Syd Chaplin in "Skating" (1909) the first Karno skit he had a hand in writing and in which he also starred. As you can see, this is probably the first incarnation of his character "Archibald Binks, Esq." a fop that was later to morph into "Reginald Gussle'" of his Keystone films. Also significant is the fact that Minnie Gilbert (later Mrs. Sydney Chaplin) appeared alongside Syd in this production, the first real evidence of the onset of their acquaintance. It is likely that Syd's status as headliner/writer of this skit also had some bearing on Karno's finally giving Charlie his chance with the troupe as well.
Visit Syd's Blog, which provides an interesting narrative about writing his biography.
Check out Syd's Photo Gallery on Chaplin Broz .
Site editor Lisa Stein Haven interviewed about Syd by Derek McClellan of centuryofcinema.com:
And, check out this lovely Syd tribute by 19-year-old Caris Grey from England, which I had nothing to do with. Except for the irritating background music, it's quite nice!
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