biography charlie chaplin

Charlie Chaplin

(1889-1977)

Who Was Charlie Chaplin?

Charlie Chaplin worked with a children's dance troupe before making his mark on the big screen. His character "The Tramp" relied on pantomime and quirky movements to become an iconic figure of the silent-film era. Chaplin went on to become a director, making films such as City Lights and Modern Times , and co-founded the United Artists Corporation.

Famous for his character "The Tramp," the sweet little man with a bowler hat, mustache and cane, Charlie Chaplin was an iconic figure of the silent-film era and was one of film's first superstars, elevating the industry in a way few could have ever imagined.

Born Charles Spencer Chaplin in London, England, on April 16, 1889, Chaplin's rise to fame is a true rags-to-riches story. His father, a notorious drinker, abandoned Chaplin, his mother and his older half-brother, Sydney, not long after Chaplin's birth. That left Chaplin and his brother in the hands of their mother, a vaudevillian and music hall singer who went by the stage name Lily Harley.

Chaplin's mother, who would later suffer severe mental issues and have to be committed to an asylum, was able to support her family for a few years. But in a performance that would introduce her youngest boy to the spotlight, Hannah inexplicably lost her voice in the middle of a show, prompting the production manager to push the five-year-old Chaplin, whom he'd heard sing, onto the stage to replace her.

Chaplin lit up the audience, wowing them with his natural presence and comedic angle (at one point he imitated his mother's cracking voice). But the episode meant the end for Hannah. Her singing voice never returned, and she eventually ran out of money. For a time, Chaplin and Sydney had to make a new, temporary home for themselves in London's tough workhouses.

Early Career

Armed with his mother's love of the stage, Chaplin was determined to make it in show business himself, and in 1897, using his mother's contacts, he landed with a clog-dancing troupe named the Eight Lancashire Lads. It was a short stint, and not a terribly profitable one, forcing the go-getter Chaplin to make ends meet any way he could.

"I (was) newsvendor, printer, toymaker, doctor's boy, etc., but during these occupational digressions, I never lost sight of my ultimate aim to become an actor," Chaplin later recounted. "So, between jobs I would polish my shoes, brush my clothes, put on a clean collar and make periodic calls at a theatrical agency."

Eventually, other stage work did come his way. Chaplin made his acting debut as a pageboy in a production of Sherlock Holmes . From there, he toured with a vaudeville outfit named Casey's Court Circus and in 1908 teamed up with the Fred Karno pantomime troupe, where Chaplin became one of its stars as the Drunk in the comedic sketch A Night in an English Music Hall .

With the Karno troupe, Chaplin got his first taste of the United States, where he caught the eye of film producer Mack Sennett, who signed Chaplin to a contract for a $150 a week.

Film Career

In 1914, Chaplin made his film debut in a somewhat forgettable one-reeler called Make a Living . To differentiate himself from the clad of other actors in Sennett films, Chaplin decided to play a single identifiable character, and "The Little Tramp" was born, with audiences getting their first taste of him in Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914).

Over the next year, Chaplin appeared in 35 movies, a lineup that included Tillie's Punctured Romance , film's first full-length comedy. In 1915, Chaplin left Sennett to join the Essanay Company, which agreed to pay him $1,250 a week. It is with Essanay that Chaplin, who by this time had hired his brother Sydney to be his business manager, rose to stardom.

During his first year with the company, Chaplin made 14 films, including The Tramp (1915). Generally regarded as the actor's first classic, the story establishes Chaplin's character as the unexpected hero when he saves the farmer's daughter from a gang of robbers.

By the age of 26, Chaplin, just three years removed from his vaudeville days, was a superstar. He'd moved over to the Mutual Company, which paid him a whopping $670,000 a year. The money made Chaplin a wealthy man, but it didn't seem to derail his artistic drive. With Mutual, he made some of his best work, including One A.M. (1916), The Rink (1916), The Vagabond (1916) and Easy Street (1917).

