When Groucho Marx Met Charlie Chaplin by Chance in Winnipeg

April Six Word Photo Story Challenge: “Graffiti & Street Art”

All the world is a stage.

In all, 1921 was not a bad year. World War I was over and the Roaring Twenties had just begun. An English magician performed the “sawing a woman in half” trick for the first time. Harold Arlin announced the first live radio broadcast of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, where the Pirates hosted the Philadelphia Phillies at Forbes Field. And Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees transformed himself from baseball’s top left-hand pitcher to its dominant slugger.

On New Year’s Day in 1921, Charlie Chaplin Productions released the silent comedy-drama The Kid, starring Chaplin as the “Little Tramp.” While he had starred in many movies before 1921, this was his first great film. Regarded as the first dramatic comedy, the United States National Film Registry of the Library of Congress preserved it because it was “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

But in 1921, even a hit film didn’t earn Chaplain enough income to get by. So, he performed live to supplement his earnings. Groucho Marx wrote in his 1959 autobiography, Groucho and Me, that Chaplin made $25 per week and owned a single shirt that he washed once every two weeks.

One evening, in 1921, as Groucho walked by the Empress Theatre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, he heard a man speaking, followed by cheers. With three hours to spare before his train would leave town, he entered the premises. On stage, Charlie Chaplin’s antics produced tearful laughter that brought the crowd to tears. After the show ended, and the crowd filed out, Marx made his way to the stage, where the two comedic geniuses met. They toured together the following year.

Earlier, during a tour in 1914, Charlie Chaplin lodged at Winnipeg’s Windsor Hotel. In the mural, a man seems to be showing him the way to the door. Its caption reads, “In 1914 Charlie Chaplain wrote a letter to his brother, while staying at the Windsor Hotel. In the letter, he stated he was quitting vaudeville and pursuing a career in Hollywood.”

Charlie Chaplin launched his film career in Hollywood in silent films in 1914. More than a century later, people still watch his movies, many of which have become classics. And he still brings laughter to homes around the world.

While on the topic of Canada, here are some Canada-based writers whose stories you might enjoy: David Perlmutter (Winnipeg native), Louise Peacock, Edward O'Connor, and Eira Braun-Labossiere 🌻.

Thank you to Mary Chang Story Writer (another Canadian writer) for publishing Six Word Photo Story Challenge. I look forward to learning about her next writing challenge.