Chester Conklin
| Chester Conklin | |
|---|---|
Conklin in 1915
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| Born |
January 11, 1886 Oskaloosa, Iowa, U.S. |
| Died | October 11, 1971 (aged 85) Van Nuys, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor, comedian |
| Years active | 1916-1966 |
| Spouse(s) | Minnie V. Goodwin (m.1913-1933) Margherita Rouse (m.1934-1937) Valda C. Genessee (m.1949-?) Catherine June Ayres Gunther (m.1965-1971; his death) |
Chester Cooper Conklin (January 11, 1886 – October 11, 1971) was an American comedic actor who appeared in over 280 films, about half of them in the silent film era.
Conklin, one of three children, grew up in a violent household. When he was eight, his mother was found burned to death in the family garden. Although first judged a suicide, his father, a devoutly religious man who hoped his son would be a minister, was eventually charged with murder, but found not guilty at trial.
Conklin won first prize when he gave a recitation at a community festival. A few years later, he ran away from home after vowing to a friend he would never return, a promise he kept. Heading to Des Moines he found employment as a hotel bellhop, but then moved to Omaha, Nebraska where his interest in theatre led to a career in comedic acting. In St. Louis, Missouri, he saw a performance by the vaudeville team of Joe Weber and Lew Fields, which prompted Conklin to develop a character based on his boss at the time, a man with a thick accent and a bushy walrus moustache. With this character, Conklin broke into vaudeville, and spent several years touring with various companies, doing vaudeville shows, minstrel shows, as well as clown work with a travelling circus.
After seeing several Mack Sennett comedies while in Venice, California during the 1913 winter break, the 27-year-old Conklin went to Keystone Studios, applied for a job and was hired as a Keystone Kop with a salary of $3 a day. Sennett directed him in his first film, a comedy short titled Hubby's Job.
In 1914, Conklin co-starred with Mabel Normand in a series of films: Mabel's Strange Predicament, Mabel's New Job, Mabel's Busy Day and Mabel at the Wheel. In that same year he appeared in Making a Living, in which Charlie Chaplin made his film debut. He would go on to make more than a dozen films with Chaplin while at Keystone and the two became lifelong friends. Years later, Conklin would perform with Chaplin in two more feature-length films, first in 1936 in Modern Times and in 1940's The Great Dictator. During this time, Chaplin kept Conklin on year-round salary.
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