Through his work, Chaplin came to be known as a grueling perfectionist. His love for experimentation often meant countless takes, and it was not uncommon for him to order the rebuilding of an entire set. Nor was it uncommon for him to begin filming with one leading actor, realize he'd made a mistake in his casting and start again with someone new.

But the results were hard to refute. During the 1920s Chaplin's career blossomed even more. During the decade he made some landmark films, including The Kid (1921), The Pilgrim (1923), A Woman in Paris (1923), The Gold Rush (1925), a movie Chaplin would later say he wanted to be remembered by, and The Circus (1928). The latter three were released by United Artists, a company Chaplin co-founded in 1919 with Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, and D.W. Griffith.

Later Films

Chaplin kept creating interesting and engaging films in the 1930s. In 1931, he released City Lights , a critical and commercial success that incorporated music Chaplin scored himself.

More acclaim came with Modern Times (1936), a biting commentary about the state of the world's economic and political infrastructures. The film, which did incorporate sound, was, in part, the result of an 18-month world tour Chaplin had taken between 1931 and 1932, a trip during which he'd witnessed severe economic angst and a sharp rise in nationalism in Europe and elsewhere.

Chaplin spoke even louder in The Great Dictator (1940), which pointedly ridiculed the governments of Hitler and Mussolini . "I want to see the return of decency and kindness," Chaplin said around the time of the film's release. "I'm just a human being who wants to see this country a real democracy . . ."

But Chaplin was not universally embraced. His romantic liaisons led to his rebuke by some women's groups, which in turn led to him being barred from entering some U.S. states. As the Cold War age settled into existence, Chaplin didn't withhold his fire from injustices he saw taking place in the name of fighting Communism in his adopted country of the United States.

Chaplin soon became a target of the right-wing conservatives. Representative John E. Rankin of Mississippi pushed for his deportation. In 1952, the Attorney General of the United States obliged when he announced that Chaplin, who was sailing to Britain on vacation, would not permit him to return to the United States unless he could prove "moral worth." The incensed Chaplin said good-bye to the United States and took up residence on a small farm in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland.

Final Years and Death

Nearing the end of his life, Chaplin did make one last visit to the United States in 1972, when he was given an honorary Academy Award. The trip came just five years after Chaplin's final film, A Countess from Hong Kong (1967), the filmmaker's first and only color movie. Despite a cast that included Sophia Loren and Marlon Brando , the film did poorly at the box office. In 1975, Chaplin received further recognition when he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II .

In the early morning hours of December 25, 1977, Chaplin died at his home in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. His wife, Oona, and seven of his children were at his bedside at the time of his passing. In a twist that might very well have come out of one of his films, Chaplin's body was stolen not long after he was buried from his grave near Lake Geneva in Switzerland by two men who demanded $400,000 for its return. The men were arrested and Chaplin's body was recovered 11 weeks later.

Wives and Children

Chaplin became equally famous for his life off-screen. His affairs with actresses who had roles in his movies were numerous. Some, however, ended better than others.

In 1918, he quickly married 16-year-old Mildred Harris. The marriage lasted just two years, and in 1924 he wed again, to another 16-year-old, actress Lita Grey, whom he'd cast in The Gold Rush . The marriage had been brought on by an unplanned pregnancy, and the resulting union, which produced two sons for Chaplin (Charles Jr. and Sydney) was an unhappy one for both partners. They divorced in 1927.

In 1936, Chaplin married again, this time to a chorus girl who went by the film name of Paulette Goddard. They lasted until 1942. That was followed by a nasty paternity suit with another actress, Joan Barry, in which tests proved Chaplin was not the father of her daughter, but a jury still ordered him to pay child support.

In 1943, Chaplin married 18-year-old Oona O'Neill, the daughter of playwright Eugene O'Neill. Unexpectedly the two would go on to have a happy marriage, one that would result in eight children.

