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You are here: Home / Odds / Where did Charlie Chaplin get his tramp costume and Who came up with the idea?

Where did Charlie Chaplin get his tramp costume and Who came up with the idea?

March 11, 2020 by Karen Hill

Chaplin’s trademark, the derby cocked on his head, thick swatch of a moustache, and gargantuan shoes, was the result of Mack Sennett’s request that he “get into a comedy make-up” for Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914).

With a little ingenuity, he concocted the outfit in a dressing room while Fatty Arbuckle and Chester Conklin played pinochle.

Fatty kindly contributed his father-in-law’s derby and his own pants, of generous proportions. Cocklin provided the little cutaway and Ford Sterling the size-14 shoes, which were so big Chaplin had to wear each on the wrong foot to keep them on.

He devised the moustache from a bit of crepe hair belonging to Mack Swain. The only thing the tramp himself owned was the whangee cane.

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Filed Under: Odds

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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