A proper Charlie
Take a scruffy black coat that looks as if it has shrunk in the wash, a pair of baggy trousers, shoes that belong to much bigger feet, a bowler hat, a walking stick and a stupid-looking, square, black moustache. Put these together on a little man and you've got one of the most famous movie characters ever created.
Charlie Chapin (1889-1977) was cinema's first comic superstar. Many film buffs think he is the funniest man ever to appear in movies. He created a character called The Little Tramp that appeared in dozens of short films and feature-length movies between 1914 and 1936.
Chaplin's tramp was popular all over the world during the silent film era, making audiences laugh with his actions and the scrapes he got himself into.
Last word
The Little Tramp didn't need spoken language to make his fans double up with laughter. He didn't tell jokes or say silly things. When movies with sound, or 'talkies', took over from silent films in the 1920s, Chaplin refused to allow his character to speak. As talkies became more popular, Chaplin realised that time was up for The Little Tramp.