QUICK FACTS

• Name: Charlie Chaplin
• Birth Year: 1889
• Birth date: April 16, 1889
• Birth City: London, England
• Birth Country: United Kingdom
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Charlie Chaplin was a comedic British actor who became one of the biggest stars of the 20th century's silent-film era.
• Astrological Sign: Aries
• Death Year: 1977
• Death date: December 25, 1977
• Death City: Corsier-sur-Vevey, Vaud
• Death Country: Switzerland

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CITATION INFORMATION

• Article Title: Charlie Chaplin Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/actors/charlie-chaplin
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: May 5, 2021
• Original Published Date: April 3, 2014
• I want to see the return of decency and kindness. I'm just a human being who wants to see this country a real democracy.
• I am for people. I can't help it.
• The Zulus know Chaplin better than Arkansas knows Garbo.
• The saddest thing I can imagine is to get used to luxury.
• All I need to make a comedy is a park, a policeman and a pretty girl.
• I remain just one thing, and one thing only—and that is a clown. It places me on a far higher plane than any politician.
• I am known in parts of the world by people who have never heard of Jesus Christ.
• I went into the business for the money, and the art grew out of it.
• The summation of my character is that I care about my work. I care about everything I do. If I could do something else better, I would do it, but I can't.
• I've always related to a sort of a comic spirit, something within me, that said, I must express this. This is funny.
• Cruelty is a basic element in comedy. What appears to be sane is really insane, and if you can make that poignant enough they love it.
• I don't think one can do humor without having great pity and a sense of sympathy for one's fellow man.
• I think life is a very wonderful thing, and must be lived under all circumstances, even in misery.
• All my pictures are built around the idea of getting in trouble and so giving me the chance to be desperately serious in my attempt to appear as a normal little gentleman.
• Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself.
• Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot.
• A day without laughter is a wasted day.

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Early life and career

• The sound era: City Lights to Limelight
• Final works: A King in New York and A Countess from Hong Kong

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Charlie Chaplin

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Comedian, actor, producer, writer, and director Charlie Chaplin is widely regarded as the greatest comic artist of the screen and one of the most important figures in motion-picture history . In 1972 he received a special Academy Award for “the incalculable effect he has had on making motion pictures the art form of this century.”

Charlie Chaplin is best remembered for his recurring silent film character “the Little Tramp.” Outfitted in a too-small coat, too-large pants, floppy shoes, and a battered derby, Tramp was shunned by polite society and unlucky in love but ever a survivor. Audiences loved his cheekiness, his deflation of pomposity, his unexpected gallantry, and his resilience.

Charlie Chaplin starred in, wrote, and directed some of most memorable films in motion-picture history, including The Kid (1921), The Gold Rush (1925), City Lights (1931), Modern Times (1936), The Great Dictator (1940), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award as best actor, Monsieur Verdoux (1947), and Limelight (1952).

Charlie Chaplin’s father, a British music hall entertainer, and mother, singer Hannah Hall, separated, and Chaplin spent his early childhood with his mother. When the mentally unstable Hall was later confined to an asylum, Chaplin and his half brother, Sydney, were sent to a series of workhouses and residential schools.

Charlie Chaplin learned to perform onstage, debuting at age five (filling in for his mother) and becoming a professional entertainer at age eight as a clog dancer. He also had a stint with the vaudeville act Casey’s Court Circus. In 1908 he joined the Fred Karno pantomime troupe and quickly rose to star status.

Charlie Chaplin (born April 16, 1889, London , England—died December 25, 1977, Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland) was a British comedian , producer, writer, director , and composer who is widely regarded as the greatest comic artist of the screen and one of the most important figures in motion-picture history .

(Read Lillian Gish’s 1929 Britannica essay on silent film.)

