The character of The Tramp, played by Charlie Chaplin, turned 100 today. He was born on February 7th, 1914 in the short film by Henry Lehrman called “Kids auto races at Venice, Cal.” In it Sir Charles Chaplin performs the character that would make him famous for the very first time. He is filmed as he wanders randomly in the middle of a car race and starts–as would be predicted–all kinds of shenanigans, provocatively walking in the middle of traffic. The character’s panoply is already all but complete: the bowler’s hat, the mustache, the funny walk and the idiosyncrasies: 6 minutes 18 seconds, and an epic swipe at immortality.

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