Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin

 

Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. KBE (16 April 1889 – 25 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered one of the most important figures in the history of the film industry. His career spanned more than 75 years, from childhood in the Victorian era until a year before his death in 1977, and encompassed both adulation and controversy.

Chaplin's childhood in London was one of poverty and hardship, as his father was absent and his mother struggled financially, and he was sent to a workhouse twice before the age of nine. When he was 14, his mother was committed to a mental asylum. Chaplin began performing at an early age, touring music halls and later working as a stage actor and comedian. At 19, he was signed to the prestigious Fred Karno company, which took him to America. He was scouted for the film industry and began appearing in 1914 for Keystone Studios. He soon developed the Tramp persona and formed a large fan base. He directed his own films and continued to hone his craft as he moved to the Essanay, Mutual, and First National corporations. By 1918, he was one of the best-known figures in the world.

In 1919, Chaplin co-founded the distribution company United Artists, which gave him complete control over his films. His first feature-length film was The Kid (1921), followed by A Woman of Paris (1923), The Gold Rush (1925), and The Circus (1928). He initially refused to move to sound films in the 1930s, instead producing City Lights (1931) and Modern Times (1936) without dialogue. He became increasingly political, and his first sound film was The Great Dictator (1940), which satirised Adolf Hitler. The 1940s were a decade marked with controversy for Chaplin, and his popularity declined rapidly. He was accused of communist sympathies, and some members of the press and public found his involvement in a paternity suit, and marriages to much younger women, scandalous. An FBI investigation was opened, and Chaplin was forced to leave the United States and settle in Switzerland. He abandoned the Tramp in his later films, which include Monsieur Verdoux (1947), Limelight (1952), A King in New York (1957), and A Countess from Hong Kong (1967).

Chaplin wrote, directed, produced, edited, starred in, and composed the music for most of his films. He was a perfectionist, and his financial independence enabled him to spend years on the development and production of a picture. His films are characterised by slapstick combined with pathos, typified in the Tramp's struggles against adversity. Many contain social and political themes, as well as autobiographical elements. 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 continues to be held in high regard, with The Gold Rush, City Lights, Modern Times, and The Great Dictator often ranked on lists of the greatest films of all time.

Born in London in 1889, Charlie Chaplin first visited the United States at the age of 21. It was here that he broke into the cinema industry thanks to his lively personality and endless talent.

With Chaplin’s much-beloved character ‘Little Tramp’, he is considered to have been one of the best actors and directors of the silent-film era. Behind the art, however, there are many curious things you didn’t know about Chaplin himself.

He started performing as a child

Both Chaplin’s parents were in the entertainment industry. It is reported that, at age five, Chaplin replaced his mother (who was suffering from laryngitis) at a music-hall show, singing his first song Jack Jones in front of a crowd of soldiers. At age 12, he appeared as ‘Billy the page boy’ in a rendition of Sherlock Holmes.

He didn’t win a Charlie Chaplin look-a-like contest

In 1915, Chaplin took part in the Charlie Chaplin look-a-like contest. Unbelievably, the judges and audience didn’t realise that he was the real one! It is reported that, instead of winning, he took home third place.

He was the first actor to appear in Time Magazine

Chaplin was the first actor ever to appear in Time Magazine in the 6th July 1925 issue. The magazine is famous for its influential and controversial covers and this was a big step for the actor.

He was a great musician and composer

Chaplin composed the music for many of his own movies, despite never having had proper music training. In 1972, Chaplin actually won an Oscar for the music in Limelight (1952), which he helped compose.

He became richer than the president of the United States

During this time, the president of the United States was paid $75,000 per year. In 1916, after Chaplin signed a contract with the Mutual Film Corporation of New York, his salary increased to $670,000.

He refused the Talkies

Becoming one of the most iconic representatives of silent cinema, Chaplin refused to adopt audio and dialogue for a long time, even though sound technology in the film industry was becoming increasingly popular. He continued with his own idea of cinema, convinced that sound would ruin the Little Tramp. However, he gradually introduced music and other sounds as a device in his later movies, including City Light (1931), Modern Times (1936) and The Great Dictator (1940).

