Charlie Chaplin is commonly believed to have finished third in a Chaplin look-alike contest, and the story isn't far from the truth. Chaplin, a British import, was a cultural icon in the 1910s, and contests for who could perform the best imitation of Chaplin's tramp character were popular across the country. The contest in question took place in San Francisco in 1915, and though it's not known exactly what place he finished, most biographers agree that he failed to make the competitions finals.
Despite his popularity in the early part of the century, Chaplin was exiled from America in 1952 due to McCarthyist paranoia of his involvement in communist activities. He was welcomed back to the States in 1972, however, and awarded an honorary Oscar.
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