Charley Chase

 

 

  

Although he never fully reached the same level of stardom as Harold Lloyd, Laurel and Hardy, or Chaplin, Charley Chase was just as brilliant and funny as the other comedians of his time. His name may not even ring a bell, but he deserves the same amount of recognition that he had back then. 

 

Charley Chase was born Charles James Parrott on June 20, 1890, in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Charley started working as an entertainer at a young age in order to support his family. When he was a teenager, he began performing in burlesque and vaudeville, and a few years later in 1912, Charley started working in films at the Christie Film Company. 

 

After a few years at Christie, he transferred over to Keystone (around 1914 possibly?), where he played bit parts in Mack Sennett Films alongside Charlie Chaplin. At Keystone, his talent began to get noticed and by 1915, he was playing juvenile leads and working part-time as a director and gag writer. In 1914, Charley tied the knot with Bebe Eltinge, whom he remained married to until his death. They had two daughters, Polly and June. Unfortunately, the marriage wasn't a very happy one and often caused Charley to drink excessively.

 

Charley and his wife Bebe.

 

In 1920, Charley started working full-time for Hal Roach as a director, and a year later, he became the Director-General of the Hal Roach Studio. It was during that time that he officially changed his name to Charley Chase and supervised the production of all the Hal Roach series except for the Harold Lloyd comedies.  

After three years, Charley moved back in front of the camera and started working as an actor again. He starred in numerous short and feature films during the 1920s and made an exceptional transition into talkies, which proved even more success for him. His shorts were some of the most successful at the Hal Roach Studio, alongside the Our Gang series and the Laurel and Hardy comedies. The two-reeler comedy The Pip From Pittsburg (1931), co-starring Thelma Todd (whom he made a decade of films with), is among the most celebrated of his work. A friend and fellow worker under the same studio as Laurel and Hardy, Charley had a featured role in their smash hit, Sons of the Desert (1933). You'll notice Stan and Ollie also had two cameo appearances as hitchhikers in Chase's On the Wrong Trek (1936).   

   

Chase in his featured role in Sons of the Desert, alongside Laurel and Hardy, 1933.

 

Charley Chase and Thelma Todd in a publicity picture for the Hal Roach studio, 1929.

  

Thelma Todd, Charley Chase, June Chase, and Patsy Kelly.

Charley was dismissed from the Hal Roach Studio, following a string of problems, and moved to Columbia in 1937, where he wrote, produced, directed, and acted, in his own films. While his career was still on the move, Charley endured a lot of misery in real life. His alcoholism worsened, and he battled deeply with depression. The worst case of all was the horrible tragedy he experienced, which contributed heavily to his untimely death.   

In 1939, Charley's brother who also had a small career in show business, James Parrott, died from heart failure at age forty-one. (That makes two untimely deaths in the Parrott family, unfortunately.)  

James' life was a wreck too--struggling with the same problems as his brother. He worked in a handful of jobs and none of them proved to work out for him. This led James to often rely on his brother for financial support, which Charley gave into. Eventually, Charley grew tired of putting up with his brother's messes and decided to no longer help him financially until he decided to clean up his acts. But things didn't accordingly go as planned, James' health only began to worsen and on May 10, he reportedly took an intentional overdose, resulting in a fatal heart attack. This left a guilt stain on Charley that caused him to drink and work himself to death. He had been advised for years to reduce his alcohol consumption, which had caused him to develop stomach ulcers, and check into a rehabilitation program at the Mayo Clinic. Thirteen months later, he was found dead at his Hollywood home after suffering a heart attack.     

However, the tragedy of Charley Chase should not define his legacy like all the other celebrities who died young under unfortunate circumstances. The good news is there has been a renewed interest in Charley Chase's films, due to their availability. In 1996, an extensive website researching his life and work, The World of Charley Chase was created and still stands today. Followed by an intimate website, plenty of books on Chase have been published including a 1998 biography titled, Smile When the Raindrops Fall. I'll definitely be buying myself a copy! And I hope you will too!