Charles Joseph Parrott (October 20, 1893 â€" June 20, 1940), known
professionally as Charley Chase, was an American comedian, actor,
screenwriter and film director best known for his work in Hal Roach
short film comedies. He was the elder brother of comedian/director
James Parrott.Born Charles Joseph Parrott in Baltimore, Maryland,
Charley Chase began performing in vaudeville as a teenager and started
his career in films by working at the Christie Film Company in 1912.
He then moved to Keystone Studios, where he began appearing in bit
parts in the Mack Sennett films, including those of Charlie Chaplin.
By 1915 he was playing juvenile leads in the Keystones, and directing
some of the films as Charles Parrott. His Keystone credentials were
good enough to get him steady work as a comedy director with other
companies; he directed many of Chaplin imitator Billy West's comedies,
which featured a young Oliver Hardy as villain.He worked at L-KO
Kompany during its final months of existence. Then in 1920, Chase
began working as a film director for Hal Roach Studios. Among his
notable early works for Roach was supervising the first entries in the
Our Gang series, as well as directing several films starring Lloyd
Hamilton; like many other silent comedians, Chase is reported to have
regarded Hamilton's work as a major influence on that of his own.
Chase became director-general of the Hal Roach studio in late 1921,
supervising the production of all the Roach series except the Harold
Lloyd comedies. Following Lloyd's departure from the studio in 1923,
Chase moved back in front of the camera with his own series of shorts,
adopting the screen name Charley Chase.Chase was a master of the
comedy of embarrassment, and he played either hapless young
businessmen or befuddled husbands in dozens of situation comedies. His
screen persona was that of a pleasant young man with a dapper mustache
and ordinary street clothes; this set him apart from the clownish
makeups and crazy costumes used by his contemporaries. His earliest
Roach shorts cast him as a hard-luck fellow named "Jimmie Jump" in
one-reel (10-minute) comedies.
professionally as Charley Chase, was an American comedian, actor,
screenwriter and film director best known for his work in Hal Roach
short film comedies. He was the elder brother of comedian/director
James Parrott.Born Charles Joseph Parrott in Baltimore, Maryland,
Charley Chase began performing in vaudeville as a teenager and started
his career in films by working at the Christie Film Company in 1912.
He then moved to Keystone Studios, where he began appearing in bit
parts in the Mack Sennett films, including those of Charlie Chaplin.
By 1915 he was playing juvenile leads in the Keystones, and directing
some of the films as Charles Parrott. His Keystone credentials were
good enough to get him steady work as a comedy director with other
companies; he directed many of Chaplin imitator Billy West's comedies,
which featured a young Oliver Hardy as villain.He worked at L-KO
Kompany during its final months of existence. Then in 1920, Chase
began working as a film director for Hal Roach Studios. Among his
notable early works for Roach was supervising the first entries in the
Our Gang series, as well as directing several films starring Lloyd
Hamilton; like many other silent comedians, Chase is reported to have
regarded Hamilton's work as a major influence on that of his own.
Chase became director-general of the Hal Roach studio in late 1921,
supervising the production of all the Roach series except the Harold
Lloyd comedies. Following Lloyd's departure from the studio in 1923,
Chase moved back in front of the camera with his own series of shorts,
adopting the screen name Charley Chase.Chase was a master of the
comedy of embarrassment, and he played either hapless young
businessmen or befuddled husbands in dozens of situation comedies. His
screen persona was that of a pleasant young man with a dapper mustache
and ordinary street clothes; this set him apart from the clownish
makeups and crazy costumes used by his contemporaries. His earliest
Roach shorts cast him as a hard-luck fellow named "Jimmie Jump" in
one-reel (10-minute) comedies.
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