Charles Joseph Parrott (October 20, 1893 – June 20, 1940), known professionally as Charley Chase, was an American comedian, actor, screenwriter and film director. He worked for many pioneering comedy studios but is chiefly associated with producer

Hal Roach Harry Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr.Randy Skretvedt, Skretvedt, Randy (2016), ''Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies'', Bonaventure Press. p.608. (January 14, 1892 – November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer, director, a ...

. Chase was the elder brother of comedian/director

James Parrott James Parrott (August 2, 1897 – May 10, 1939) was an American actor and film director; and the younger brother of film comedian Charley Chase. Biography Early years James Gibbons Parrott was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to Charles and Blan ...

Life and career

Born Charles Joseph Parrott in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

, Maryland, Charley Chase began performing in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

as a teenager and started his career in films by working at the

Christie Film Company Christie Film Company was an American pioneer motion picture company founded in Hollywood, California by Al Christie and Charles Christie, two brothers from London, Ontario, Canada. It made comedies. While Charles served almost exclusively in a ...

in 1912. He then moved to

Keystone Studios Keystone Studios was an early film studio founded in Edendale, California (which is now a part of Echo Park) on July 4, 1912 as the Keystone Pictures Studio by Mack Sennett with backing from actor-writer Adam Kessel (1866–1946) and Charl ...

, where he began appearing in

bit part In acting, a bit part is a role in which there is direct interaction with the principal actors and no more than five lines of dialogue, often referred to as a five-or-less or under-five in the United States, or under sixes in British televi ...

s in the Mack Sennett films, including those of

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is conside ...

. By 1915 he was playing juvenile

leads Lead is a chemical element with symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead or The Lead may also refer to: Animal handling * Leash, or lead * Lead (leg), the leg that advances most in a quadruped's cantering or galloping stride * Lead (tack), a lin ...

in the Keystones, and directing some of the films as Charles Parrott. His Keystone credentials were good enough to get him steady work as a comedy director with other companies; he directed many of Chaplin imitator Billy West's comedies, which featured a young

Oliver Hardy Oliver Norvell Hardy (born Norvell Hardy; January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957) was an American comic actor and one half of Laurel and Hardy, the double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted from 1926 to 1957. He appeared with his ...

villain A villain (also known as a " black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. '' Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a charact ...

He worked at

Henry Lehrman Henry Lehrman (March 30, 1881 – November 7, 1946) was an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer. Lehrman was a very prominent figure of Hollywood's silent film era, working with such cinematic pioneers as D. W. Griffith and Mack S ...

's L-KO Kompany during its final months of existence. Then in 1920, Chase began working as a film director for the Hal Roach studio. Among his notable early work for Roach was supervising the first entries in the ''

Our Gang ''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, also the ...

'' series. Chase became director-general of the Hal Roach studio in late 1921, supervising the production of all the Roach series except the

Harold Lloyd Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. (April 20, 1893 – March 8, 1971) was an American actor, comedian, and stunt performer who appeared in many silent comedy films.Obituary '' Variety'', March 10, 1971, page 55. One of the most influential film c ...

comedies. Following Lloyd's departure from the studio in 1923, Chase moved back in front of the camera with his own series of shorts, adopting the screen name Charley Chase. Chase was a master of the comedy of embarrassment, and he played either hapless young businessmen or befuddled husbands in dozens of

situation comedies A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use new ...

. His screen persona was that of a pleasant young man with a dapper mustache and ordinary street clothes; this set him apart from the

clown A clown is a person who performs comedy and arts in a state of open-mindedness using physical comedy, typically while wearing distinct makeup or costuming and reversing folkway-norms. History The most ancient clowns have been found in ...

ish makeups and crazy costumes used by his contemporaries. His earliest Roach shorts cast him as a hard-luck fellow named "Jimmie Jump" in one-reel (10-minute) comedies. Katherine Grant and Charley Chase

The first Chase series was successful and expanded to two reels (20 minutes); this would become the standard length for Chase comedies, apart from a few three-reel featurettes later. Direction of the Chase series was taken over by Leo McCarey, who in collaboration with Chase formed the comic style of the series: characterization and

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity o ...

instead of knockabout

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such ...

