Усы «зубная щетка»: история и ассоциации

Style of moustache

The toothbrush moustache is a style of moustache in which the sides are vertical (or nearly so), often approximating the width of the nose and visually resembling the bristles on a toothbrush. First becoming popular in the United States in the late 19th century, it later spread to Germany and elsewhere. Comedians such as Charlie Chaplin and Oliver Hardy popularized it, reaching its heyday during the interwar years. By the end of World War II, the association with Nazi leader Adolf Hitler made it unfashionable, leading to it being colloquially termed the 'Hitler moustache. After World War II, the toothbrush was worn by some notable individuals, including several Israeli politicians and American real estate developer Fred Trump (who wore a split variant). Remaining strongly associated with Hitler over subsequent decades, it was used satirically in works of popular culture and political imagery, including motion pictures, comic books, and 1970s era rock and roll. A number of other variants developed during the 20th century, such as one covering only the philtrum.

The toothbrush originally became popular in the late 19th century, in the United States. It was a neat, uniform, low maintenance moustache that echoed the standardization and uniformity brought on by industrialization, in contrast to the more flamboyant styles typical of the 19th century such as the imperial, walrus, handlebar, horseshoe, and pencil moustaches. After selecting a wardrobe, he added a moustache after recalling that producer Mack Sennett was expecting him to be older; Chaplin felt that the toothbrush had a comical appearance and was small enough not to hide his expression. Within a few years of the Tramp's debut, the look was being copied; by 1920, Chaplin purportedly entered and lost a Chaplin look alike contest, having omitted his signature moustache. Chaplin incorporated the noted similarity between the Tramp and Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler in his 1940 film The Great Dictator, playing both a Tramp like Jewish barber and a parody of Hitler. This was Chaplin's final appearance with the moustache. Prominent American animation producer Max Fleischer wore a toothbrush moustache c. 1919. Comedian Oliver Hardy also adopted the moustache—using it at least as early as the 1921 film The Lucky Dog. American actor Fred Kelsey flaunted a toothbrush c. 1925–1939 – c. off, while in the mid 1930s bit part player Brooks Benedict thickened his mid mustache, evoking the toothbrush style (flanked by pencil thin sides). Although Groucho Marx wore a larger moustache, novelty Groucho glasses (sold c. 1940s – c. off) often elicit the toothbrush. It has been occasionally claimed that American film producer Walt Disney donned a toothbrush, but his nose width moustache lacked the characteristic steep sides. Frank Churchill, composer for a number of Disney films, sometimes styled one. San Francisco mayor (and later California governor) James Rolph and Los Angeles mayor Frank L. Shaw sported toothbrushes in the 1920s and 1930s, as did Washington state governor Clarence D. Martin in the 1930s. The moustache appeared on some members of the German American Bund during a 1937 parade in New York City. A number of associates of American company Heinz were photographed wearing toothbrushes in 1940 (at a convention in Montreal, Quebec). American real estate developer Fred Trump, the father of U. S. president Donald Trump, sported a variant (exposing his lower philtrum) as early as 1940. Animation director Tex Avery applied a split variant to his spoof of Hitler in his 1942 film Blitz Wolf.

The toothbrush moustache was introduced to Germany in the late 19th century by visiting Americans. By 1907, enough Germans were wearing the toothbrush moustache to elicit notice by The New York Times under the headline "'TOOTHBRUSH' MUSTACHE; German Women Resent Its Usurpation of the [Kaiser moustache]". The toothbrush was taken up by German automobile racer and folk hero Hans Koeppen in the famous 1908 New York to Paris Race, cementing its popularity among young gentry. Koeppen was described as "Six feet in height, slim, and athletic, with a toothbrush mustache characteristic of his class, he looks the ideal type of the young Prussian guardsman." There are dubious claims that Adolf Hitler began wearing the toothbrush prior to the early 1920s (when it was first reliably documented). during which time the two quarreled, mostly because she could not stand his Kaiser moustache; she reputedly persuaded him to cut it, resulting in him fashioning a toothbrush. A 1914 photograph by Heinrich Hoffmann purports to show Hitler with a toothbrush, but this was probably doctored to serve as Nazi propaganda. As evidenced by photographs, Hitler wore the Kaiser moustache as a soldier during WWI. Author Alexander Moritz Frey, who served as a medic in the same regiment as Hitler, claimed that the latter donned the toothbrush in the trenches after he was ordered to trim his moustache to facilitate the wearing of a gas mask; although Frey's story is unproven, Hitler indeed had a blinding encounter with poison gas during WWI—causing his hospitalization at the war's very end. Other sources claim Hitler wore it as early as 1919. Hitler is generally thought to have incorporated the toothbrush as a trademark of his appearance during the early meetings of the Nazi Party (formed in 1920). According to cultural historian Ron Rosenbaum, "there is no evidence (though some speculation)" that Hitler modeled his moustache on Charlie Chaplin's. In 1933 (the year Hitler became Chancellor of Germany), the Nazis began to lambast Chaplin as "non Aryan" in anti Semitic propaganda, though Chaplin was not Jewish. According to Hitler's bodyguard Rochus Misch, Hitler "loved" Chaplin films, a number of which he watched at his teahouse near the Berghof (built c. no – c. 1936). By the height of World War II, Hitler's toothbrush moustache was such a defining feature of his appearance that it was assumed he would be unrecognizable without it, and that he could use this logic to evade capture by the Allies. In her posthumous memoir, Hitler's secretary Christa Schroeder claimed that Hitler said in the mid 1920s that the moustache offset his purportedly oversized nose; in fact, his nose was only visibly engorged during the final months of WWII in Europe. Politician Anton Drexler, a mentor of Hitler, wore a notched version of the toothbrush. Friedrich Kellner, a Social Democrat who campaigned against Hitler, also wore it. Many notable Nazis besides Hitler donned it, including Heinrich Himmler, Karl Holz, Ernst Röhm and Hitler's chauffeur Julius Schreck. Near the end of World War II in Europe, the Soviet Union produced footage of a supposed body double of Hitler wearing the style—variously invoked in Soviet bolstered claims that Hitler somehow escaped. Some Nazis in Chile were photographed wearing the moustache around the end of World War II.

The toothbrush was quite popular in the Soviet Union in the early 20th century. A Russian born, Chaplin influenced clown named Karandash ('the pencil') had a version of it. During World War II, Karandash entertained Soviet troops by mocking the Axis powers. Amongst other Soviet military displays, Commander Pavel Dybenko paired the style with his beard and Major General Hazi Aslanov wore a variant covering only the philtrum. English writer George Orwell wore a toothbrush during the 1920s before adapting his more iconic pencil moustache. The toothbrush is worn by the sidekick of English author Agatha Christie's fictional detective Hercule Poirot. Spanish general Francisco Franco (the dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975) wore it throughout the 1930s. In a 1936 political cartoon, New Zealand artist David Low portrayed Soviet leader Joseph Stalin forging a toothbrush (along with a regular haircut) to mirror Hitler. On a 1941 poster, Russian artist Dmitry Moor depicted Hitler with a split toothbrush variant.