaplin, 1951) to have assisted Chaplin in writing Essanay and Mutual comedies.
Tetrick, Paul Drew (Ted) (1908–94). Hollywood producer and costumier, worked on costumes for The Great Dictator, Monsieur Verdoux and planned costumes for The Freak. Married to Betty Chaplin (q.v.).
Thatcher, Eva (1862–1942). Actress in The Count (Cook). Career as screen comedienne continued until 1927 (Breezing Along).
Toraichi, Kono (1888–?). Chaplin’s valet and general assistant from 1916–34. Emigrated to US c. 1906. Appears in The Adventurer, The Circus. After leaving Chaplin’s service, worked briefly in United Artists’ Tokyo office.
Totheroh, Roland H. (1890–1967). Cinematographer on Chaplin films from 1916 to 1952. Early career as cartoonist; amateur ball player. Photographer at Essanay, shooting Broncho Billy westerns, from 1913. As the man mainly responsible when Chaplin was in front of the camera, his creative contribution, as unofficial assistant director, was considerable. Retired after Chaplin’s departure from Hollywood.
Tully, Jim. Celebrity of 1920s as the ‘hobo author’. Scripted Beggars of Life (1928; from his own most famous novel), Laughter in Hell (1933), The Raven (1935); appeared as actor in Way for a Sailor (1935). Employed as press man on The Gold Rush.
Turpin, Ben (1874–1940). Actor, His New Job, A Night Out, The Champion. With his puny physique and crossed eyes, one of the most singular figures in silent slapstick comedy. Eleven years in vaudeville with Sam T. Jack’s Burlesque Company, then films at Essanay (1915). In later years, played support to comedy stars: last appearance with Laurel and Hardy in Saps at Sea (1940).
Underwood, Loyal (1893–1966). Diminutive actor, The Count, The Adventurer, The Idle Class, Easy Street, The Cure, The Immigrant, How To Make Movies, A Dog’s Life, Shoulder Arms, Sunnyside, A Day’s Pleasure, Pay Day, The Pilgrim, Limelight (his last film appearance).
Wallis, Shani (b. 1933). Singer in A King in New York. Child performer; debut on television, 1948; RADA; stage musicals. Films from 1956 (The Extra Day). Chaplin selected her after seeing her in pantomime at Golders Green Hippodrome.
Welles, Orson (1915–85). Director and actor. Suggested original idea for Monsieur Verdoux, and is so credited in the film.
West, Billy (1893–1975). Chaplin imitator, born Roy B. Weissberg, in Russia. In vaudeville from his teens, in 1915 he developed an act as a Chaplin imitator which led to his ‘King Bee’ film series of 1917–18. Although West always appeared unequivocally under his own professional name, his diligence in imitating Chaplin extended to sleeping with his hair in curlers and mastering left-handed playing of the violin. Remained in films until 1935 (Motive for Revenge).
White, Leo (?1880–1948). Diminutive, British-born actor who specialized in excitable ‘French count’ characters; His New Job, A Night Out, The Champion, In the Park, A Jitney Elopement, The Tramp, Work, A Woman, The Bank, Shanghaied, A Night in the Show, Charlie Chaplin’s Burlesque on Carmen, Police, The Floorwalker, The Fireman, The Vagabond, The Count, Behind the Screen, The Great Dictator. With Karno; later in operetta. In films from 1915 (at Essanay); then George Ade Comedies, Billy West Comedies, Hal Roach. For Essanay compiled four-reel version of Charlie Chaplin’s Burlesque on Carmen and Triple Trouble. Career continued until 1947 (My Wild Irish Rose) and included Ben Hur (1925), Monkey Business (1931), A Night at the Opera (1935) and Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942).
Williams, Frank D. (1893–?). Chaplin’s cameraman on The Floorwalker, The Fireman, The Vagabond. Appears on screen as cameraman in Kid’s Auto Races. Previously with Essanay and Keystone, where he may also have filmed Chaplin. Highly innovative, Williams is credited with the invention of the travelling matte, and was responsible for trick work on King Kong and The Invisible Man.
Willson, Meredith (1901–84). Music arranger, The Great Dictator. Accomplished pianist and flautist, studied at New York Institute of Musical Art (now Julliard School). Flute and piccolo with J. P. Sousa Band, then first flautist with New York Philharmonic, under Toscanini. Musical director for ABS and NBC. Major Broadway successes with two musicals, The Music Man (1957) and The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1960).
Wilson, Jack (John). Second cameraman at Chaplin Studios from First National pictures to City Lights. Screen appearances in How to Make Movies and The Pilgrim. Wife Edith Wilson was bit actress in The Kid (with their baby), City Lights (cut sequence).
Wilson, Tom (1880–1965). Actor, Sunnyside, A Dog’s Life, Shoulder Arms, A Day’s Pleasure, The Kid, Limelight. Early experience in army, boxing, legitimate theatre and vaudeville. Remained in films until 1956 (Edge of Hell) and appeared uncredited in The FBI Story (1959).
Wood, Tom. Young, 495-lb actor in Sunnyside. Was originally cast as Charlie’s wife in A Day’s Pleasure but the role was eventually taken by Edna Purviance.