Toothbrush 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, toothbrush variants were worn by a small number of notable individuals, e.g. American real-estate developer Fred Trump (who wore a split variant), and former president of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe (covering only the philtrum). 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.
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.
English comic actor Charlie Chaplin was one of the most famous wearers of the toothbrush style. Shortly after wearing a full moustache for his 1914 film debut (Making a Living for Southern California's Keystone Studios), he sported a prop toothbrush moustache for his first film as the Tramp, Mabel's Strange Predicament (though Kid Auto Races at Venice was the first released). 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 allegedly 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, 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) 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. A split variant also appears on a spoof of Hitler in Tex Avery's 1942 cartoon Blitz Wolf.
The toothbrush moustache was introduced to Germany in the late 19th century by visiting Americans. Previously, the most popular style was the imperial moustache, also known as the "Kaiser moustache", which was perfumed and turned up at the ends, as worn by German emperor Wilhelm II. 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." By the end of World War I, even some of the German royals were sporting the toothbrush; Crown Prince Wilhelm can be seen with a toothbrush moustache in a 1918 photograph that shows him about to be sent into exile. German serial killer Peter Kürten (1883–1931) eventually reduced it to only the philtrum.
There are dubious claims that Adolf Hitler began wearing the toothbrush prior to the early 1920s (when it was first reliably documented). His sister-in-law, Bridget Hitler, tenuously claimed that he spent the winter of 1912–13 at her home in Liverpool, England, 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 1923, Hitler's future publicist Ernst Hanfstaengl advised Hitler to lose the toothbrush, to which he replied, "If it is not the fashion now, it will be later because I wear it." Hanfstaengl subsequently adopted the style. In 1932, Hitler wore the toothbrush narrower on bottom. 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. 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 (d. 1984) 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. Various notable Nazis sported versions, including Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, politician Karl Holz, military officer 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. Additionally, a number of Nazis in Chile wore the moustache c. 1945, e.g. at a private meeting and a large rally.
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.
By the end of World War II, the toothbrush moustache had fallen out of fashion due to its strong association with Hitler, but some notable people still wore it, including Oliver Hardy. American real-estate developer Fred Trump upkept a split variant until c. 1950. Several politicians of Israel (formed as a state in 1948) wore it, some for much of their careers. Austrian chancellor Julius Raab exhibited it in 1955 while negotiating for restored independence. Hitler's dentist, Hugo Blaschke (d. 1959), wore a similar style—displaying an explicit toothbrush later in life. Armenian Communist activist Anastas Mikoyan upkept one as late as 1962. French railway worker Jean-Marie Loret (b. 1918) donned a toothbrush to publicize his claim (c. 1980) of being Hitler's son.
After the war, German artist Otto Dix finished his 1933 painting of the seven deadly sins by adding a split toothbrush to a mask worn by Envy. The moustache was utilized in popular cartoons, e.g. Harry Hanan's pantomime comic Louie (1947), which focuses on the everyday trials of a domestic loser. It is worn by the father of the titular character of the British comic Dennis the Menace (1951). The moustache also appears in the Warner Bros. cartoons Symphony in Slang (1951; dir. Tex Avery) and The Hole Idea (1955). It appears on a puppet in the 1958 Japanese animated film The White Snake Enchantress (which also features the toothbrush area–omitting Fu Manchu). Caricatures resembling outgrown nasal hair appear in Rocky and Bullwinkle (1959–1964), Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy (c. 1960s), and The Pink Panther (1964–1980). The early 1960s American animated sitcom The Jetsons features a character with the moustache—George Jetson's boss, Cosmo Spacely. It was worn by Spider-Man character J. Jonah Jameson, created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko. An antagonist wears a toothbrush in the 1977 Disney animated film The Rescuers.
