![charlespencerchaplin:
“[insp]
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Charlie Chaplin’s first appearance as the Tramp in Mabel’s Strange Predicament (1914).
“I had no idea what make-up to put on. I did not like my get-up as the press reporter. However, on the way to the wardrobe I thought I would dress in baggy pants, big shoes, a cane and a derby hat. I wanted everything a contradiction: the pants baggy, the coat tight, the hat small and the shoes large. I was undecided whether to look old or young, but remembering Sennett had expected me to be a much older man, I added a small moustache, which, I reasoned, would add age without hiding my expression.
I had no idea of the character. But the moment I was dressed, the clothes and the make-up made me feel the person he was. I began to know him, and by the time I walked on to the stage he was fully born.”
Although this was the first time that he appeared on film, the public caught their first glimpse of the Tramp in Kid Auto Races In Venice (1914), which was released two days before.
