Struck with Chaplinitis!
Charlie Chaplin remains a globally recognized comedic figure even in 2025. Chaplin’s films as well as the stories about his life continue to entertain people around the world. However, in his heydays, back in the 1920s and the 1930s, his popularity was somewhat of a phenomenon.
‘The Chaplin Craze’ even had a term for it: Chaplinitis! Chaplinitis described his monumental fandom and the popular trend of imitating him. Chaplin and his iconic disguise were wildly popular at costume balls as were Chaplin lookalike contests.
Among the many iconic stories around the phenomenon of Chaplinitis, one continues to stand out: the story of how Chaplin entered a Charlie Chaplin lookalike contest and lost! The year was 1920 and the great Charlie Chaplin was reported to have lost his own lookalike contest in San Francisco, occupying the lowly spot of 20! The story is popularly attributed to British politician Lord Desborough.
Second to his own celebrity
“The story comes from Miss Mary Pickford, who told it to Lady Desborough. Charlie Chaplin was one day at a fair in the United States, where a principal attraction was a competition as to who could best imitate the Charlie Chaplin walk. He entered the performance, minus his celebrated moustache and boots. He was a frightful failure and came in twentieth” said a newspaper report.
However, Chaplin’s son, Charles Chaplin Jr., later refuted the details mentioned. In his book, ‘My Father, Charlie Chaplin’, Chaplin Jr. claimed that his father had rather come third. When asked about the details of the contest in an interview in 1966, Chaplin Sr., responded with “I’m working hard all day. I certainly don’t want to do that.”
Whether or not the story is entirely factual, its lasting popularity reflects just how deeply Chaplin had permeated popular culture. The fact that such a tale exists and continues to be told bears witness to the scale of Charlie Chaplin’s enduring fame.
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