IT IS an unusual photo of one of Hollywood’s greatest stars.

Here, Charlie Chaplin is captured relaxed and smiling – and minus his trademark hat, moustache and cane.

Chaplin was one of many silver screen legends who understood the value of promotional tours around the towns and cities of the UK.

He came to Glasgow in the early days to perform in the city’s pubs and music halls, and back then, he always had several dogs in tow.

On his travels with the comedy troupe, The Eight Lancashire Lads, the screen star had acquired a mother and her five pups, and they came with him everywhere.

Glasgow Times:

In 1909, Charlie was in Scotland with Fred Karno's comedy sketch show, starring in a skit called The Football Match. Wherever it played, famous ex-footballers from the locality were roped in as extras – wonder who he rounded up in Glasgow?

READ MORE: Remembering Super Coop Davie Cooper's famous goal

This was long before Chaplin became a silent movie star, of course.

Charles Spencer Chaplin was born in London on April 16, 1889. According to his official website: “His father was a versatile vocalist and actor; and his mother, known under the stage name of Lily Harley, was an attractive actress and singer, who gained a reputation for her work in the light opera field.

“Charlie was thrown on his own resources before he reached the age of ten as the early death of his father and the subsequent illness of his mother made it necessary for Charlie and his brother, Sydney, to fend for themselves.”

It explains: “Having inherited natural talents from their parents, the youngsters took to the stage as the best opportunity for a career. Charlie made his professional debut as a member of a juvenile group called “The Eight Lancashire Lads” and rapidly won popular favour as an outstanding tap dancer.”

READ MORE: Money, men and Mary Marquis - back when Glasgow had its own stock exchange

Chaplin went on to great success – he wrote, directed, produced, edited, starred in, and composed the music for most of his films. Some of the most famous of his movies, including The Gold Rush, City Lights, Modern Times and The Great Dictator, are considered some of the greatest movies ever made. He received an Honorary Academy Award for "the incalculable effect he has had in making motion pictures the art form of this century" in 1972, as part of a renewed appreciation for his work. He died in 1977.

Glasgow music hall star Sir Harry Lauder, a major international name by 1905, was a fan of Chaplin’s.

In his autobiography Roamin' in the Gloamin' he wrote: “My greatest friend in Hollywood is Charlie Chaplin. Every time I go there, he and I foregather, and many a crack and palaver we have about the old days when he was a comedian, like myself, on the British stage.”

Glasgow Times:

Back in 1931, the Coliseum Cinema in Laurieston was the place to be for Chaplin fans keen to catch his latest film, City Lights.

Devoted followers of the star queued down Eglinton Street and around the block as the picture house showed back to back screenings of the movie.