Mack Swain
Mack Swain (born Moroni Swain, February 16, 1876 – August 25, 1935) was an early American film actor, who appeared in many of Mack Sennett's comedies at Keystone Studios, including the Keystone Cops series. He also appeared in major features by Charlie Chaplin.
In the early 1900s Swain had his own stock theater company, which performed in the western and midwestern United States.
Swain worked in vaudeville before starting in silent film at Keystone Studios under Mack Sennett. While with Keystone, he was teamed with Chester Conklin to make a series of comedy films. With Swain as "Ambrose" and Conklin as the grand mustachioed "Walrus", they performed these roles in several films including The Battle of Ambrose and Walrus and Love, Speed and Thrills, both made in 1915.
Besides these comedies, the two appeared together in a variety of other films, 26 all told, and they also appeared separately and/or together in films starring Mabel Normand, Charles Chaplin, Roscoe Arbuckle and most of the rest of the roster of Keystone players.
Swain later took his Ambrose character with him to the L-KO Kompany. Having already worked with Charles Chaplin at Keystone, Swain began working with him again at First National in 1921, appearing in The Idle Class, Pay Day, and The Pilgrim. He is also remembered for his large supporting role as Big Jim McKay in the 1925 film The Gold Rush, for United Artists, written by and starring Chaplin.
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Mack Swain received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 1500 Vine Street.
Filmography (110 Appearances)
Star Power: The Creation Of United Artists
The Chaplin Revue
Yesterday and Today
Happy Times and Jolly Moments
Bad Boy
Lighthouse Love
The Midnight Patrol
Stout Hearts and Willing Hands
Love, Be with Humanity: Part 2
Love, Be with Humanity: Part 1
Finn and Hattie
Soup to Nuts
Cleaning Up
The Sea Bat
Redemption
The Locked Door
The Cohens and Kellys in Atlantic City
The Last Warning
Caught in the Fog
The Girl from Nowhere
Tillie's Punctured Romance
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
The Girl from Everywhere
A Texas Steer
Becky
My Best Girl
Finnegan's Ball
Mockery
See You in Jail
The Shamrock and the Rose
The Beloved Rogue
Whispering Wires
Her Big Night
The Nervous Wreck
Footloose Widows
Kiki
Sea Horses
Torrent
The Devil's Circus
Hands Up!
The Eagle
The Gold Rush
Pitfalls of a Big City
This Way Out
The Pilgrim
Pay Day
The Idle Class
Full o' Spirits
Innocent Ambrose
Heroic Ambrose
Her First False Hare
Oh, What a Knight
Adventurous Ambrose
The Late Lamented
Lost: A Cook
Thirst
His Naughty Thought
The Pullman Bride
Madcap Ambrose
His Bitter Pill
A Movie Star
Saved by Wireless
When Ambrose Dared Walrus
Mabel Lost and Won
Ambrose's Nasty Temper
Ambrose's Lofty Perch
Ambrose's Fury
Ambrose's Little Hatchet
That Little Band Of Gold
Willful Ambrose
Ambrose's Sour Grapes
Ye Olden Grafter
Hogan's Romance Upset
Caught in a Park
Fatty's New Role
The Home Breakers
Love, Speed and Thrills
Gussle, the Golfer
Tillie's Punctured Romance
Ambrose's First Falsehood
Other People's Business
His Prehistoric Past
Getting Acquainted
Leading Lizzie Astray
The Sea Nymphs
Fatty's Wine Party
His Trysting Places
His Musical Career
Gentlemen of Nerve
Hello, Mabel
Laughing Gas
A Rowboat Romance
Mabel's Married Life
A Missing Bride
A Gambling Rube
The Knockout
The Fatal Mallet
Mabel’s Nerve
A Busy Day
Caught in the Rain
Caught in a Cabaret
Mabel at the Wheel
Love and Gasoline
A Thief Catcher
A Robust Romeo
Double Crossed
The Under-Sheriff
The Gusher
Fatty Joins the Force
A Muddy Romance