Ben Turpin
2 credits on HibingeTV
American comedian and actor, born 1869 in New Orleans. With his trademark crossed eyes and rubbery frame, he was one of the most recognizable comic faces of the silent era. He began in vaudeville and joined Essanay, where he appeared opposite Charlie Chaplin, then moved to Mack Sennett's studio, where he headlined two-reelers like The Daredevil (1923) for the rest of the decade. His act was built on wild physical stunts and the comic bewilderment his crossed eyes gave to any double take. He died in 1940.
Acted In
Comedy, Silent
Chaplin's spoof of Cecil B. DeMille's Carmen, released the same year as the film it mocks. Chaplin plays Darn Hosiery, the Don José figure — a dim Spanish officer seduced and ruined by the gypsy Carmen (Edna Purviance) — with Ben Turpin as the toreador Remendado, mangling his name in the bargain. The parody is affectionate but pointed, and its mock-tragic ending is a real gag rather than a whimper. Essanay later padded the two-reeler out to four reels with discarded footage for a 1918 re-release, prompting Chaplin to sue the studio; most surviving prints derive from that expanded version. As a work published before 1930, it is in the public domain in the United States.
Comedy · Silent
A Burlesque on Carmen
1915 - as Remendados
Comedy, Silent
A Mack Sennett two-reel comedy built around Ben Turpin and his famous cross-eyed double take. Turpin plays a hapless suitor who competes with Harry Gribbon for the girl, played by Madeline Hurlock, and stumbles through the kind of physical chaos Sennett's studio was known for, with Del Lord directing the mayhem. The surviving version is abridged but keeps the core gags and gives a clean sample of Sennett's short-form style at its peak. Like the other 1923 releases, the film entered the public domain in the United States on January 1, 2019.
Comedy · Silent · Short
The Daredevil
1923 - as Ben