Chester Conklin

Chester Cooper Conklin (January 11, 1886 – October 11, 1971) One of three children, he 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 stock companies, doing vaudeville shows and minstrel shows. He also performed as a clown with the Al G. Barnes Wild Animal Show.

Career

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 Cop 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.

While at Keystone, Conklin became most famous when he was teamed up with the robust comic Mack Swain to make a series of comedies. With Swain as "Ambrose" and Conklin as the grand mustachioed "Walrus", they performed these roles in several films including The Battle of Ambrose and Walrus and Love, Speed and Thrills, both made in 1915. Beyond these "Ambrose & Walrus" comedies, the two appeared together in twenty-six films including some early sound shorts.

In 1920, when Sennett refused to discuss a contract renewal with Conklin and insisted on referring him to an underling, Conklin quit and went to Fox Film Corporation, which had earlier approached him about doing a series of comedy shorts. He also worked at the Famous Players–Lasky Corporation studio. In between, he had a significant role as ZaSu Pitts' father in director Erich von Stroheim's acclaimed 1924 MGM production, Greed, although the part was cut from the film and the footage is now lost,

In 1957, he was a guest challenger on the TV panel show To Tell The Truth, dressed in his Keystone Kops uniform.

Decline Conklin's career hit bottom in the 1950s, and he took work as a department-store Santa Claus to make ends meet. They set up housekeeping in Van Nuys, California; the groom was seventy-nine and the bride sixty-five. He married Margherita Rouse on May 5, 1934, in Hollywood. She died on May 14, 1937. On June 17, 1965, Conklin married former actress June Gunther in Las Vegas.

Conklin died in California on October 11, 1971, at the age of 85.

Legacy For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Conklin has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1560 Vine Street.

