Eric Campbell on AllMovie

Gentle giant Eric Campbell is best known for playing fearsome villains and thugs in Chaplin's films at Mutual from 1916-17. Born in Scotland, Campbell got his start in England's Fred Karno troupe -- the same place where Chaplin and Stan Laurel got their starts. It was Chaplin who involved Campbell in films in 1916. His best remembered scene comes from the film Easy Street where Chaplin beans him with a lamppost. When not playing thugs, he often played wealthy tyrants. In 1917, Campbell was killed in a car accident.