Height:
5' 5" (1.65 m)
Biography
Charlie Chaplin, considered to be one of the most
pivotal stars of the early days of Hollywood, lived an interesting life
both in his films and behind the camera. He is most recognized as an
icon of the silent film era, often associated with his popular "Little
Tramp" character; the man with the toothbrush mustache, bowler hat,
bamboo cane, and a funny walk. Charles Spencer Chaplin was born in
Walworth, London, England on April 16th, 1889 to Charles and Hannah
(Hill) Chaplin, both music hall performers, who were married on June
22nd, 1885. After Charles Sr. separated from Hannah to perform in New
York City, Hannah then tried to resurrect her stage career.
Unfortunately, her singing voice had a tendency to break at unexpected
moments. When this happened, the stage manager spotted young Charlie
standing in the wings and led him on stage, where five-year-old Charlie
began to sing a popular tune. Charlie and his half-brother, Syd Chaplin
(born Sydney Hawkes), spent their lives in and out of charity homes and
workhouses between their mother's bouts of insanity. Hannah was
committed to Cane Hill Asylum in May of 1903 and lived there until 1921,
when Chaplin moved her to California. Chaplin began his official acting
career at the age of eight, touring with The Eight Lancashire Lads. At
18 he began touring with Fred Karno's vaudeville troupe, joining them on
the troupe's 1910 US tour. He traveled west to California in December
1913 and signed on with Keystone Studios' popular comedy director Mack
Sennett, who had seen Chaplin perform on stage in New York. Charlie soon
wrote his brother Syd, asking him to become his manager. While at
Keystone, Chaplin appeared in and directed 35 films, starring as the
Little Tramp in nearly all. In November 1914, he left Keystone and
signed on at Essanay, where he made 15 films. In 1916, he signed on at
Mutual and made 12 films. In June 1917, Chaplin signed up with First
National Studios, after which he built Chaplin Studios. In 1919, he and
Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and D.W. Griffith formed United Artists
(UA). Chaplin's life and career was full of scandal and controversy.
His first big scandal was during World War I, during which time his
loyalty to England, his home country, was questioned. He had never
applied for US citizenship, but claimed that he was a "paying visitor"
to the United States. Many British citizens called Chaplin a coward and a
slacker. This and his other career eccentricities sparked suspicion
with FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover and the House Un-American Activities
Council (HUAC), who believed that he was injecting Communist propaganda
into his films. Chaplin's later film The Great Dictator (1940), which
was his first "talkie", also created a stir. In the film, Chaplin plays a
humorous caricature of Adolf Hitler. Some thought the film was poorly
done and in bad taste. However, it grossed over $5 million and earned
five Academy Award Nominations. Another scandal occurred when Chaplin
briefly dated 22-year-old Joan Barry. However, Chaplin's relationship
with Barry came to an end in 1942, after a series of harassing actions
from her. In May of 1943 Barry returned to inform Chaplin that she was
pregnant, and filed a paternity suit, claiming that the unborn child was
his. During the 1944 trial, blood tests proved that Chaplin was not the
father, but at the time blood tests were inadmissible evidence and he
was ordered to pay $75 a week until the child turned 21. Chaplin was
also scrutinized for his support in aiding the Russian struggle against
the invading Nazis during World War II, and the U.S. government
questioned his moral and political views, suspecting him of having
Communist ties. For this reason HUAC subpoenaed him in 1947. However,
HUAC finally decided that it was no longer necessary for him to appear
for testimony. Conversely, when Chaplin and his family traveled to
London for the premier of Limelight (1952), he was denied re-entry to
the United States. In reality, the government had almost no evidence to
prove that he was a threat to national security. He and his wife
decided, instead, to settle in Switzerland. Chaplin was married four
times and had a total of 11 children. In 1918, he wed Mildred Harris,
they had a son together, Norman Spencer Chaplin, who only lived three
days. Chaplin and Mildred were divorced in 1920. He married Lita Grey in
1924, who had two sons, Charles Chaplin Jr. and Sydney Chaplin. They
were divorced in 1927. In 1936, Chaplin married Paulette Goddard and his
final marriage was to Oona O'Neill (Oona Chaplin), daughter of
playwright Eugene O'Neill in 1943. Oona gave birth to eight children:
Geraldine Chaplin, Michael Chaplin, Josephine Chaplin, Victoria Chaplin,
Eugene, Jane, Annette-Emilie and Christopher Chaplin. In contrast to
many of his boisterous characters, Chaplin was a quiet man who kept to
himself a lot. He also had an "un-millionaire" way of living. Even after
he had accumulated millions, he continued to live in shabby
accommodations. In 1921, Chaplin was decorated by the French government
for his outstanding work as a filmmaker, and was elevated to the rank of
Officer of the Legion of Honor in 1952. In 1972, he was honored with an
Academy Award for his "incalculable effect in making motion pictures
the art form of the century." He was awarded Knight Bachelor of the
Order of the British Empire in the 1975 Queen's Honours List for his
services to entertainment. Chaplin's other works included musical scores
he composed for many of his films. He also authored two
autobiographical books, "My Autobiography" in 1964 and its companion
volume, "My Life in Pictures" in 1974. Chaplin died of natural causes on
December 25, 1977 at his home in Switzerland. In 1978, Chaplin's corpse
was stolen from its grave and was not recovered for three months; he
was re-buried in a vault surrounded by cement. Charlie Chaplin was
considered one of the greatest filmmakers in the history of American
cinema, whose movies were and still are popular throughout the world,
and have even gained notoriety as time progresses. His films show,
through the Little Tramp's positive outlook on life in a world full of
chaos, that the human spirit has and always will remain the same
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