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The iconic figure wore baggy pants, a tight coat, oversized shoes (on the wrong feet), and a derby hat. He had a signature – but fake – mustache, and carried a cane. Even his gait was recognizable to the masses who watched him perform on the first silver screen. Charlie Chaplin was recognizable to everyone.
Everyone that is, except for some judges at a Charlie Chaplin look-a-like contest.
Charlie Chaplin, the English-born actor who personified “The Tramp” became the first international superstar through the proliferation of his silent films, shot in black and white. America loved the paradox present in Chaplin’s character: a high-class wannabe trapped in the confines of a bum.
So popular was this film star, whole towns started holding Charlie Chaplin look-a-like contests sometime around 1915. (Think American Idol…minus the whole texting thing.)
The competitions didn’t center on “looking” like Chaplin; anybody could do that with the right props. No, the contest revolved around acting like Chaplin. Impersonators stood in line to try and mimic the swagger and step of the movie star.
As testament to Chaplin’s sense of humor, he once entered himself in one of the look-alike contests in San Francisco…incognito, of course. But instead of the master tramp stealing the show, he lost. In fact, he even failed to qualify for the competition’s finals!
When the gag was up, Chaplin said he was “tempted to give lessons in the Chaplin walk, out of pity as well as in the desire to see the thing done correctly.”
Unfortunately for God’s Kingdom, Charlie Chaplin fans are not the only bad impersonators. In Ephesians 5:1, Christians are told who they are to imitate.
Be imitators of Christ, therefore, as dearly loved children.
But all too often, there’s a big gap between the “Original” and the “impersonation.” What does Jesus really see when He looks at our lives…lives that are supposed to be spent looking like Him? Must He, like Chaplin, give another lesson on how it’s supposed to be done?
For sure, Jesus – like Chaplin – wants to see it “done correctly.”
Resource’s Origin:
Tramp: The Life of Charlie Chaplin by Joyce Milton. HarperCollins, 1996, Pages 92-93.
Topics Illustrated Include:
Celebrities
Competition
Discipleship
Imitation
Jesus
Judge
(Resource cataloged by David R Smith)
