Eric Campbell is actually an interesting, if sad, story. He was in the same British comedy troupe that brought Chaplin and Stan Laurel to the America. Because Campbell was such a physical contrast to Chaplin -- 6'5" to the Tramp's 5'5" -- and because they were good friends, Chaplin cast him as his nemesis in eleven of the twelve comedies Chaplin did at Mutual (the only one he wasn't in was One A.M., which but for a taxi driver at the beginning is a solo act).
After the last of the Mutuals was finished in late 1917, Campbell got drunk, climbed into his car and died in an accident. Afterwards, he was cremated, but his ashes went unclaimed and they were tucked away in a closet and there they remained until 1938 when they mortuary sent them on to the cemetery where the original service had taken place. There the urn remained until 1952 when an office worker finally buried it. Unfortunately, he forgot to record where he buried it, so to this day, no one is sure where he's buried.
In 1996, while filming a documentary about Campbell's life, a Scottish film company had a plaque put up somewhere in the cemetery.
You can see him in my favorite of his efforts, Behind the Screen, here.
Named for Katie-Bar-The-Door, the Katies are "alternate Oscars"—who should have been nominated, who should have won—but really they're just an excuse to write a history of the movies from the Silent Era to the present day.
To see a list of nominees and winners by decade, as well as links to my essays about them, click the highlighted links:
Remember: There are no wrong answers, only movies you haven't seen yet.
The Silent Oscars
And don't forget to check out the Silent Oscars—my year-by-year choices for best picture, director and all four acting categories for the pre-Oscar years, 1902-1927.
Look at me—Joe College, with a touch of arthritis. Are my eyes really brown? Uh, no, they're green. Would we have the nerve to dive into the icy water and save a person from drowning? That's a key question. I, of course, can't swim, so I never have to face it. Say, haven't you anything better to do than to keep popping in here early every morning and asking a lot of fool questions?
3 comments:
Honest to goodness, M.M. I thought the pix at the top of the post was of Zero Mostel.
Then I wondered did the wonderful Zero do silent films??In 1917?
Maybe he was a time-traveller. :)
Eric Campbell is actually an interesting, if sad, story. He was in the same British comedy troupe that brought Chaplin and Stan Laurel to the America. Because Campbell was such a physical contrast to Chaplin -- 6'5" to the Tramp's 5'5" -- and because they were good friends, Chaplin cast him as his nemesis in eleven of the twelve comedies Chaplin did at Mutual (the only one he wasn't in was One A.M., which but for a taxi driver at the beginning is a solo act).
After the last of the Mutuals was finished in late 1917, Campbell got drunk, climbed into his car and died in an accident. Afterwards, he was cremated, but his ashes went unclaimed and they were tucked away in a closet and there they remained until 1938 when they mortuary sent them on to the cemetery where the original service had taken place. There the urn remained until 1952 when an office worker finally buried it. Unfortunately, he forgot to record where he buried it, so to this day, no one is sure where he's buried.
In 1996, while filming a documentary about Campbell's life, a Scottish film company had a plaque put up somewhere in the cemetery.
You can see him in my favorite of his efforts, Behind the Screen, here.
Eric was also, in stark contrast to the characters he played on film, a fairly gentle, some say shy, man.
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