Nitrateville Silly Remark:Peter Ackroyd's Chaplin Biography

[Richard M Roberts]

Okay, I have to take John Bengston to task for a rather silly remark, nothing personal John.

It can be found in this Nitratevile Discussion:

http://nitrateville.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=18936

and reads as follows:

"I glanced through this on Amazon and noticed a story it reports in connection with Chaplin’s closing speech from The Great Dictator. Ackroyd explains that on one occasion Chaplin was sharing a beer in Keaton’s kitchen discussing how he wants the children of the world to have food, shoes, etc., and Keaton cut him off saying “But Charlie, everyone wants that.”

The book describes this as possibly the best response to Chaplin’s closing speech.

What caught my attention was that I couldn’t imagine Chaplin, in 1939 or 1940, sharing a beer in Keaton’s modest bungalow when Keaton was then relatively poor and washed up. It didn’t make sense.

A friend later told me the source for the story is from Keaton’s My Wonderful World of Slapstick so I looked it up. For what it is worth, as Keaton tells it that kitchen conversation with Chaplin took place in 1920."


What a snobby and presumptuous comment to make about both Chaplin and Keaton, to begin with, Keaton was not living in a hovel in 1940, he was earning what amounted to a more-than-middle-class wage and he and Eleanor lived in a perfectly normal, if not elaborate, Los Angeles-area home, and what does it say about Chaplin, would someone who wanted all to have "food, shoes, etc", be so upturned of nose not to visit a friend and creative equal in his home whatever the circumstances and have a beer with him? In 1920, Keaton had been living with Viola Dana's family, and other places not so spectacular, apparently Chaplin was still capable of sitting in Busters kitchen and have a beer back then, why not later?

Bengston, you should be ashamed of yourself, you owe both Charlie and Buster an apology.


RICHARD M ROBERTS

[Louie Despres]

It's incredible. Washed up by 1940? Not Buster!

[Ed Watz]

Indeed. If Charlie Chaplin could make complimentary remarks about Curly Howard and Lou Costello, and use a testimonial for his GOLD RUSH reissue from Hugh "Woo Woo" Herbert, I can't imagine him ever snubbing Buster, at this or any other time during their lives.

[Gary Johnson]

And yet, tales of Chaplin hobnobbing with his comic peers have always been few and far between. His social awkwardness seemed to follow him his entire life when he wasn't performing. Laurel wrote of a lovely afternoon he spent with Chaplin reminiscing in the late '40's. Keaton added his afternoon chat with Chapin from the '1920's and Groucho wrote of participating with Chaplin at a celebrity tennis match in the early 30's, but it didn't sound like they went out for tea together afterwards.

It almost comes across like Chaplin was only allowed to let his hair down with a fellow comedian once a decade.

[Richard M Roberts]

This is the same sort of nonsense as when some have expressed shock and surprise that Chaplin would attend Ford Sterlings funeral or be seen at a boxing match with Mack Sennett in the late 30's. I swear film buffs have more class snobbery than the one percenters (how could someone who worked for MGM possibly hang out with someone who worked for Monogram!), and are frequently even more clueless. Chaplin knew most of his fellow comedians to one degree or another, and I'm sure they all hung out together at the LA Athletic CLub (where Chaplin also lived a fair chunk of his time in Hollywood, usually during and post-divorces) and attended the same boxing matches (but then again, the average Modern-Day Chaplin Fan would probably also wonder how someone who wanted World Peace would even be a boxing fan). It's that inability to separate Chaplin the Comedy God from Chaplin the Guy.


RICHARD M ROBERTS

[Gary Johnson]

Cool! Now I'm a class snob. I'm moving up in the world.

Relax, there is no shock or surprise here over Chaplin acting like a regular Joe. I was just reiterating the same tales that we have all read about Chaplin through the decades and curious that few new ones have come to light -- like did Fields and Chaplin ever have a quiet dinner together and talk about their days on stage? I doubt it, since I've never read of that encounter. You said it yourself, Richard, "I'm sure they all hung out together at the LA Athletic CLub". Well, I'm sure of that also. But we are hardly going to write a new book on Chaplin based on our assumptions. Here is another assumption; Chaplin and Lloyd were members of the Hollywood elite during the Twenties. They attended the same major functions that catered to the mover and shakers of the town. Lloyd himself has mentioned this in TV interviews. But did they hang out at the bar together making fun of Louis B Mayer? That's what I would had done. Lloyd himself never went into any details.

[Ed Watz]

I like the rationale provided here - regarding why Lloyd and Chaplin were "never photographed together before."

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[Ed Watz]

Incidentally, there is a great anecdote about the night that Bert Wheeler introduced Ted Healy to Charlie Chaplin. Healy's remarks to Chaplin are priceless, and you can read all about it in Bill Cassara's book NOBODY'S STOOGE, which Bear Manor Media is releasing December 15th.

[Gary Johnson]

"There was never a cameraman around to film them..."
That is funny.