He was always fond of people who were not carried away by his name. During my stay with him he had a young lady friend whom he called Hotsy Totsy. It was the only name I had ever heard him give her.
One night he called at her humble home to take her to dinner. As he rang the bell a voice came from upstairs.
"Let him in, Mother."
"Be down in a minute, Charlie," called the girl.
The mother returned to the kitchen, where Chaplin overheard her talking to a man. He remained alone in the "front parlor."
Presently Hotsy Totsy came downstairs.
"Well, I'm all ready for the eats, Kiddo," she said.
After riding for several blocks Chaplin asked, "Did your mother know who I was?"
"Sure, Kiddo," I told her your'd be calling and to let you in. She hardly ever comes in the front room--sits back there and talks to dad. They should worry a lot and build a house about who calls on me! I got 'em trained different."
Hotsy Totsy was long a favorite with the comedian.
— Jim Tully, "The Real Life-Story Of Charlie Chaplin, Part Four," Pictorial Review, April 1927
One night he called at her humble home to take her to dinner. As he rang the bell a voice came from upstairs.
"Let him in, Mother."
"Be down in a minute, Charlie," called the girl.
The mother returned to the kitchen, where Chaplin overheard her talking to a man. He remained alone in the "front parlor."
Presently Hotsy Totsy came downstairs.
"Well, I'm all ready for the eats, Kiddo," she said.
After riding for several blocks Chaplin asked, "Did your mother know who I was?"
"Sure, Kiddo," I told her your'd be calling and to let you in. She hardly ever comes in the front room--sits back there and talks to dad. They should worry a lot and build a house about who calls on me! I got 'em trained different."
Hotsy Totsy was long a favorite with the comedian.
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| Tully, right, worked for Chaplin as his publicist in the mid-1920s. |