Born Name:  Charles Joseph Parrott

Born Date:  October 20, 1893

Born Place:  Baltimore, Maryland

Died Date:  June 20, 1940

Died Place:  Hollywood, California

Occupations:  Comedian, vaudevillian, actor, screenwriter, director, songwriter

Brief Biography:  Charley Chase was a pioneering American actor, screenwriter, and director, best known as a key comedy creator for the Hal Roach Studios during the 1920s and 1930s. Born Charles Joseph Parrott in Baltimore, he specialized in light comedy, often portraying embarrassed or frantic characters in "ordinary" situations, and was a prominent figure in the development of short-subject comedies.

Early Career and Vaudeville:
Early Start: Began his career in vaudeville as a teenager before entering films in 1912.
Keystone Cops: Worked early on for Keystone Studios, acting in comedies and briefly directing before joining Hal Roach.

Hal Roach Studios and Stardom:
Director-Actor: Chase became a prolific director (often using the name Charles Parrott) for Roach, directing stars like Our Gang, before focusing on his own starring career.
Signature Style: He transitioned from "slapstick" to "situation comedy," focusing on a polished, panicked persona, often wearing a signature mustache.
Famous Shorts: Notable shorts included Mighty Like a Moose (1926) — selected for the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 2007 — and Limousine Love (1928).
Sound Transition: He successfully transitioned to sound, maintaining popularity with musical comedies and witty, dialogue-driven shorts.
Transition to Producing: In the late 1930s, he left Roach for Columbia Pictures to act, direct, and produce.