Augusta has seen its fair share of stars visit, and every year at tournament time, it’s not uncommon to see members of the Hollywood set dining at their favorite restaurants. Generally, no one makes a big deal of it, but it was a big deal when silent film legend Charlie Chaplin came to town in April 1918.
Chaplin enjoyed a rowdy packed house at the Weeks theater, now Imperial, and wowed the audience with a vaudeville act that mimicked some of his famous onscreen antics. Chaplin was not on tour to promote a film, but rather to urge citizens to buy war bonds, as America had entered World War I the year prior.
The Liberty Bond Rally tour also featured Douglas Fairbanks, according to the Lower Manhattan Historical Society; however, at the Augusta date, Chaplin performed solo.
The world-famous performer also visited and performed for the troops stationed at Camp Hancock, which was located at the present-day Daniel Field.
According to the late Augusta historian Ed Cashin writing in his book, The Story of Augusta, people were paranoid because Camp Gordon was situated in Augusta.
Ordinance being set off to train horses to ignore the noise rattled the windows of the homes in Summerville, and people began to see German spies behind every lamp post.
Cashin writes that a Black laborer at the Augusta Arsenal, Willie Moore, was arrested for spying and store fronts owned by German immigrants were constantly suspected of being “espionage centers.” There is no record of Moore ever being convicted for spying.
Having Chaplin bring a little levity to town was greatly appreciated by city leaders and the citizens alike.
Chaplin was born into poverty in London in 1899 and grew up on the rough Victorian streets, his father having taken off to parts unknown when he was a baby. His mother forced him, as many single mothers did at the time, to labor in a workhouse when he was but a lad of nine.
However, Chaplin had a natural comedic gift, and when he literally became an orphan at age 14 after his mother was committed to an insane asylum, he ditched the flop house and began performing on small stages where he began to craft his character, “The Little Tramp.”
At age 19, Chaplin was discovered by a talent scout with the Fred Karno performance company, according to Chaplin’s official website, and he immigrated to the United States just as motion pictures were becoming all the rage.
Appearing in short silent films, Chaplin continued to hone his character of The Tramp. His first full length film, “The Kid,” became the second highest grossing film of 1921, shooting him to mega stardom.
Chaplin successfully made the transition from silent films to “talkies,” and his 1940 film, “The Great Dictator,” which lampooned Adolf Hitler, was a smash hit worldwide, well, with the exception of Germany.
All in all, Chaplin would write, direct and act in eleven feature films before his career went into decline.
The Hollywood of Chaplin’s era was deeply patriotic, and it was considered almost a duty to support the country in times of war. Chaplin was no exception. When he performed in Augusta, it was his 29th birthday, and he was treated to a birthday dinner at the Augusta Country Club by Judge Henry Hammond, according to Cashin.
Sadly, Chaplin was not rewarded for his patriotism. He became constant tabloid fodder as being the Leonardo DiCaprio of his day; Chaplin liked women, and he liked them young.
However, it was the Red Scare of the 1940s and 1950s that ruined his career in the United States. According to National Review, despite his protestations that he was far too wealthy to be a Communist, he was still hounded. When the FBI launched an investigation, he fled America and went to Sweden where he would live out his days.
Chaplin likely sympathized with Willie Moore as he, too, was wrongly accused of having unpopular political views.
…And that is something you may not have known.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
