Billy West (His Waiting Career)

Date: 1910s
Size:  81 x 81
Notes: Poster, Oversize, Lithograph, Linen Backed
Artist: Anonymous
Information: For more details, please call 514 656 3301

About The Poster: It LOOKS like Chaplin (kind of) but not quite, right? So, as usual, I did my research and found out that Billy West was a kind of Chaplin impersonator. According to IMDB, Billy West was a silent film comedian, the best-known and most successful imitator of Charles Chaplin's 'Tramp' character, until West developed his own comedic persona.Oliver Hardy was West's foil in many of his silents.' Evidently born in Russia in the early 1890's, with the name Roy B. Weissburg, even after he gave up his Chaplin-esque character, he was incredibly prolific in the silent movie business (with literally hundred of movies in which he weither starred, produced or had some role in front of or behind the camera), but with the advent of sound, he seems to have lost his way... some put this change of luck downto his heavy Russian accent, others to his litigious nature, still others to serious financial problems which plagued him in later life (silentcomedymafia.com). This poster is from the 1916 movie called His Waiting Career, featuring Billy West and produced by the Unicorn Film Service. It is in immaculate condition.