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511:. Recent research asserts that the Chase family's maid introduced the song to Chase and taught it to his daughters. Chase's own shorts at Columbia favored broader sight gags and more slapstick than his earlier, subtler work, although he does sing in two of the Columbias,
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in the
Keystones, and directing some of the films as Charles Parrott. His Keystone credentials were good enough to get him steady work as a comedy director with other companies; he directed many of Chaplin imitator
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phenomenon of the 1930s. Chase's feature was plagued with a host of production problems and legalities, and the film was drastically edited down to two reels and finally released as one last
Charley Chase short,
630:. In late 2006, Turner Classic Movies began to air Charley Chase's sound-era comedies. In January 2011, several of his sound shorts were featured during Turner Classic Movies' tribute to Hal Roach Studios.
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Since the 1990s, there has been a revival of interest in the films of
Charley Chase, due in large part to the increased availability of his comedies. An extensive website researching his life and work,
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during its final months of existence. Then in 1920, Chase began working as a film director for the Hal Roach studio. Among his notable early work for Roach was supervising the first entries in the
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in 1929 and became one of the most popular film comedians of the period. He continued to be very prolific in the talkie era, often putting his fine singing voice on display and including his
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Chase reportedly suffered from depression and alcoholism for most of his professional career, and his tumultuous lifestyle began to take a serious toll on his health. His hair had turned
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Unlike most of the
Columbia short-subject series, the 1937–1940 Charley Chase shorts were never re-released to theaters in later years; they only played first-run. Instead, the Chase
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During 2018–2022, the entire run of
Charley Chase's sound-era short comedies for Hal Roach, produced between 1929 and 1936, was released on DVD in four volumes by Kit Parker Films.
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comedies. Following Lloyd's departure from the studio in 1923, Chase moved back in front of the camera with his own series of shorts, adopting the screen name
Charley Chase.
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was supposed to be the final
Charley Chase short subject: by 1936 producer Hal Roach was now concentrating on making ambitious feature films. Chase played a
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in 2004 and 2005 for their
Slapstick Symposium series. The films came from archives and collectors around the world. In 2009, VCI Entertainment released
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568:, had personal problems resulting from a drug treatment, and died in 1939. Chase was devastated. He had refused to give his brother money to support his
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The first Chase series was successful and expanded to two reels (20 minutes); this would become the standard length for Chase comedies, apart from a few
198:, was an American comedian, actor, screenwriter and film director. He worked for many pioneering comedy studios but is chiefly associated with producer
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643:, solidifying its reputation as one of the most celebrated comedies of the silent era and cementing Chase's status as a pioneer of early film comedy.
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it jet-black for his
Columbia comedies. Years later Hal Roach said "I never saw him drunk at the studio, and I never saw him sober outside of it."
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449:. The 55-minute version included a subplot, in which gangsters raid the theater and hold Chase captive; this footage was removed. Featured players
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series. Chase became director-general of the Hal Roach studio in late 1921, supervising the production of all the Roach series except the
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were cast in the feature, but they do not appear in the revised short-subject version. Chase was then dismissed from the Roach studio.
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Chase was a master of the comedy of embarrassment, and he played either hapless young businessmen or befuddled husbands in dozens of
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of
Charley Chase's twenty short comedies for Columbia Pictures (1937–1940) as part of its "Columbia Choice Collection" DVD series.
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A marathon of selected Charley Chase shorts from the silent era was broadcast in 2005 on the American cable television network
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and crazy costumes used by his contemporaries. His earliest Roach shorts cast him as a hard-luck fellow named "Jimmie Jump" in
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Chase's sound comedies for Hal Roach were briefly televised in the late 1990s on the short-lived American cable network the
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and Our Gang as the core output of the Roach studio. Chase was featured in the Laurel and Hardy feature
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were recycled; many of them were strong enough to be remade in the 1940s with other comedians. Chase's
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For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Charley Chase received a star on the
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Finegan, Richard. "Swingin' the Alphabet Composer Finally Identified."
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The Columbia Comedy Shorts: Two-Reel Hollywood Film Comedies, 1933–1958
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were held in 1999, 2001, 2006, 2008, 2018, and 2022 in New York City.