. Some of Chase's starring shorts of the 1920s, particularly ''

Mighty Like a Moose ''Mighty Like a Moose'' is a 1926 American silent comedy short film written by Charley Chase that was directed by Leo McCarey. It was released by Pathé Exchange on July 18, 1926. This two-reel short comedy is considered by some scholars t ...

'', '' Crazy Like a Fox'', ''

Fluttering Hearts ''Fluttering Hearts'' is a 1927 American film featuring Charley Chase, Oliver Hardy, and Eugene Pallette. Cast * Charley Chase as Charley * Martha Sleeper as Daughter * Oliver Hardy as Big Bill * William Burress as Father * Eugene Pallette a ...

'', and ''Limousine Love'', are often considered to be among the finest in silent comedy. Chase remained the guiding hand behind the films, assisting anonymously with the directing, writing, and editing. Chase moved with ease into

sound film A sound film is a motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decad ...

s in 1929 and became one of the most popular film comedians of the period. He continued to be very prolific in the talkie era, often putting his fine singing voice on display and including his humorous, self-penned songs in his comedy shorts. The two-reeler ''The Pip from Pittsburg'', released in 1931 and co-starring Thelma Todd, is one of the most celebrated Charley Chase comedies of the sound era. Throughout the decade, the ''Charley Chase'' shorts continued to stand alongside

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo in t ...

and Our Gang as the core output of the Roach studio. Chase was featured in the Laurel and Hardy feature ''

Sons of the Desert A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current ...

''; Laurel and Hardy made cameo appearances as hitchhikers in Chase's ''

On the Wrong Trek ''On the Wrong Trek'' is a 1936 short film starring Charley Chase, directed by Harold Law, produced by Hal Roach and distributed by MGM. It features a cameo appearance by Laurel and Hardy. Plot The plot involves Charley recounting the story of ...

''. ''

'' was supposed to be the final Charley Chase short subject: by 1936 producer Hal Roach was now concentrating on making ambitious feature films. Chase played a character role in the Patsy Kelly feature '' Kelly the Second'', and starred in a feature-length comedy called ''Bank Night'', lampooning the popular Bank Night phenomenon of the 1930s. Chase's feature was plagued with a host of production problems and legalities, and the film was drastically edited down to two reels and finally released as one last Charley Chase short, '' Neighborhood House''. Chase was then dismissed from the Roach studio.

Later years and death

In 1937, Chase began working at

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

, where he spent the rest of his career starring in his own series of two-reel comedies, as well as producing and directing other Columbia comedies, including those of

The Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...

Andy Clyde Andrew Allan Clyde (March 25, 1892 – May 18, 1967) was a Scottish-born American film and television actor whose career spanned more than four decades. In 1921 he broke into silent films as a Mack Sennett comic, debuting in ''On a Summer ...

Smith and Dale Smith and Dale were a famous American vaudeville comedy duo. They consisted of Joe Smith (born Joseph Sultzer on February 17, 1884February 22, 1981) and Charlie Dale (born Charles Marks on September 6, 1881November 16, 1971), who both grew up in ...

, Walter Catlett, and Herman Bing. He directed the Stooges' classic ''

Violent is the Word for Curly ''Violent is the Word for Curly'' is a 1938 short subject directed by Charley Chase starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 32nd entry in the series released by Columbia Pictur ...

'' (1938); although he is often credited with writing the film's song "

Swinging the Alphabet "Swingin' the Alphabet" is a novelty song sung by The Three Stooges ( Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Curly Howard) in their 1938 short film '' Violent Is the Word for Curly.'' It is the only full-length song performed by the trio in their short fil ...

", the tune actually originates with 19th-century songwriter

Septimus Winner Septimus Winner (May 11, 1827 – November 22, 1905) was an American songwriter of the 19th century. He used his own name, and also the pseudonyms Alice Hawthorne, Percy Guyer, Mark Mason, Apsley Street, and Paul Stenton. He was also a teacher ...

