Page "Charlie Chaplin" Paragraph 25

Chaplin was the subject of a backlash in the British media for not fighting in World War 1.

He defended himself, revealing that he had registered for the draft but was not asked to fight.

Despite this campaign Chaplin was a favourite with the troops, and his popularity continued to grow worldwide.

The name of Charlie Chaplin was said to be " a part of the common language of almost every country ", and according to Harper's Weekly his " little, baggy-trousered figure " was " universally familiar ".

In 1917, Chaplin imitators were widespread enough for the star to take legal action, and it was reported that nine out of ten men attended costume parties dressed as Chaplin.

The same year, a study by the Boston Society for Psychical Research concluded that Chaplin was " an American obsession.

" The actress Minnie Maddern Fiske wrote in Harper's Weekly that " a constantly increasing body of cultured, artistic people are beginning to regard the young English buffoon, Charles Chaplin, as an extraordinary artist, as well as a comic genius.