He never became a citizen of the United States

Chaplin never became an American citizen, despite having lived in the United States for almost 40 years. After the movie Modern Times, he gained a reputation as a communist sympathiser. In 1952, the U.S. government revoked his permit, meaning Chaplin was not allowed to return to the United States after a holiday to England. As a result, Chaplin moved to Switzerland, where he spent the rest of his life. He only returned to the United States in 1972, to accept his honorary Oscar.

He had four younger wives and 11 children

Chaplin’s first marriage was with Mildred Harris in 1918. After their divorce, he married the actress Lita Grey in 1924. When the actor was 47, he married his third wife, Paulette Goddard. His fourth and final marriage was with Oona O’Neill in 1943, when Chaplin was 54. She gave birth to 8 of the 11 Chaplin children, and they lived together until Chaplin’s death.

He saved Disney

In 1937, Disney released Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, its first feature-length animated movie. Walt Disney was unsure about how well the movie would do, but Chaplin reportedly encouraged the filmmaker to complete and distribute Snow White. The two became business associates and Chaplin played an important role in the spread of Disney’s name.

He had blue eyes

The audience had always believed that Chaplin had brown eyes. This is due to the black and white cinema era; most people were not able to recognise that Chaplin had fabulous blue eyes!

He knew Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein was a guest of honor during the premiere of Chaplin’s movie City Lights in Los Angeles on the 2nd February 1931.

There is an asteroid called Charlie Chaplin

When Lyudmila Karachkina discovered a main-belt asteroid on the 4^th October 1981, four years after the death of the actor, she decided to call it 3623 Chaplin. Not many actors can say they have had the same honour!

His daughter interpreted his mother in his film biography

In 1992, Geraldine Chaplin portrayed the role of her grandmother Hannah Chaplin in the movie Chaplin, the adaption of the actor’s life.

He met Gandhi in London

On the 22nd September 1931, Chaplin met the pacifist leader in Canning Town, East End Dock — one of the poorest London boroughs — before Gandhi attended a conference.

He only received a star on the Walk Of Fame in 1972

The only time Chaplin returned to the United States after his exile was in 1972, when he finally received his first Oscar and a star on the Walk of Fame. The project to give him a star had begun 20 years prior to release, but was initially refused due to his political views.

Best known for his tragicomic character "The Little Tramp," Charlie Chaplin revolutionized cinema, both during the silent era and the talkies. Almost a century later, The Gold Rush, Modern Times, The Kid, and The Great Dictator are still considered essential cinematic works. His writing, producing, directing, acting, and scoring of his own films received just as much attention as his controversial personal life. The London-born Chaplin had a penchant for marrying teenage women, and ended up fathering 11 children. Though his outspoken political views would eventually force him out of America for good in 1952, Chaplin’s Hollywood legacy still burns brightly. Here are 10 facts about the legendary filmmaker, who was born on this day in 1889.

1. HE COLLABORATED WITH A FEMALE FILMMAKER (WHICH WAS A RARITY IN THOSE DAYS).

Mabel Normand was a silent film actress as well as a writer, producer, and director—which was unusual for the mid-1900s. She starred in 12 films with Charlie Chaplin, including 1914’s Mabel’s Strange Predicament, which marked the onscreen debut of Chaplin’s The Tramp character (though Mabel’s Strange Predicament was filmed first and technically was his first Tramp appearance, it was released two days after Kid Auto Races at Venice, the actual film debut of the character). She also directed Chaplin in 1914’s Caught in a Cabaret and the pair co-directed and starred in Her Friend the Bandit, which was released the same year.

2. HE CO-FOUNDED A BIG-TIME MOVIE STUDIO.

In 1919, Chaplin and fellow filmmakers Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, and D.W. Griffith formed United Artists as a means to finance their own movies so that they could retain creative control. The first film released under the new studio was 1919’s His Majesty, the American, starring Fairbanks. The studio took off and eventually branched out to build a chain of movie theaters. But in 1955, with movie attendance at a new low, Chaplin sold his shares. UA released the first James Bond movie in 1963. Today, MGM is UA’s parent company.

3. HE COMPOSED THE MUSIC FOR MANY OF HIS FILMS.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ps6ck1ejoAw

Beginning with 1931’s City Lights, Chaplin composed scores for his films’ soundtracks. His song “Smile,” used in Modern Times, became a classic. In 1954, Nat King Cole’s version—now with lyrics—peaked at number 10 on the Billboard charts. Michael Jackson also recorded a cover. Chaplin won his only competitive Oscar in 1973 for composing the theme to his 1952 film Limelight (the film wasn’t released in the U.S. until 1972).

