[tomcam]

Even more interesting is the fact that he and Harry Houdini were friends, but they were split over the life after death question. Houdini was sick of all the charlatans, and made the focus of his life’s work in his final years to prove them wrong. It obviously created a wedge between them.

Houdini by that time was a megastar. He was easily the most famous person in the western world for about a generation. His fame dwarfed that of people like Doyle, Agatha Christie, or Oscar Wilde.

[mongol]

Was he more famous than Chaplin?

[TylerE]

Their careers mostly didn’t overlap. There were a few years, but Houdini was earlier.

Even given that, I’d say yes.

The thing about Houdini was not just that he was famous M, but he really didn’t have any competition.

Chaplin, even at the height of his fame, there were others that weren’t far behind (Buster Keaton, say)

[mongol]

That argument seems to depend on how famous he was relative other celebrities. But in absolute numbers, how many people knew about them, I think should count higher.

[TylerE]

There is no objective, absolute measure of fame.