8. Charlie Chaplin Was Pretty Weird and Seedy
Charlie Chaplin (1889 – 1977) was the silent film era’s most famous star and one of the silver screen’s all-time greats. Less known is that in addition to a pioneer who revolutionized acting and comedy, Chaplin was also a pervert who liked ’em young. So young as to cause scandal, derail his career, and get him de facto deported from the US. Chaplin also seems to have been Harvey Weinstein before there was a Harvey Weinstein. He supposedly pioneered the “casting couch”, whereby powerful Hollywood figures extracted explicit favors from actresses as they auditioned for roles.
Reportedly, Chaplin used caption cards in auditions to prompt actresses into increasingly suggestive acts and poses, until they finally stood before him naked or nearly so. However, his kinks went beyond run of the mill quid pro quo harassment, and into the realm of the weird. Chaplain had a thing for pies, and not just as comedic props and gags. After he got actresses to disrobe at auditions, Chaplin would grope them in exaggerated ways on the couch. Then, after he worked himself up by getting them to do a strip tease on demand, followed by a groping session on the couch, he would stand them naked against a wall and throw pies at them.