Chaplin was named after his father, a British music-hall entertainer. He spent his early childhood with his mother, the singer Hannah Hall, after she and his father separated, and he made his own stage debut at age five, filling in for his mother. The mentally unstable Hall was later confined to an asylum. Charlie and his half brother Sydney were sent to a series of bleak workhouses and residential schools.

Using his mother’s show-business contacts, Charlie became a professional entertainer in 1897 when he joined the Eight Lancashire Lads, a clog-dancing act. His subsequent stage credits include a small role in William Gillette ’s Sherlock Holmes (1899) and a stint with the vaudeville act Casey’s Court Circus. In 1908 he joined the Fred Karno pantomime troupe, quickly rising to star status as The Drunk in the ensemble sketch A Night in an English Music Hall .

While touring America with the Karno company in 1913, Chaplin was signed to appear in Mack Sennett ’s Keystone comedy films. Though his first Keystone one-reeler, Making a Living (1914), was not the failure that historians have claimed, Chaplin’s initial screen character, a mercenary dandy, did not show him to best advantage. Ordered by Sennett to come up with a more-workable screen image, Chaplin improvised an outfit consisting of a too-small coat, too-large pants, floppy shoes, and a battered derby. As a finishing touch, he pasted on a postage-stamp mustache and adopted a cane as an all-purpose prop. It was in his second Keystone film , Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914), that Chaplin’s immortal screen alter ego, “the Little Tramp ,” was born.

In truth, Chaplin did not always portray a tramp; in many of his films his character was employed as a waiter, store clerk, stagehand, fireman, and the like. His character might be better described as the quintessential misfit—shunned by polite society, unlucky in love, jack-of-all-trades but master of none. He was also a survivor, forever leaving past sorrows behind, jauntily shuffling off to new adventures. The Tramp’s appeal was universal: audiences loved his cheekiness, his deflation of pomposity, his casual savagery, his unexpected gallantry, and his resilience in the face of adversity. Some historians have traced the Tramp’s origins to Chaplin’s Dickensian childhood, while others have suggested that the character had its roots in the motto of Chaplin’s mentor, Fred Karno: “Keep it wistful , gentlemen, keep it wistful.” Whatever the case, within months after his movie debut, Chaplin was the screen’s biggest star.

His 35 Keystone comedies can be regarded as the Tramp’s gestation period, during which a caricature became a character. The films improved steadily once Chaplin became his own director. In 1915 he left Sennett to accept a $1,250-weekly contract at Essanay Studios. It was there that he began to inject elements of pathos into his comedy, notably in such shorts as The Tramp (1915) and Burlesque on Carmen (1915). He moved on to an even more lucrative job ($670,000 per year) at the Mutual Company Film Corporation. There, during an 18-month period, he made the 12 two-reelers that many regard as his finest films, among them such gems as One A.M. (1916), The Rink (1916), The Vagabond (1916), and Easy Street (1917). It was then, in 1917, that Chaplin found himself attacked for the first (though hardly the last) time by the press. He was criticized for not enlisting to fight in World War I . To aid the war effort, Chaplin raised funds for the troops via bond drives.

In 1918 Chaplin jumped studios again, accepting a $1 million offer from the First National Film Corporation for eight shorts. That same year he married 16-year-old film extra Mildred Harris—the first in a procession of child brides. For his new studio he made shorts such as Shoulder Arms (1918) and The Pilgrim (1923) and his first starring feature, The Kid (1921), which starred the irresistible Jackie Coogan as the kid befriended and aided by the Little Tramp. Some have suggested that the increased dramatic content of those films is symptomatic of Chaplin’s efforts to justify the praise lavished upon him by the critical intelligentsia. A painstaking perfectionist, he began spending more and more time on the preparation and production of each film. In his personal life too, Chaplin was particular. Having divorced Mildred in 1921, Chaplin married in 1924 16-year-old Lillita MacMurray, who shortly would become known to the world as film star Lita Grey. (They would be noisily divorced in 1927.)

