Tickling funny bone: Chaplin expert brings show to New Castle

NEW CASTLE ― On Saturday, Dan Kamin is bringing his one-man show "Funny Bones" to The Historic Warner Cascade Theatre Museum.

The fundraiser features Kamin, who is the recognized expert on all things Charlie Chaplin. He will focus on "The Pawnshop," one of Chaplin's more popular movies mainly for the slapstick comedy he was famous for.

"The Pawnshop" features Chaplin as a comic whirlwind of activity who turns his dreary workplace into a mad fun house.

With the help of the audience, Kamin peels the film's layers to reveal its surprising depths and the comic secrets that have kept audiences laughing for over a century.

He said the audience will watch one of the best comedies and together they will discover the secrets that keep it fresh and funny.

"Charlie Chaplin changed the movie industry because his films were so funny and joyful that they helped to turn a novelty attraction into the most popular art form the world has ever seen," Kamin said.

Kamin, the author of three books on Chaplin, performs worldwide for theaters, colleges and symphony orchestras. His unique program "Comedy Concertos" blending comedy with classical music is popular with symphonies worldwide.

On film, Kamin created the physical comedy sequences for "Chaplin" and "Benny and Joon," and trained Robert Downey, Jr. and Johnny Depp for their acclaimed starring performances.

His stage and screen credits include playing the vengeful wooden Indian that came to life in the cult classic "Creepshow 2," and he created the Martian girl's weird movement for Tim Burton's alien invasion spoof.

Kamin attended Carnegie Mellon University to study industrial design, but when he saw the eye-popping movement illusions practiced by master mime Jewel Walker, then teaching in the school's famous drama department, Kamin's hopes for living a normal life evaporated. He was hooked on performing.

The great silent comedy films of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin added more fuel to his fire and soon Kamin was touring the country with his own comedic creations.

Kamin, a family friend of Tom and Sylvia Ewen, was going to do the show as a birthday gift for Sylvia but she turned it into a fundraiser for the Warner Museum.

"I love that we’re doing this as a benefit for the Historic Warner-Cascade Museum, which does such a great job of commemorating the Brothers Warner, movie pioneers who secured New Castle’s place in movie history," Kamin said.

What: "Funny Bones"

Where: The Historic Warner Cascade Theatre Museum, 11 S. Mill St., New Castle

When: 2 p.m. Oct. 21

Admission: $10 Adults, $5 Children under 12

Information: 724-614-6541, myshoeroom@yahoo.com and Facebook

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Chaplin expert performing at New Castle's Warner Cascade Theatre Museum