Chapter 6
The vagabond
Only once I had the luck to meet him in person again, after almost 2 years. I was by then working for a better theatre, still holding on to make the top, and that time our tour took us down to California. It was 1917.
I heard Charlie Chaplin would be shooting on location a scene for The Adventurer on a beach near where we were staying and I followed the crowd to watch him in action.
Like before it was a treat to see him work and witness the "offscreen" comedy of him posing for the public that had their cameras handy, seeing him as he climbed up the side of the mountain to view the location and he slipped with his long shoes as he tried to climb until he had to yank them off and look even funnier as he suffered stepping on the rocks, almost rolling down the rope when trying to keep his hat from falling from his head and having his little fits of temper each time a mishap ruined the take.
Like before I tried to stay out of his way -but this time I was deliberately hiding. So many things had happened since our last encounter! He was now way more popular and wealthy than before; the biggest star in the world, surrounded by famous friends and journalists. I didn't think he would even remember me. I knew it meant a lot for me to see him again, but he wouldn't make a bustle of it. So I kept it to myself and relished his presence from afar, mixed with the other fans, totally delighted with him, without making my presence known.
I wasn't so very sorry to leave him though. I knew I would see him again, many many times: on the screen.
Being a show girl meant that I had the chance to travel a lot and meet a lot of people and have all sorts of incredible adventures, but knowing Charlie was more than just another anecdote from my career. And not only because he was the biggest celebrity I ever met in person, but because he had a true special charisma I had never seen in anyone else, and that I would remember all my life.
And to this day he still is -and always will be- one of my most precious memories...
