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Chaplin at Karno´s, USA/Canada Clippings 286/286

Charles Daggott, Variety, New York, January 7, 1942.

„THE LONDON COLISEUM

By Night,,“

around 1920, postcard

& Welcome over to our side. The arrival is Fred Karno, who

has come from London to be associate producer

in the making of Hal Roach-MGM comedies. Karno, noted

English music hall impresario, is said to be „discoverer“

of the Chaplins, Charlie and Syd, and of Stan Laurel of the

famous Laurel-Hardy combination at the Roach studio.

With Karno are shown Hal Roach (left) and Laurel.

(...) Exhibitors Herald-World, Nov. 16, 1929

„Cruel and boisterous“

Editorial content. „Chaplin Salutes Karno

      Comedian Calls His English Mentor Greatest

      Of ‘Em All

      By Charles Daggott

      Hollywood, Jan. 4.

      When a little boy of 17, foppish, cocksure, none too

pleasant to be around because of his insufferable

ego, walked into the late Fred Karno‘s office in London back

in 1902 and said he most certainly could play any

role he was required to play, Karno was chermed enough

by the kid‘s effrontry to give him a job.“ (...)

      ,All of the pieces we did, as I remember them, were

cruel and boisterous, filled with acrobatic humor

and low, knockabout comedy.‘ (...)

      ,Sid wanted to leave the company, and asked that

I be given a chance, In order to save expenses

Karno finally agreed and gave me a try,

      ,The part was that of the comedy villain. I was just there

to feed the comedian, but I didn‘t know that at first.

When I found out I put in some new business. The show

opened at the Coliseum, in London. After the third

night they started to applaud my entrance.‘

      In explaining the careful way in which Karno

staged his pantomime, Chaplin used his entrance as

an example:

      ,I came on with my back to the audience. I was

wearing a frock coat and a great false nose.

I went through all the cliches of the villain and then turned

round slowly, with all of the unction in the world.

I tangled my finger in my watch chain and I used a cane

to good advantage.

      ,I never got rid of the cane.‘

      Birth of a Technique

      Chaplin is convinced that his work with Karno gave him

the basis for his motion picture technique,“ (...)

Redaktioneller Inhalt

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