By 1916 Charlie Chaplin had become the most popular person on the planet, drawing crowds in the tens of thousands. It was like the frenzy over The Beatles half-a-century later, only Chaplin’s fame was far greater. This performative program explores that fame and the iconic Tramp character at its core based on a newly discovered series of thirty-seven articles written in 1916 by Fred Goodwins, one of the actors in Chaplin’s company. The series originally appeared in the British magazine Red Letter, and its republication in book form is a significant find for anyone who loves film, comedy, and celebrity gossip.

Dan Kamin, who trained Robert Downey, Jr. for his Oscar-nominated performance in Chaplin and created Johnny Depp’s physical comedy routines in Benny and Joon, annotated the book to highlight its many revelations about Chaplin and the familiar faces that populate his films. In his talk, illustrated with colorful images, music and film from the period, Dan will reveal the backstory of this fascinating excursion into the private world of Hollywood’s first and most enduring superstar.