The first film star to receive a pie thrown in the face

Keystone Cops - I have heard the phrase all my life. The link goes to the origins of the phrase.

And here is the very first Keystone Cops short, The Bangville Police, filmed in 1913. Fascinating.


Double click to enlarge.

The female lead in the short is the actress Mabel Normand. The Wikipedia article is well worth a read for the story of a clearly successful but also chaotically troubled woman with great accomplishments in the opening days of the movie industry. Actress, writer, director, and producer, she was there at the launch of Charlie Chaplin's career.

Normand appeared with Charles Chaplin and Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle in many short films. She is credited as being the first film star to receive a pie thrown in the face.