. Recent research asserts that the Chase family's maid introduced the song to Chase and taught it to his daughters. Chase's own shorts at Columbia favored broader sight gags and more slapstick than his earlier, subtler work, although he does sing in two of the Columbias, ''The Grand Hooter'' and ''The Big Squirt'' (both 1937). Many of Chase's Columbia short subjects were strong enough to be remade in the 1940s with other comedians; Chase's ''The Heckler'' (1940) was remade with Shemp Howard as ''Mr. Noisy'' (1946) while ''The Nightshirt Bandit'' (1938) was remade with Andy Clyde as ''Go Chase Yourself'' (1948) and ''Pardon My Nightshirt'' (1956). Chase reportedly suffered from depression and alcoholism for most of his professional career, and his tumultuous lifestyle began to take a serious toll on his health. His hair had turned prematurely gray, and he

dyed Dyeing is the application of dyes or pigments on textile materials such as fibers, yarns, and fabrics with the goal of achieving color with desired color fastness. Dyeing is normally done in a special solution containing dyes and particular ...

it jet-black for his Columbia comedies. Years later Hal Roach said "I never saw him drunk at the studio, and I never saw him sober outside of it." His younger brother, comedy writer-director James Parrott, had personal problems resulting from a drug treatment, and died in 1939. Chase was devastated. He had refused to give his brother money to support his drug habit, and friends knew he felt responsible for Parrott's death. He coped with the loss by throwing himself into his work and by drinking more heavily than ever, despite doctors' warnings. The stress ultimately caught up with him; just over a year after his brother's death, Charley Chase died of a heart attack in Hollywood, California, on June 20, 1940. He is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery near his wife Bebe Elting in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from 191,719 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth-larges ...

. For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Charley Chase received a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Calif ...

at 6630

Hollywood Boulevard Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It begins in the east at Sunset Boulevard in the Los Feliz district and proceeds to the west as a major thoroughfare through Little Armenia and Thai Town, Hollywoo ...

on February 8, 1960.

Renewed interest

Since the 1990s, there has been a revival of interest in the films of Charley Chase, due in large part to the increased availability of his comedies. An extensive website researching his life and work, ''The World of Charley Chase'', was created in 1996. Two books devoted to Chase followed: a biography, ''Smile When the Raindrops Fall'', was published in 1998; ''The Charley Chase Scrapbook'', compiled from Chase's own collections of photos, writings, and souvenirs, was published in 2016. Chase's sound comedies for Hal Roach were briefly televised in the late 1990s on the short-lived American cable network the

Odyssey Channel The Odyssey Channel was a documentary channel that was previously available on Optus Vision in Australia. It was one of the few channels on pay TV in Australia that had a large amount of Australian content available. Due to the CSA (Content Sh ...

. Retrospectives of Chase's work organized by ''The Silent Clowns Film Series'' were held in 1999, 2001, 2006, and 2008 in New York City. A marathon of selected Charley Chase shorts from the silent era was broadcast in 2005 on the American cable television network

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of ...

. In late 2006, Turner Classic Movies began to air Charley Chase's sound-era comedies. In January 2011, several of his sound shorts were featured during Turner Classic Movies' tribute to Hal Roach Studios. In 2007, ''

'' (1926) was selected for inclusion in the Library of Congress's

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception ...

, solidifying its reputation as one of the most celebrated comedies of the silent era and cementing Chase's status as a pioneer of early film comedy. Kino International released two Charley Chase DVD volumes in 2004 and 2005 for their Slapstick Symposium series. The films came from archives and collectors around the world. In July 2009, VCI Entertainment released ''Becoming Charley Chase'', a DVD boxed set of Charley Chase's early silent films. The entire run of Charley Chase's short-subject comedies for Hal Roach, produced between 1929 and 1936, has been released on DVD, in three volumes, by Kit Parker Films.

has prepared digital restorations of its 20 Charley Chase shorts, in the same manner as its

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...