507:", However, the tune actually originates with 19th-century songwriter
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as a teenager and started his career in films by working at the
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639:(1926) was selected for inclusion in the Library of Congress's
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347:. Some of Chase's starring shorts of the 1920s, particularly
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194:(October 20, 1893 – June 20, 1940), known professionally as
503:(1938). He is often credited with writing the film's song "
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later. The direction of the Chase series was taken over by
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Smile When the Raindrops Fall: The Story of Charley Chase
657:, a DVD boxed set of Charley Chase's early silent films.
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and ordinary street clothes; this set him apart from the
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For other people named Charlie or Charley Chase, see
202:. Chase was the elder brother of comedian/director
369:, are often considered to be among the finest in
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690:(1914) – Detective in movie theatre (uncredited)
1268:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
619:. Retrospectives of Chase's work organized by
218:, Maryland, Charley Chase began performing in
16:Actor, comedian, director, writer (1893–1940)
1023:"Many Big Squawks: The 1929-31 Sound Shorts"
564:His younger brother, comedy writer-director
874:(1933) – Charley Chase, delegate from Texas
1004:Lahue, Kalton C. and Gill, Samuel (1970).
984:Anthony, Brian and Edmonds, Andy (1998).
804:(1927, Short) – Asylum Inmate (uncredited)
660:In 2013, Sony Home Entertainment released
161: 1914–1940)
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1095:"Charley Chase | Hollywood Walk of Fame"
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110:Charlie Chase, Charles Chase, Jimmy Jump
772:(1926, Short) – Mr. Moose – The Husband
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1063:. McFarland & Company, Inc., 27.
542:(1938) was remade with Andy Clyde as
384:in his comedy shorts. The two-reeler
1308:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players
1059:Okuda, Ted and Watz, Edward (1986).
396:shorts continued to stand alongside
323:and Charley Chase in publicity photo
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1338:Hal Roach Studios short film series
846:(1930, Spanish-language version of
836:(1930, Spanish-language version of
826:(1930, Spanish-language version of
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497:. He directed the Stooges' classic
388:, released in 1931 and co-starring
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1343:20th-century American male writers
1313:Columbia Pictures contract players
1209:Detailed Charley Chase filmography
966:List of United States comedy films
780:(1926, Short) – Wilson – the Groom
682:(1914, Short) – Actor (uncredited)
574:Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery
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988:. The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 23.
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473:In 1937, Chase began working at
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1006:Clown Princes and Court Jesters
914:(1936) – Dr. J. Willoughby Klum
649:released two Charley Chase DVD
214:Born Charles Joseph Parrott in
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1008:. A.S. Barnes and Company, 94.
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931:Violent Is the Word for Curly
621:The Silent Clowns Film Series
606:Smile When the Raindrops Fall
500:Violent is the Word for Curly
1298:Film directors from Maryland
1278:Hal Roach Studios filmmakers
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1323:Screenwriters from Maryland
1258:American male screenwriters
1019:The World of Charley Chase.
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742:(1925, Short) – The Husband
734:(1925, Short) – Jimmie Jump
726:(1924, Short) – Jimmie Jump
610:The Charley Chase Scrapbook
382:humorous, self-penned songs
376:Chase moved with ease into
86:Hollywood, California, U.S.
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1283:Male actors from Baltimore
1195:The World of Charley Chase
687:Tillie's Punctured Romance
602:The World of Charley Chase
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226:in 1912. He then moved to
184:The World of Charley Chase
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1333:Comedians from California
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1082:The Three Stooges Journal
812:(1928, Short) – The Groom
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898:(1936, Short) – Himself
890:(1935, Short) – Himself
882:(1935, Short) – Himself
866:(1933, Short) – Charley
858:(1931, Short) – Charley
796:(1927, Short) – Charley
788:(1926, Short) – Charley
756:(1926, Short) – Charley
715:The King of Wild Horses
530:(1940) was remade with
855:The Pip from Pittsburg
718:(1924) – Boyd Fielding
655:Becoming Charley Chase
641:National Film Registry
585:Hollywood Walk of Fame
386:The Pip from Pittsburg
343:instead of knockabout
329:three-reel featurettes
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313:(10-minute) comedies.
