6. Charlie Chaplin

Before breaking into silent films, Charlie Chaplin toured with Fred Karno’s in 1910 until he signed a contract with a Keystone Studios following a tour stop in southern California in 1913. The rest is history.

5. Mae West

Sultry and sassy Mae West learned to dance on Vaudeville stages by age 5. At 14, she was known as “The Baby Vamp” due, in part, to her risque routines.

4. Sammy Davis Jr.

Sammy Davis Jr. learned to sing, dance and perform a comedy routine thanks to following in his father’s footsteps as a Vaudeville performer. Davis began his career as Silent Sammy, the Dancing Midget, to get around performing in cities with strict child labor laws. He would have a rubber cigar in his mouth and a woman on each arm to maintain the illusion.

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