4. HE WAS A PERFECTIONIST.

There was a reason Chaplin did everything himself: perfectionism. When he worked on his short film The Immigrant, Chaplin shot 40,000 feet of film, which was a lot for a 20-minute short. Chaplin cast actress Virginia Cherrill in City Lights to say just two words, “Flower, sir,” but he forced her to repeat them for 342 takes. “He knew exactly what he wanted and he would have preferred not to have any other actors in his films—he even tried making a film once where he was the only person in it,” Hooman Mehran, author of Chaplin's Limelight and the Music Hall Tradition, told CNN.

5. HE WAS EMBROILED IN A NASTY—AND GROUNDBREAKING—PATERNITY SUIT.

In the 1940s, actress Joan Berry was allegedly having an affair with Chaplin. At one point, he invited Berry to travel from L.A. to New York City. While in New York, she spent time with Chaplin and claimed that the director “made her available to other individuals for immoral purposes.” This violated the Mann Act, in which a person isn’t allowed to cross state lines for depraved behavior.

When, in 1943, Berry gave birth to a daughter, she stated that Chaplin was the father—a charge he adamantly denied. Though blood tests confirmed that Chaplin was not the father, because the tests weren’t admissible in California courts, he had to endure two separate trials. Despite the blood evidence saying otherwise, the jury concluded that Chaplin was the father. Not only was his reputation ruined, but he also had to pay child support. On the bright side, the ruling helped reform state paternity laws.

6. HE ACCEPTED HIS 1972 HONORARY OSCAR IN PERSON.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3Pl-qvA1X8

In 1952, because of his alleged Communist politics, the U.S. denied Chaplin re-entry to the United States after he traveled to London for the premiere of his film Limelight. Incensed, he moved his family to Switzerland and vowed he’d never return to Hollywood. But 20 years later, possibly to make up for his exile, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored the 82-year-old Chaplin with an honorary Oscar (his second of three). Chaplin attended the ceremony and received an enthusiastic standing ovation. When he finally spoke, he said, “Thank you for the honor of inviting me here. You’re all wonderful, sweet people.”

7. A RUSSIAN NAMED A MINOR PLANET AFTER HIM.

In 1981, Russian astronomer Lyudmila Georgievna Karachkina, who has discovered more than 100 minor planets, named one of them after the legendary director: 3623 Chaplin.

8. THERE’S AN ANNUAL CHARLIE CHAPLIN FILM FESTIVAL.

In the 1960s, Chaplin and his family enjoyed spending summers in the village of Waterville, located on the Ring of Kerry in Ireland. In 2011 the town founded the Charlie Chaplin Comedy Film Festival, which is held each August. (A bronze statue of him resides in town.) The festival features a short film competition with categories like Chaplins of the Future. Last year the fest tried to break the Guinness World Record of the largest gathering of people dressed as Chaplin.

9. HIS FORMER HOME IN SWITZERLAND WAS CONVERTED INTO A MUSEUM.

On April 16, 2016—what would’ve been his 127th birthday—Chaplin’s World, a museum dedicated to the filmmaker’s life and work, opened in his former home in Switzerland. The museum has welcomed around 300,000 visitors in its first year. Visitors can see his home, the Manoir de Ban, at Corsier-sur-Vevey, by Lake Geneva. The estate also houses a studio where his movies are screened, wax figures, recreations of some of his film set pieces, and a restaurant named The Tramp.

10. THIEVES GRAVE-ROBBED CHAPLIN’S BODY AND HELD IT FOR RANSOM.

Even in death, Chaplin created controversy. Chaplin died on Christmas Day 1977 and was interred near his home in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland. Almost three months after his death, on March 2, 1978, his widow, Oona Chaplin, received a call from the police saying, “somebody dug up the grave and he’s gone,” Eugene Chaplin told The Independent.

The thieves demanded $600,000 to return the body. Oona tapped the phone lines, which led authorities to the two men, Roman Wardas and Gantscho Ganev. They confessed to the crime and showed the police Chaplin’s body, which they buried in a cornfield near his original gravesite. The men went to jail, but not before writing “I’m sorry” letters to Oona, who forgave them.