Silent film comedian Chester Conklin (1886-1971) started his film career as one of Mack Sennett's Keystone Cops, went on to co-star in a series of films with Mabel Normand, and appeared in more than a dozen Keystone films with a man who would becomes a close lifelong friend, Charlie Chaplin. While at Keystone, Conklin appeared in a series of twenty-six highly popular films partnered with comic Mack Swain. Conklin left Keystone in 1920 following a dispute with Sennett and began working at various studios, including Paramount Pictures, where he was teamed with W. C. Fields for a series of comedies between 1927 and 1931. The public's taste in comedic films changed with the talkies and Conklin, although he kept working, became more and more cast in supporting roles, including a series of Three Stooge shorts; he appeared in many well-known films in minor, often uncredited, roles.. During the 1950s, his career tanked and he found himself working as a department store Santa. In the Sixties, he was living at the Motion Picture Country Home and Hospital, where he fell in love with another patient and married her in 1965; he was 79 and it was the fourth marriage for each. He died in 1971 at age 85.
A big name in silent films, Conklin' reputation faded in comparison with other stars of that age, such as Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Fatty Arbuckle, and Harold Lloyd. \
His work, however, still remains memorable, as in this twenty-one minute short, in which he plays "The Secret Agent." (a.k.a. A. C. Walrus -- because of his mustache, Conklin was often referred to as "Walrus") Also featured are David Anderson as "His Rival," Wm. Mason as "An Aeroplane Demonstrator," Cora Anderson as "His Sweetheart," and Nick Cogley as "Her Father." Directed by Walter White and supervised by Mack Sennett. Written by Clarence G. Badger and Jean C. Havez.
Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrhZ-j3Dhu8
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