Eric Campbell Killed in Accident -- December 20, 2017

Moving Picture World, 05-January-1918

100 years ago today, on 20-December-1917, Charlie Chaplin's favorite heavy, Eric Campbell, died in a drunk driving accident.  Campbell had lived through a hellish year where his wife died suddenly of a heart attack, his daughter suffered major injuries when she was hit by an auto, and Campbell married a much younger woman after knowing her for five days, and she filed for divorce within two months.

Campbell had appeared in most of Chaplin's Mutual comedies, some of the best two-reelers ever made, and, had he lived, would have moved to First National with Chaplin.

Moving Picture World, 12-January-1918