Answer:
According to Chaplin's autobiography his biggest influence was his mother when it came to the art of mime and imitations. She used to entertain young Charlie and his brother Syd by imitating the people that she saw on the street from their loft window. Charlie Chaplin credited his mother's influence as being highly formative in the way he expressed himself with movement and mime. Apparently she was quiet a genius herself in the art of mime and imitation.