In musical photography, the toothbrush appears (outside of France) on the cover of French composer Michel Legrand's debut album, I Love Paris (1954). American comedian Ray Goulding is caricatured with one on the cover of Bob and Ray's 1958 album, A Stereo Spectacular. In 1967, after omitting Hitler from the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the Beatles caricatured the style in the Magical Mystery Tour sleeve. John Entwistle, bassist for English band the Who, wore a split moustache omitting the toothbrush area c. 1969. In 1970, Keith Moon, drummer for the Who, donned the toothbrush for a sardonic photo shoot as a Nazi officer (with musician Vivian Stanshall). Around this time, violinist Papa John Creach wore a similar—but less steep—moustache. Roy Loney, co-founder of American rock band Flamin' Groovies, flaunted a toothbrush on the cover of a 1971 live album. Inspired by Chaplin, keyboardist Ron Mael of American band Sparks wore a toothbrush; the band gained attention in 1974 with "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us", featured on British music television series Top of the Pops. While watching this, John Lennon reputedly phoned his former Beatles bandmate Ringo Starr and said he was watching Hitler perform (with the lead singer of T. Rex, to boot). The cover of the 1974 debut album by American art-rock band the Residents features a graffitied version of Meet the Beatles! with a toothbrush-moustachioed Lennon. The inner artwork for Billy Joel's Songs in the Attic (1981) also spoofs the style.
In live-action motion pictures, Soviet actor Yevgeny Morgunov wore a toothbrush in the 1967 comedy film Kidnapping, Caucasian Style. The live-action British sitcom On the Buses (1969–1973) features a comedic villain with it, while the British sketch comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969–1974) invoked it on occasion, most notably on a lunatic class of characters known as Gumbys, who shout stupid phrases and commonly clap bricks; a version appears in 2014's Monty Python Live (Mostly), and in October 2019 (Python's 50th anniversary), a world record was attempted in London for the most people dressed as Gumbys. Amongst other spoofs of Hitler in his work, American Jewish comedian Mel Brooks donned the moustache (as Hitler) in the 1983 music video for "The Hitler Rap". Michael McKean's character briefly wears it in the American mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap (1984). Between 1985 and 1989, the British children's television drama series Grange Hill featured an authoritarian teacher played by Michael Sheard (who also portrayed Hitler in several productions) with a toothbrush.
Former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe wore a philtrum-only version from as early as 1976 to as late as 2016.
In a 1992 home movie, Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain invoked a Hitler moustache (via fake eyelashes) while wearing a dress to mock a pejorative letter to the editor about his wife, Courtney Love. This was featured in the 2015 documentary Cobain: Montage of Heck and shared online to promote the film.
A villainous character in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000) and its film adaptation wears the moustache. It appears on a mad school principal in the animated series Whatever Happened to... Robot Jones?. In Mike Judge's 2006 comedy film Idiocracy, the society of a greatly dumbed-down future believes that Charlie Chaplin, not Hitler, led the Nazis. In 2009, English comedian Richard Herring wore the toothbrush for a weeklong stand-up show in a feeble attempt to "reclaim the toothbrush moustache for comedy [because] it was Chaplin's first, then Hitler ruined it."
In May 2010, American basketball star Michael Jordan appeared in a Hanes commercial sporting a hybrid of the toothbrush and pencil moustache, along with a soul patch. This prompted Jordan's friend Charles Barkley to say, "I don't know what the hell he was thinking and I don't know what Hanes was thinking. I mean it is just stupid. It is just bad, plain and simple." The moustache and Jordan's use of it are referenced in a 2015 Key & Peele sketch.
In 2014, a photograph of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and German Chancellor Angela Merkel provoked online amusement due to the former's pointing finger casting a Hitleresque shadow onto the latter's face. Late that same year, Southern All Stars frontman Keisuke Kuwata briefly donned a toothbrush moustache during a televised performance, prompting online speculation as to the reason.
Into the 21st century, the moustache remained a poignant symbol of satire and protest, maligning people in power perceived to be acting like Hitler. Some facial-hair-themed websites attempted to reclaim it as acceptable to wear again—especially variations diverging from the strictly rectangular version made famous by Hitler—emphasizing that some notable individuals have worn it. Nevertheless, the toothbrush continued to be widely derided as eliciting the association with Hitler.
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