Fozzie as Chaplin in The Muppets Audition Night.
Kermit as Chaplin outside the Henson Studios (formerly Charlie Chaplin Studios).
Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977) was a British actor, director, and composer who gained worldwide fame in American silent films.
As an actor, Chaplin is perhaps most well known for playing The Tramp, a slouching character with a toothbrush mustache who wears baggy pants and a bowler hat while typically carrying and twirling a cane. As a composer, he scored some of his own films, and wrote several songs, including "Smile" for Modern Times in 1936. Outside of his own films, and The Tramp character, Chaplin also appeared as, and alongside, the Keystone Kops.
Chaplin's legacy has been recognized with statues in several countries around the world. When The Jim Henson Company purchased Charlie Chaplin Studios in 2000, they honored the history of the site by erecting a statue of Kermit the Frog dressed as Chaplin on the roof of the lot's main entrance. A TV series called Young Charlie Chaplin aired in 1989 scored by Rachel Portman and featured Twiggy and Ian McShane as regular cast members. Richard Attenborough directed the feature Chaplin in 1992 with Robert Downey, Jr. as the title character. The film also featured Marisa Tomei, Anthony Hopkins, Dan Aykroyd, Kevin Kline, and Geraldine Chaplin playing her own grandmother.
References
- Maria on Sesame Street (and, on a few occasions, Linda) spoofed Chaplin in a long-running series of inserts.
- Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog both dress as Chaplin, walking off into the sunset, on the back cover of The Miss Piggy Calendar 1982.
- In Episode 1816 of Sesame Street, Telly Monster plays a game with the kids where he describes situations and they respond with whether that would make them happy or sad. One scenario he describes is seeing a slapstick-heavy Charlie Chaplin film.
- Linda mimics Chaplin's cane-twirling walk in Episode 1565 of Sesame Street.
- Several scenes with Chaplin from his film The Gold Rush, appeared on the Muppet Babies episode "The Best Friend I Never Had," with Chaplin representing Baby Fozzie's perfect friend.
- A portrait of Chaplin hangs in Gonzo Morris' office in the Muppet Babies episode "A Punch Line to the Tummy."
- Fozzie played Chaplin in the 1980 View-Master reel, The Muppets Audition Night.
- A man plays a Chaplin-like character in a Sesame Park insert.
- Chaplin's film Modern Times can be seen among the film reels displayed in A Brief History of Motion Pictures.
- Chaplin's 1931 film City Lights was spoofed as "Kitty Lights" in Elmo's World: Cats.
- Oscar the Grouch does "a Grouchy dance with worn out shoes" during "I Don't Wanna Be a Prince" in Sesame Street Episode 4173, deliberately mimicking Chaplin's "roll dance" from The Gold Rush.
- For a scene in The Muppets where Mary finds herself exploring Los Angeles solo, she sings "Me Party" and reenacts part of the "table ballet" from Chaplin's The Gold Rush.
- Fozzie Bear has a Chaplin marionette on display in a 2020 appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden.
