Charlie Chaplin impersonator to return to Napier’s Art Deco Festival

Max Patmoy will make a return to this year's Art Deco Festival in Napier as Charlie Chaplin, for the first time in years. Photo / Max Patmoy

An impersonator of silent film superstar Charlie Chaplin is returning to Napier’s streets and he has a request for a new generation - please don’t mistake him for Hitler.

Max Patmoy dressed up as Chaplin for the Art Deco Festival for more than a decade and was a regular fixture of the event, delighting visitors with his mischievous antics in the spirit of the famous English slapstick comic.

The last time Patmoy donned the costume and persona was for the 2016 Art Deco Festival, and he was fairly certain at the time he would not pick it up again.

“I actually threw all the costumes away, I had two complete sets and I thought ‘Oh well I am not going to be doing this again’,” Patmoy said.

It was international photographer Donald Dymer, who had previously photographed the Art Deco Festival, who convinced him to take up the character once again after a long absence.

“Being a photographer, he really wanted me to get back into character one more time,” Patmoy said.

He is slightly apprehensive about how Chaplin will be received after the break.

“It has been a few years since anyone has seen him. I don’t know what the reception will be like, hopefully it’ll be accepting,” he said.

He said there would almost certainly be antics playing into Chaplin’s onscreen persona as a “scoundrel” and “troublemaker” with visitors and locals alike, but he refused to give any more details than that to keep it a surprise.

The last time Max Patmoy donned the Chaplin costume and persona was for the 2016 Art Deco Festival, and he had been doing it for more than a decade. Photo / Max Patmoy

“My lips are sealed, unfortunately.”

In previous years Patmoy had found recognition of Charlie Chaplin had declined among the younger generations - his moustache has led to some people under 30 mistaking him for Adolf Hitler - so he wants to bring Chaplin back into the spotlight.

“I actually would like to do a stand-up show next year or the year after going over Charlie Chaplin’s life and having a few of the dancing girls there and showing some films so people know what Charlie Chaplin was all about once again because there are a lot of people who probably wouldn’t know him.”

James Pocock joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2021 and writes breaking news and features, with a focus on environment, local government and post-cyclone issues in the region. He has a keen interest in finding the bigger picture in research and making it more accessible to audiences. He lives in Napier. james.pocock@nzme.co.nz