checkmate

Charlie Chaplin’s hat sells for $62,500

LOS ANGELES: Charlie Chaplin’s iconic bowler hat and cane were auctioned off for $62,500 this weekend, as part of an auction, which also includes a John Lennon nude drawing of himself and Yoko Ono.


The hat and cane, trademark of Chaplin’s Little Tramp character, were in “remarkable condition” and had been estimated to go for $40,000 and $60,000 at the sale by auction house Bonhams on Sunday. But when it went under the hammer, the sale price hit $62,500 the auctioneers said.

Legend has it that Chaplin came up with the tramp persona and wardrobe spontaneously one rainy afternoon in February 1914, seizing various wardrobe items in a communal male dressing room at a Hollywood studio.

These included baggy trousers from actor Fatty Arbuckle, size 14 shoes, which he had to wear on the wrong feet to keep them from falling off, the hat belonging to Arbuckle’s father-in-law, and a mustache intended for another actor.

The 32-inch (81-centimeter) bamboo cane is inscribed “CCLT 36” in black ink, a reference to the Little Tramp, Chaplin’s signature character.

World

Japan, Vietnam vow to cooperate on sea row

Published : Friday January 18, 2013   |  Category : World   |  Hits:148
By : AFP

HANOI: Vietnam and Japan must “play a more active role” in maintaining regional peace and security, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in the face of growing maritime tensions with China. Read more

Algeria troops surround Islamist hostage-takers

Published : Friday January 18, 2013   |  Category : World   |  Hits:85
By : AFP

ALGIERS: Algerian troops surrounded Islamists holding foreign hostages at a gas field on Thursday, a day after a deadly attack the gunmen said was in reprisal for Algeria’s cooperation in French operations in Mali. Read more

Floods bring Indonesia’s capital to near stand still

Published : Friday January 18, 2013   |  Category : World   |  Hits:83
By : AFP

JAKARTA: Waist-deep floods brought the Indonesian capital Jakarta to a standstill on Thursday, with roads impassable, thousands of homes under water and the president forced to roll up his trousers at the palace. Read more

Obama unveils sweeping gun control measures

Published : Friday January 18, 2013   |  Category : World   |  Hits:54
By : AFP

WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Barack Obama on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) demanded an assault weapons ban and universal background checks for gun buyers as part of sweeping gun control measures in response to the Newtown school massacre. Read more

WORLD IN BRIEF

Published : Friday January 18, 2013   |  Category : World   |  Hits:46
By : AFP

NO SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE TO ARREST PAKISTAN PMISLAMABAD: The head of Pakistan’s anti-corruption watchdog told the Supreme Court on Thursday he did not yet have enough evidence to move against Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf and 15 Read more

Hosting Powered and Design By: I-MAP WEBSOLUTIONS, INC