Charlie Chaplin’s original costume was insured at Lloyd’s of London in the mid-1920.
By Paul Miller
The cutaway coat, baggy trousers, over-large boots, felt hat and cane were covered whilst being transported to an exhibition in New York. Whilst they were said to be “worth two shillings to an old-clothes dealer”, they were insured for £10,000. Under the terms of the policy, the clothes had to be guarded at all times and kept in a vault when not being worn.
Mr. Chaplin would have his feet massaged and cared for after each performance to keep them supple and in excellent condition so that he could pull off his tricks. So concerned was he that something may happen to them, he insured them at Lloyd’s for $150,000, or each foot separately for $50,000. That is, he would have been reimbursed for $50,000 for the loss of either foot or $150,000 if both feet were lost at once. Newspapers covered the story and wrote that the performer had “insured his funny walk at Lloyd’s”.
In 1928, a fire ravaged through the set of Chaplin’s film The Circus. Amongst other props to be destroyed was a pair of Chaplin’s trousers. This lead to a $22,000 insurance payment for the lost strides.
That film was hotly anticipated and many film theatres across the United Kingdom took out insurance at Lloyd’s to help raise publicity. One advertisement stated that: “Owing to numerous accidents and dislocations through laughter, caused through seeing Charlie Chaplin in The Circus we have arranged with the Prudential Assurance Company that should any deaths occur through laughter at the Hippodrome next week, their dependents will receive the sum of £50.”
Another policy was taken out at Lloyd’s when Chaplin appeared on the radio show Dodge Brother’s Hour; the first time that many would hear his voice. Used as a publicity stunt, the $10,000 policy covered him if he was unable to speak: “in the event of stage fright”.
