This is John Batchelor, conversation with the author Scott Eymann, Charlie Chaplin v. America,

when art, sex, and politics collided, the story of the genius Charlie Chaplin

and how he came to America and became extremely powerful and well-to-do and confused by the politics that turned up and turned against him after the second

war. Odd politics, McCarthyite tactics, FBI, Hoover. However, here, early in his career,

everybody knew Charlie was a genius, including Stan Laurel, who also was a genius, but was Charlie's understudy when they were serving together in burlesque theaters for the Carnot Company.

Stan Laurel never got a chance to go on, even though he was the understudy.

And why? Scott Eamond explains. Charlie Chaplin, Stan Laurel, and Burlesque before the Second War,

before everybody knew about Charlie Chaplin, the Little Tram.

Much more of this come in a new week.

Thank you.

Laurel thought Chaplin was prodigiously talented and studied him carefully on stage.

He thought Chaplin was strange as a human being.

He wasn't like the other vaudevillians.

He didn't mingle particularly with the other vaudevillians.

He didn't go out, you know, scouting around for girls after the show.

He'd stick around and read books.

And his professional habits were bizarre you know you're

supposed to be there a half hour before curtain if you're a performer and chaplain wouldn't be there

and there'd be five minutes before curtain and everybody's panic where's charlie charlie's not here

and charlie was the star of the show by this time and laurel was chaplain's understudy so they tell

him to get his makeup on and get ready to go on,

at which point Chaplin would breeze in a few minutes before curtain,

...