Ben Turpin, famous cross eyes closed by a pie
Ben Turpin (1869-1940) was a silent film comedian known for his cross-eyed appearance and slapstick comedy (often pasted with a pie). After spending time as Chaplin's sidekick at Essanay Studios, Turpin joined Mack Sennett's Keystone Studios. In the sound era, he was featured in the 1935 short Keystone Hotel and made occasional cameos in Laurel and Hardy films. His distinctive crossed eyes still symbolized the silent era in later years and were heavily used in clips and promotion for the Jay Ward series Fractured Flickers.
References[]
- A poster for Dump Diggers of 1933 at a Grouch movie theater in Sesame Street Episode 1491 shows the film as being presented by Ben Turpentine.
- A brief shot of Turpin in Keystone Hotel (so heavily pie-faced his moustache has slipped off) appears in the sixth season Muppet Babies episode "Not Necessarily the Babies."
- In a 2014 Maxim interview, Fozzie Bear claimed his catchphrase "Wocka Wocka" was given to him by Gags Beasley who in turn got it from Turpin: "Ben used it all the time in silent movies, but you couldn't hear it, so it had hardly any mileage when I got it."