Ben Turpin

Cross-eyed silent comedian Ben Turpin (1869-1940) was not born that way. Supposedly his right eye slipped out of alignment while playing the similarly afflicted Happy Hooligan in vaudeville and it never adjusted. Ironically, it was this disability that would enhance his comic value and make him a top name in the silent film era. Turpin's true forte was impersonating the most dashingly romantic and sophisticated stars of the day and turning them into clumsy oafs. He also invented a Hollywood tradition by being the first actor to receive a pie in his face.


Spanish card by La Novela Semanal Cinematográfica, no. 14. Photo: United Artists.


Spanish collectors card by Chocolates Amatller, Barcelona, in the 'Artistas de cine' series, no. 14: Ben Turpin. Image: Martinez Surroca. Ben Turpin played a sheikh in The Shriek of Araby (F. Richard Jones, 1923).

Chaplin's second banana

Bernard 'Ben' Turpin was born in New Orleans in 1869, the son of a French-born confectionery store owner, Ernest Turpin, and Sarah Buckley. When 7 years old, his father moved to New York's Lower East Side.

A wanderlust fellow by nature, Turpin lived the life of a hobo in his early adult years. He started up his career by chance while bumming in Chicago where he drew laughs at parties. An ad in a newspaper looking for comedy acts caught his eye and he successfully booked shows along with a partner. Going solo in the 1880s, he performed on the burlesque circuit as well as under circus tents and invariably entertained his audiences by doing tricks, vigorous pratfalls, and, of course, crossing his eyes.

One of his more familiar sight gags was a backward tumble he called the '108'. He happened upon the Happy Hooligan persona while playing on the road and kept the hapless character as part of his routine for 17 years. In 1907, he started in films at age 38. He joined the Essanay Studios shortly after the company began operating in Chicago. He also worked as a carpenter and janitor for Essanay.

In the short comedy Mr. Flip (Gilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' Anderson, 1909), Turpin receives what is believed to have been the first pie-in-the-face. He stayed with the company for two years but remained on the edges of obscurity. Appearing sporadically in silent comedy shorts, he typically played dorky characters who always did something wrong. Charlie Chaplin joined the Essanay company in 1915, and the studio made Turpin his second banana. Chaplin was maturing as a filmmaker, working slowly and intuitively. Turpin, however, was impatient with Chaplin's methods.

The earthy Turpin understood straightforward slapstick more than comic subtlety. The Chaplin–Turpin duo did not last long, with Chaplin abandoning Chicago for California. Turpin does share one additional credit with Chaplin: after Charlie Chaplin filmed a burlesque on Carmen in two reels, Essanay filmed new scenes with Turpin to pad the picture into a featurette, doubling its length. Turpin left for the Vogue comedy company, where he starred in a series of two-reel comedies. Former Essanay comedian Paddy McQuire supported him. Many of Turpin's Vogue comedies were re-released under different titles, to cash in on Turpin's subsequent stardom.


British Postcard in the Red Letter series. Photo: Essanay. Charlie Chaplin in A Night Out aka His Night Out (Chaplin, 1915). The man left of Chaplin is Ben Turpin. The man on the right is Leo White, who plays the French Count while his companion is Eva Sawyer. In the back, the head waiter, played by Bud Jamison.


Swiss postcard by CVB Publishers / Bubbles Inc., no. CP 46 / 56820. Photo: Collection de la Cinematheque Suisse. Ben Turpin and Charlie Chaplin in His New Job (Charles Chaplin, 1915).

A top comedy draw

In 1917 Ben Turpin joined the leading comedy company, the Mack Sennett studio. Turpin's aptitude for crude slapstick suited the Sennett style perfectly, and Sennett's writers often cast the ridiculous-looking Turpin against type (a rugged Yukon miner; a suave, worldly lover; a stalwart cowboy; a fearless stuntman, etc.) for maximum comic effect.

Turpin became a top comedy draw. With his small wiry frame, brush moustache, and crossed eyes, he made scores of slapstick films alongside the likes of Mabel Normand and Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle. One of his specialities was a forward tumble he called the "hundred an' eight". It was basically an interrupted forward somersault initiated by kicking one leg up, turning over 180 degrees to land flat on the back or in a seated position.

Most notable were Ben Turpin's films that parodied hit films of the day such as his comedy The Shriek of Araby (F. Richard Jones, 1923), in which his character lampooned Rudolph Valentino. G. Hawke at IMDb: "This movie is a spoof of Valentino's phenomenally popular movie The Sheik and it does a very good job at it. Some of the effects and stunts are impressive. The scenes of Turpin being chased by a lion and riding an ostrich were especially good."

Turpin retired from full-time acting in 1924 to care for his ailing wife Canadian comedy actress Carrie Turpin (nee LeMieux). After her death the following year he returned but his marquee value had slipped drastically. In 1929, when the Mack Sennett Studios began turning to sound, his kind of comedy became less in demand. During this period he made films for the low-budget Weiss Brothers Studio appearing in short comedies for about 2 years. When sound came Ben Turpin more or less retired. Having invested in real estate he'd become quite wealthy. He began taking small comical roles in films for $1,000 per appearance. Among the most memorable of these cameos was in Paramount's Million Dollar Legs (Edward F. Cline, 1932) starring W. C. Fields and Jack Oakie.

He starred in only one more film, the short Keystone Hotel (Ralph Staub, 1935) for Warner Bros, a short subject compilation of footage of the old-time comedians. His final screen appearance was in the Laurel and Hardy film Saps at Sea (Gordon Douglas, 1940) as a cross-eyed plumber. Ben Turpin died of heart disease in 1940. Death prevented his scheduled appearance in Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator (1940). Turpin is interred at Forest Lawn, Glendale, California. He was married three times: to Norma Koch (1898-1904; her death), Carrie Turpin (1907-1925; her death), and Babette Elizabeth Dietz (1926-1940; his death). In 1960, he was posthumously awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1651 Vine Street in Hollywood.


English postcard by Moviedrome, no. M8. Ben Turpin in Love and Doughnuts (Roy Del Ruth, 1921).


French postcard by Delta Productions, Montpellier, no. CP16.

Sources: Gary Brumburgh (IMDb), G. Hawke (IMDb), Wikipedia, and IMDb.