Tag: Billy West

In his heyday almost 100 years ago, Charlie Chaplin was such a celebrity that his “little tramp” character was openly stolen by other comedians. According to David Trotter of the British Film Institute, “his rapidly escalating popularity encouraged a wide variety of imitators, from Stan Laurel, whose Chaplin imitation was overt, and thus flattering, to Billy West, a smalltime vaudevillian who copied Chaplin’s costume and make-up in more than fifty 1- and 2-reel comedies. In 1916, Charles Amador, a Mexican actor, changed his name to Charlie Aplin, and copied Chaplin’s most successful routines. Chaplin sued, and won, though not without difficulty.”