DVD restorations. On January 1, 2013, Sony Home Entertainment released ''Charley Chase Shorts, Volume 1'', part of its "Columbia Choice Collection" MOD DVD-R library. The one-disc release contains eight of Chase's starring shorts and one Smith and Dale short that he directed, ''A Nag in the Bag'' (1938). On November 5, 2013, Sony Home Entertainment released ''Charley Chase Shorts, Volume 2'', another in their MOD DVD-R series, which contained the remaining 12 Chase shorts.

Partial filmography

* '' The Masquerader'' (1914, Short) – Actor (uncredited) * '' Tillie's Punctured Romance'' (1914) – Detective in movie theatre (uncredited) * ''

Chased into Love ''Chased Into Love'' is a lost 1917 American silent short comedy film directed by and starring Charles Parrot (alias Charley Chase) along with Hank Mann and Carmen Phillips. It was produced and distributed by Fox Film Corporation. Cast *Hank M ...

'' (1917, Short) * ''Her Dangerous Path'' (1923) – Glen Harper * ''Long Live the King'' (1923) * ''

The King of the Wild Horses ''The King of the Wild Horses'' is a 1924 American silent Western film directed by Fred Jackman. It stars Edna Murphy, Rex the wonder horse, and Charley Chase. It was written and produced by Hal Roach and released through Pathé Exchange. Pl ...

'' (1924) – Boyd Fielding * '' All Wet'' (1924, Short) – Jimmie Jump * '' Looking for Sally'' (1925, Short) – Jimmie Jump * '' Isn't Life Terrible?'' (1925, Short) – The Husband * ''Is Marriage Goofy'' (1925) – Charley * '' Dog Shy'' (1926, Short) – Charley * '' Hard Boiled'' (1926) – (uncredited) * ''

'' (1926, Short) – Mr. Moose – The Husband * '' Crazy Like a Fox'' (1926, Short) – Wilson – the Groom * '' Bromo and Juliet'' (1926, Short) – Charley * ''

'' (1927, Short) – Charley * ''

Call of the Cuckoo ''Call of the Cuckoo'' (1927) is a Hal Roach two reel silent film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film's principal star is comedian Max Davidson, though the film is just as well known for cameos from other Roach stars at the time. These ...

'' (1927, Short) – Asylum Inmate (uncredited) * ''

Limousine Love A limousine ( or ), or limo () for short, is a large, chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle with a partition between the driver compartment and the passenger compartment. A very long wheelbase luxury sedan (with more than four doors) driven by a prof ...

'' (1928, Short) – The Groom * '' Modern Love'' (1929) – John Jones * ''Le joueur de golf'' (1930, Spanish-language version of ''All Teed Up'') * ''Chercheuses d'or'' (1930, Spanish-language version of ''Dollar Dizzy'') * ''Garde la bombe'' (1930, Spanish-language version of ''Looser than Loose'') * '' The Pip from Pittsburg'' (1931, Short) – Charley * '' Arabian Tights'' (1933, Short)ARABIAN TIGHTS(1933)
,

– Charley * ''

'' (1933) – Charley Chase, delegate from Texas * ''

Life Hesitates at 40 Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy transf ...

'' (1935, Short) – Himself * '' Public Ghost #1'' (1935, Short) – Himself * ''

'' (1936, Short) – Himself * '' Neighborhood House'' (1936) – Himself * '' Kelly the Second'' (1936) – Dr. J. Willoughby Klum * '' Oh, What a Knight!'' (1937, director of Herman Bing short) * ''

Violent Is the Word for Curly ''Violent is the Word for Curly'' is a 1938 short subject directed by Charley Chase starring American slapstick comedy team The Three Stooges (Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard). It is the 32nd entry in the series released by Columbia Pictur ...

'' (1938, director of

Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeare ...

short) * '' Teacher's Pest'' (1939, Short) – Himself * '' The Heckler'' (1940, Short) – Noisy

References

External links

The World of Charley Chase
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The Lucky Corner