Syd Soundbyte:
“Hollywood
has not the same appeal for me now.
The life seems so artificial, so many people that I
knew have passed on, the orange groves have been replaced
with oil stations & hot dog stands.
Studios that were sun-diffused & where we made
pictures in God’s fresh air, have now been turned into
stifling factories where even the artists must punch clocks.
Gone are the practical jokes the stars played on each
other, the cafes where we all used to meet—where Charlie &
Arbuckle would conduct the orchestra, & where we used to
raise Hades like a bunch of school boys.”
—letter to R. J. Minney, 1939
Filmography
1. Among the Mourners (1914)...A Mourner*
2.
His
Prehistoric Past
(1914) ...Cop
3.
Fatty’s Wine Party
(1914)...Waiter
4.
A
Steel Rolling Mill
(1915)
5.
Gussle,
the Golfer
(1915)...Gussle
6.
Gussle’s
Wayward Path
(1915)...Gussle
7.
Hushing
the Scandal
(1915)... AKA Friendly Enemies
8.
Giddy,
Gay, and Ticklish
(1915)...Barber ...AKA A Gay Lothario
9.
Caught
in a Park
(1915)
10.
That
Springtime Feeling
(1915)
11.
Gussle
Rivals Jonah
(1915)...Gussle
12.
Gussle’s
Day of Rest
(1915)...Gussle
13.
Gussle’s
Wayward Way
(1915)...Gussle
14.
Gussle
Tied to Trouble
(1915)...Gussle
15.
Gussle’s
Backward Way
(1915)...Gussle
16.
Lover’s
Lost Control
(1915)...Gussle...AKA Looking Them Over
17.
A
Submarine Pirate
(1915)...Waiter
18.
A
Dog’s Life
(1918)...Lunchwagon owner
19.
The
Bond
(1918)...The Kaiser...AKA Charlie Chaplin in a Liberty Loan
Appeal
20.
Shoulder
Arms
(1918)...Sergeant/The Kaiser
21.
King,
Queen, Joker
(1921)...The King/The Joker
22.
Pay
Day
(1922)...Charlie’s Friend/Lunch Cart Owner
23.
The
Pilgrim
(1923)...Eloper/Train Conductor/Little Boy’s Father
24
The
Rendezvous
(1923)...Winkie
25.
Her
Temporary Husband
(1923)...Judd
26.
The
Galloping Fish
(1924)...Freddy Wetherill...AKA Galloping Fish (USA re-release
title)
27.
Hello,
‘Frisco
(1924)
28.
Charley’s
Aunt
(1925)...Sir Fancourt Babberley (Babbs)
29.
The
Man on the Box
(1925)...Bob Warburton
30.
Oh,
What a Nurse!
(1926)...Jerry
Clark
31.
The
Better ‘Ole
(1926)...Pvt. William ‘Old Bill’ Busby
32.
The
Fortune Hunter
(1927)...Nat Duncan
33.
The
Missing Link
(1927)...Arthur Wells
34. A Little Bit of Fluff (1928)...Bertram Tully...AKA Skirts (USA)
*Thanks to Richard Roberts for this new information.
Contemporary Reviews:
Charley’s Aunt,
Uproariously Funny Film by Elford Eddy
“There
is no need of comparing Syd Chaplin with his brother of
the funny feet, the oversized clothing, the half-grown
cane and the misplaced eyebrow.
Each is funny in his way, but there is not the
slightest similarity in their stuff or in their ways of
doing their stuff.
If Syd were like Charlie, or tried to be like
Charlie, he wouldn’t be funny.
It seemed to
me, as I watched the development of this picture, that
Chaplin was accomplishing, and with consummate skill, a
difficult thing.
He played a part which was like a hundred or a thousand
different parts up to a certain point, and then, in a
twinkling, it became uproariously funny.
The change was as complete as the metamorphosis
which occurred in young Sir Fancourt Babberly when he
put on the costume of a mid-Victorian spinster in
preparation for a college play and suddenly became a
focal point in a bifurcated love plot.
From that instant forward, there was a laugh in
every step he took, every gesture he made, every glance
of his eye.”
Newsflash!! Chaplin archives' correspondence reveals that Syd believed he would be asked to audition for a role in George Stevens' Gunga Din (1939). Had this happened, what role do you think him best suited?
For years, E. C. Hunter, “Cowboy Evangelist” of Wyoming, has been telling other people how to get to heaven. Yesterday he started, physically, towards the realms he has been preaching about. In a Syd Chaplin aeroplane, he went to the 10,000 foot altitude and showered Los Angeles, from Hollywood to the downtown district, with tracts and excerpts from one of his sermons.
“I have a very exalted feeling, “said Mr. Hunter, when he finished his distribution and landed safely in the Chaplin aero field.
***
"Mrs. S. J. Jemison of Marshall, Texas who is visiting W. K. Henderson in this city, celebrated her ninetieth birthday recently. When asked by her son what she desired most as a gift, she replied, 'Give me a real thrill.' This unusual request was taken in all seriousness by her grandson, who, after much consideration decided that an airplane flight would furnish her with all the thrills she desired. Arrangements were made with the Syd Chaplin Aircraft corporation to have a plane ready to take her up. She was escorted to the Chaplin airdrome by a crowd of relatives, including her son and daughter and her two great-grandsons.
Upon alighting, she was asked what she thought of it. Her answer was 'As near of a thrill as I ever had, but not quite fast enough.' She is now contemplating hiring an airplane to fly her up to Yellowstone National Park."