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192:Charles Joseph Parrott
54:Charles Joseph Parrott
1288:Silent film comedians
1180:Turner Classic Movies
1176:Arabian Tights (1933)
1145:"Mighty Like a Moose"
1050:, May 9, 1936, p. 43.
1048:Motion Picture Herald
954:(1940, Short) – Noisy
764:(1926) – (uncredited)
628:Turner Classic Movies
591:on February 8, 1960.
540:The Nightshirt Bandit
505:Swinging the Alphabet
469:Later years and death
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269:Chase directing, 1916
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224:Christie Film Company
879:Life Hesitates at 40
739:Isn't Life Terrible?
704:(1923) – Glen Harper
662:digital restorations
578:Glendale, California
548:Pardon My Nightshirt
100:Glendale, California
1153:Library of Congress
1029:on January 26, 2010
934:(1938, director of
922:(1937, director of
820:(1929) – John Jones
769:Mighty Like a Moose
671:Partial filmography
636:Mighty Like a Moose
589:Hollywood Boulevard
350:Mighty Like a Moose
1224:at Virtual History
1099:www.walkoffame.com
919:Oh, What a Knight!
903:Neighborhood House
871:Sons of the Desert
801:Call of the Cuckoo
708:Long Live the King
702:Her Dangerous Path
647:Kino International
446:Neighborhood House
403:Sons of the Desert
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296:situation comedies
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1124:Los Angeles Times
1084:(Winter 2005): 4.
895:On the Wrong Trek
848:Looser than Loose
824:Le joueur de golf
793:Fluttering Hearts
746:Is Marriage Goofy
731:Looking for Sally
544:Go Chase Yourself
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475:Columbia Pictures
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834:Chercheuses d'or
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748:(1925) – Charley
695:Chased into Love
595:Renewed interest
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398:Laurel and Hardy
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401:
393:
385:
375:
366:
360:
354:
348:
326:
293:
289:Harold Lloyd
282:
279:L-KO Kompany
272:
256:Oliver Hardy
236:Mack Sennett
213:
195:
191:
190:
151:Bebe Eltinge
127:screenwriter
81:(1940-06-20)
25:
1243:1940 deaths
1238:1893 births
1160:December 2,
951:The Heckler
924:Herman Bing
828:All Teed Up
817:Modern Love
761:Hard Boiled
546:(1948) and
528:The Heckler
495:Herman Bing
426:Patsy Kelly
390:Thelma Todd
378:sound films
333:Leo McCarey
115:Occupations
1232:Categories
972:References
570:drug habit
483:Andy Clyde
440:Bank Night
436:Bank Night
252:Billy West
220:vaudeville
130:songwriter
60:1893-10-20
633:In 2007,
557:, and he
536:Mr. Noisy
463:Tom Dugan
345:slapstick
232:bit parts
216:Baltimore
200:Hal Roach
175:(brother)
169:Relatives
141:1912–1940
68:Baltimore
1216:Our Gang
1129:June 28,
1104:June 28,
1033:July 12,
960:See also
587:at 6630
550:(1956).
428:feature
311:one-reel
304:clownish
300:mustache
284:Our Gang
244:juvenile
124:director
121:Comedian
1218:website
753:Dog Shy
723:All Wet
651:volumes
524:scripts
424:in the
260:villain
234:in the
180:Website
163:
155:
1067:
992:
938:short)
926:short)
710:(1923)
493:, and
461:, and
365:, and
307:makeup
146:Spouse
102:, U.S.
1148:(PDF)
341:farce
258:as a
247:leads
157:(
153:
1204:IMDb
1162:2023
1131:2016
1106:2016
1065:ISBN
1035:2009
990:ISBN
559:dyed
515:and
339:and
76:Died
50:Born
1211:on
1202:at
1178:",
580:.
534:as
277:'s
1234::
1150:.
1122:.
1097:.
489:,
485:,
481:,
457:,
453:,
412:.
359:,
353:,
262:.
206:.
159:m.
98:,
1174:"
1164:.
1133:.
1108:.
1071:.
1037:.
850:)
840:)
830:)
62:)
58:(
23:.
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