Selected filmography

Making a Living (1914 short) – Policeman / Bum (film debut, uncredited) Mabel's Strange Predicament (1914 short) – Husband Mabel at the Wheel (1914 short) – Mabel's Father Caught in a Cabaret (1914 short) – Waiter / Footman (uncredited) The Masquerader (1914 short) – Film Actor Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914) – Mr. Whoozis / Singing Waiter (uncredited) A Bird's A Bird (1915 short) – Husband The Love Thief (1916) – Minor Role Cactus Nell (1917) – ? Uncle Tom's Cabin (1918) Yankee Doodle in Berlin (1919) – Officer of Death's Head Hussars Skirts (1921) Tea: With a Kick! (1923) – Jiggs – Taxi Driver Desire (1923) – Oland Young Anna Christie (1923) – Tommy North of Nevada (1924) – Lem Williams The Galloping Fish (1924) – Jonah The Fire Patrol (1924) – Fireman Another Man's Wife (1924) – Rumrunner Greed (1924) – 'Popper' Sieppe Battling Bunyan (1924) – A Stranger One Year to Live (1925) – Froquin The Wizard of Oz (1925) – Minor Role (uncredited) The Phantom of the Opera (1925) – Orderly (uncredited) My Neighbor's Wife (1925) – Cameraman Under the Rouge (1925) – Mr. Fleck Where Was I? (1925) – Elmer The Winding Stair (1925) – Onery The Great Jewel Robbery (1925) – Cootie Joe The Masked Bride (1925) – Wine Waiter A Woman of the World (1925) – Sam Poore The Pleasure Buyers (1925) – Burke The Great Love (1925) – Perkins Behind the Front (1926) – Scottie Fascinating Youth (1926) – Himself A Social Celebrity (1926) – Johann Haber The Wilderness Woman (1926) – 'Kodiak' MacLean Say It Again (1926) – Prince Otto V The Duchess of Buffalo (1926) – Hotel Manager The Nervous Wreck (1926) – Mort Midnight Lovers (1926) – Moriarity The Lady of the Harem (1926) – Ali We're in the Navy Now (1926) – Navy Capt. Smithers McFadden's Flats (1927) – Jock McTavish A Kiss in a Taxi (1927) – Maraval Cabaret (1927) – Jerry Trask Rubber Heels (1927) – Tennyson Hawks Tell It to Sweeney (1927) – Luke Beamish Two Flaming Youths (1927) – Sheriff Ben Holden Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1928) – Judge Tillie's Punctured Romance (1928) – Circus Owner The Big Noise (1928) – John Sloval Fools for Luck (1928) – Samuel Hunter Beau Broadway (1928) Varsity (1928) – Pop Conlan The Haunted House (1928) – Mr. Rackham Taxi 13 (1928) – Angus Mactavish Marquis Preferred (1929) – Mr. Gruger Sunset Pass (1929) – Windy House of Horror (1929) – Chester The Studio Murder Mystery (1929) – George (Studio Gateman) Stairs of Sand (1929) – Tim Fast Company (1929) – Chamber of Commerce President The Virginian (1929) – Uncle "Pa" Hughey The Show of Shows (1929) – Traffic Cop in 'Bicycle Built for Two' Number Swing High (1930) – Sheriff The Love Trader (1930) – Nelson The Master Sweeper (1930) Her Majesty, Love (1931) – Emil Hallelujah, I'm a Bum (1933) – Sunday The Big Broadcast of 1936 (1935) – Sewer Worker (uncredited) Modern Times (1936) – Mechanic The Preview Murder Mystery (1936) – Comedian Call of the Prairie (1936) – Sheriff Sandy McQueen Hotel Haywire (1937) – O'Shea (uncredited) Forlorn River (1937) – Sheriff Alec Grundy Every Day's a Holiday (1937) – Cabby Zenobia (1939) – Farmer (uncredited) The Spellbinder (1939) – Courtroom Extra (uncredited) Hollywood Cavalcade (1939) – Sheriff Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) – Man in Press Section of Senate Gallery (uncredited) Chip of the Flying U (1939) – Joe (uncredited) Henry Goes Arizona (1939) – Bus Driver (uncredited) The Great Dictator (1940) – Barber's Customer Li'l Abner (1940) – Mayor Gurgle Sweetheart of the Campus (1941) – The Prisoner-Vagrant (uncredited) Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) – Newsboy (uncredited) Harmon of Michigan (1941) – Gasoline Chuck One Foot in Heaven (1941) – Man Crying During Baptism (uncredited) Jesse James at Bay (1941) – Town Drunk (uncredited) Sullivan's Travels (1941) – Old Bum (uncredited) Honolulu Lu (1941) – Joe – Keystone Kop (uncredited) Valley of the Sun (1942) – Soldier at Hitching Rail (uncredited) The Remarkable Andrew (1942) – Shopkeeper (uncredited) Romance on the Range (1942) – Lynch Mob Member (uncredited) In Old California (1942) – Town Drunk (uncredited) Sons of the Pioneers (1942) – Old-Timer The Palm Beach Story (1942) – Sixth Member Ale and Quail Club I Married a Witch (1942) – Party Bartender (uncredited) Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1942) – Drunk (uncredited) X Marks the Spot (1942) – Vagrant (uncredited) Hangmen Also Die! (1943) – Cook (uncredited) Sagebrush Law (1943) – Horse Owner (uncredited) The Avenging Rider (1943) – Town Drunk (uncredited) Riders of the Rio Grande (1943) – Barfly (uncredited) So This Is Washington (1943) – Inventor with Pocket Machine Gun (uncredited) Sweet Rosie O'Grady (1943) – Customer at Flugelman's (uncredited) My Kingdom for a Cook (1943) – Taxicab Driver (uncredited) Around the World (1943) – Waiter (uncredited) The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1943) – Pete (uncredited) Knickerbocker Holiday (1944) – Town Trumpeter (uncredited) The Adventures of Mark Twain (1944) – Frog-Jumping Contest Judge (uncredited) Man from Frisco (1944) – Baggage Man (uncredited) Goodnight, Sweetheart (1944) – Bottle Man The Yellow Rose of Texas (1944) – Drunken Gambler (uncredited) A Fig Leaf for Eve (1944) – Waiter The Great Moment (1944) – Frightened Patient (uncredited) Hail the Conquering Hero (1944) – Western Union Man (uncredited) Something for the Boys (1944) – Minor Role (uncredited) Sunday Dinner for a Soldier (1944) – Photographer (uncredited) Can't Help Singing (1944) – Poker Player (uncredited) Betrayal from the East (1945) – (uncredited) A Guy, a Gal and a Pal (1945) – Station Owner (uncredited) Brewster's Millions (1945) – Stage Doorman (uncredited) Having Wonderful Crime (1945) – Motel Proprietor (uncredited) The Great John L. (1945) – Haggerty (uncredited) Road to Utopia (1945) – Amateur Contestant Banjo Player (uncredited) Little Giant (1946) – Hotel Valet (uncredited) Smooth as Silk (1946) – Doorman (uncredited) Fear (1946) – Railroad Switchman (uncredited) The Hoodlum Saint (1946) – Cop (uncredited) Two Sisters from Boston (1946) – Street Cleaner (uncredited) She Wrote the Book (1946) – Man at Bar (uncredited) Singin' in the Corn (1946) – Austin Driver Song of Scheherazade (1947) – Sailor (uncredited) Song of the Wasteland (1947) – The Jailer The Trouble with Women (1947) – Comedian (uncredited) The Perils of Pauline (1947) – Comic Chef Springtime in the Sierras (1947) – Old-Timer Jesse James Rides Again (1947, Serial) – Roy (uncredited) The Son of Rusty (1947) – Bakery Clerk (uncredited) Merton of the Movies (1947) – Keystone Kop (uncredited) My Wild Irish Rose (1947) – Man Escorted Out of Theatre by Police (uncredited) The Wreck of the Hesperus (1948) – Hostler (uncredited) Isn't It Romantic? (1948) – Townsman (uncredited) One Sunday Afternoon (1948) – Clerk (uncredited) Knock on Any Door (1949) – Barber (uncredited) Tulsa (1949) – Gambling Casino Patron (uncredited) The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend (1949) – Messenger Boy Brimstone (1949) – Drunk (uncredited) Jiggs and Maggie in Jackpot Jitters (1949) – Jiggs' Friend (uncredited) My Friend Irma (1949) – Gypsy Tea Room Waiter (uncredited) The Golden Stallion (1949) – Old Man The Good Humor Man (1950) – Bush-Cutting Gardener (uncredited) Joe Palooka in Humphrey Takes a Chance (1950) – Prentice Fancy Pants (1950) – Guest (uncredited) Never a Dull Moment (1950) – Albert (uncredited) Shakedown (1950) – Chet (uncredited) Right Cross (1950) – Haggerty's Waiter (uncredited) The Milkman (1950) – Man (uncredited) Let's Dance (1950) – Watchman (uncredited) My Favorite Spy (1951) – Short Comic (uncredited) Son of Paleface (1952) – 2nd Bartender (uncredited) Doc Corkle (1952, TV Series) Private Hell 36 (1954) – Murdered Man in Elevator (uncredited) The Beast with a Million Eyes (1955) – Ben Webber Apache Woman (1955) – Dick Mooney Rock-A-Bye Baby (1958) – Bit Role (uncredited) Paradise Alley (1962) – Mr. Gregory A Big Hand for the Little Lady (1966) – Old Man in Saloon (final film)