Heinie Conklin

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Heinie Conklin alongside Marie Prevost in Uncle Tom Without a Cabin (1919)
Heinie Conklin (right) as a shoe seller with Ben Turpin in Cupid's Day Off (1919)

Heinie Conklin (born July 15, 1886 in San Francisco , California as Charles John Conklin , † July 30, 1959 in Hollywood , California) was an American actor and comedian. A popular comedian during the silent film era, his film career sank into insignificance with the start of sound films. Until his death he appeared as an actor in over 450 films.

Life

Charles John Conklin made his film debut in 1915 at the age of 29 in the newly emerging Hollywood . Quick specialized Conklin on short film comedies and received a contract with comedy producer Mack Sennett of the Keystone Studios . Like many other silent film comedians, Conklin had his particular trademarks, namely the large eyebrows and the distinctive “Chinese beard”, very similar to Charlie Chan's . He chose the stage name Heinie Conklin , but was occasionally mentioned in the film credits under his real name Charles Conklin and under the second stage name Charles Lynn . As a well-known supporting actor, he supported numerous popular comedians of his time, including Ben Turpin on a regular basis . In some productions Conklin also took on leading roles himself. From the 1920s onwards he increasingly played in other genres and feature films, including silent westerns and the Rin Tin Tin films. He also made minor appearances in Charlie Chaplin's comedies Gold Rush (1925; as a prospector), The Circus (1928; as a clown) and Modern Times (1936; as an assembly line worker).

With the introduction of the sound film in the late 1920s, many formerly popular silent film actors suddenly found themselves only in small roles, a fate that Heinie Conklin also shared. One of his first sound films was the anti-war film In the West Nothing New (1930), in which he played the less sensitive hospital patient Joseph Hammacher in what is perhaps the most important sound film appearance. Subsequently, he usually received only insignificant extra roles in films such as You did him wrong (1933), The best years of our life (1946), Darling, I'm getting younger (1952) and A Star Is Born (1954). Only very occasionally did Conklin get notable roles, for example as a henchman in the John Wayne West Die Wasserrechte von Lost Creek (1933) or at the side of comedians such as the Three Stooges , Hugh Herbert and Harry Langdon in their short films. From the 1950s, Conklin also took on minor guest roles on television. Despite falling into oblivion, he worked as an actor until his death, making almost 480 film and television appearances.

Heinie Conklin was married to Irene Blake, they had two sons and a daughter. In 1959 Heinie Conklin died at the age of 73 and was buried in the Chapel Of The Pines Crematory in Los Angeles . A year after his death, Heinie Conklin received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his film work. He was not related to Chester Conklin , another silent film comedian of the same name. Both played together, however, in more than 30 films.

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Heinie Conklin at Los Angeles Times
  2. ^ Heinie Conklin in the Find a Grave database . Retrieved June 19, 2017 (English).
personal data
SURNAME Conklin, Heinie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Conklin, Charles John (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American actor and comedian
DATE OF BIRTH July 15, 1886
PLACE OF BIRTH San Francisco , California
DATE OF DEATH July 30, 1959
Place of death Hollywood , California