Charlie Chaplin's Comic Capers was an American gag-a-daycelebrity comics comic strip by Stuart Carothers[1] and later Elzie C. Segar starring Charlie Chaplin. It ran in syndication from March 29, 1915, until September 16, 1917.[2] It was one of the earliest comic strips inspired by the popularity of a celebrity.
Background
Charlie Chaplin's Comic Capers was published in the Chicago Herald.[3] The comic strip cashed in on the tremendous popularity of the comedian at the time. It was created by Stewart W. Carothers in March 1915,[2] who drew and wrote the stories until his tragic early death from defenestration.[1] Two cartoonists credited as Warren and Ramsey took over the series until they were replaced by Elzie C. Segar, at that time still an amateur.[4] On February 29, 1916, Segar published his first Chaplin strip. The daily version ran until July 15, 1916. His Sunday version ran longer, from March 12, 1916, until September 16, 1917.[5][6] It was his first professional cartooning job. Contrary to his predecessors, who mostly borrowed ideas from Chaplin's films, Segar thought up his own jokes. He gave Chaplin a tiny sidekick named "Luke the Gook" to act as a straight man to his gags.
Charlie Chaplin's Funny Stunts, in Full Color, No. 380
Reception
Despite Chaplin's popularity, the comic strip wasn't a huge success in the United States, mostly due to the fact that all artists involved were basically amateurs.
See also
Inside Woody Allen, another newspaper comic strip based on a comedic film performer.
^ abCarothers entry, Lambiek's Comiclopedia. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
^ abHoltz, Allan (2012). American Newspaper Comics: An Encyclopedic Reference Guide. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. p. 101. ISBN9780472117567.
