Charlie Chaplin's Essanay Chicago Studio

Fox News report about Essanay Chicago Studio. (Fun report in seeing the Chaplin Essanay Chicago building today, but the facts mixed up on Chaplin history. Test your knowledge and see if you can spot some errors. Remember, just for fun, as the person who wrote the report, just went by what they had.)



NOTE ON THIS STORY: I found the end of the report, confusing, because the reporters made it sound like Chaplin (and his wife), lived in Chicago for over a year. NOT TRUE.

After Charlie Chaplin signed with Essanay and left Keystone (Los Angeles area) late in 1914, Charlie traveled to Niles, California to check out the studio there in late December, 1914. He quickly decided to leave for the Essanay Chicago studio, thinking the space would be better. But, after about three weeks, and one film, Chaplin left Chicago, and went back to Niles. And except for that short few weeks in December 1914 and early January 1915, he never lived in Chicago, again. (One of the main things, Chaplin didn't find the studio or the winter weather, to his liking. The Bay area and Los Angeles proved far nicer.) And Chaplin was NOT married during this time in his career. He didn't marry until 1918, to Mildred Harris, in Los Angeles. This was during his first year with First National.