From 1923 through 1929 Chaplin made only three features: A Woman of Paris (1923), which he directed but did not star in (and his only drama); The Gold Rush (1925), widely regarded as his masterpiece; and The Circus (1928), an underrated film that may rank as his funniest. All three were released by United Artists , the company cofounded in 1919 by Chaplin, husband-and-wife superstars Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford , and director D.W. Griffith . Of the three films, The Gold Rush is one of the most-memorable films of the silent era. Chaplin placed the Little Tramp in the epic setting of the Yukon, amid bears, snowstorms, and a fearsome prospector (Mack Swain); his love interest was a beautiful dance-hall queen (Georgia Hale). The scene in which the Tramp must eat his shoe to stay alive epitomizes the film’s blend of rich comedy and well-earned pathos .

Biography of Charlie Chaplin, Legendary Movie Comedian

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Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977) was an English filmmaker who wrote, acted, and directed his films. His "Little Tramp" character remains an iconic comedy creation. He was arguably the most popular performer of the silent film era.

Fast Facts: Charlie Chaplin

• Full Name: Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin, Knight of the British Empire
• Occupation: Film actor, director, writer
• Born: April 16, 1889 in England
• Died: December 25, 1977, in Vaud, Switzerland
• Parents: Hannah and Charles Chaplin, Sr.
• Spouses: Mildred Harris (m. 1918; div. 1920), Lita Grey (m. 1924; div. 1927), Paulette Goddard (m. 1936; div. 1942), Oona O'Neill (m. 1943)
• Children: Norman, Susan, Stephan, Geraldine, Michael, Josephine, Victoria, Eugene, Jane, Annette, Christopher
• Selected Films: "The Gold Rush" (1925), "City Lights" (1931), "Modern Times" (1936), "The Great Dictator" (1940)

Early Life and Stage Career

Born into a family of music hall entertainers, Charlie Chaplin first appeared on stage when he was five years old. It was a one-time appearance taking over from his mother, Hannah, but by age nine, he'd caught the entertainment bug.

Chaplin grew up in poverty. He was sent to a workhouse when he was seven. When his mother spent two months in an insane asylum, the nine-year-old Charlie was sent with his brother, Sydney, to live with his alcoholic father. When Charlie was 16, his mother was committed to an institution permanently.

At age 14, Chaplin began performing on stage in plays in London's West End. He quickly became a noted comedy performer. In 1910, the Fred Karno comedy company sent Chaplin on a 21-month tour of the American vaudeville circuit. The company included another notable performer, Stan Laurel.

First Movie Success

During a second vaudeville tour, the New York Motion Picture Company invited Charlie Chaplin to be part of their Keystone Studios troupe. He began working with Keystone under Mack Sennett in January 2014. His first appearance on film was in the 1914 short "Making a Living."

Chaplin soon created his legendary "Little Tramp" character. The character was introduced to audiences in February 1914 in "Kid Auto Races at Venice" and "Mabel's Strange Predicament." The films were so successful with audiences that Mack Sennett invited his new star to direct his own films. The first short directed by Charlie Chaplin was "Caught in the Rain," released in May 1914. He would continue to direct most of his films for the rest of his career.

November 1914's "Tillie's Punctured Romance," starring Marie Dressler, included Charlie Chaplin's first feature film appearance. It was a box office success causing Chaplin to ask for a raise. Mack Sennett thought it was too expensive and his young star moved to the Essanay studio of Chicago.

While working for Essanay, Chaplin recruited Edna Purviance to be his co-star. She would go on to appear in 35 of his movies. By the time the one-year contract with Essanay expired, Charlie Chaplin was one of the biggest movie stars in the world. In December 1915, he signed a contract with the Mutual Film Corporation worth $670,000 a year (approximately $15.4 million today).

Silent Star

Located in Los Angeles, Mutual introduced Charlie Chaplin to Hollywood. His stardom continued to grow. He moved to First National for the years 1918-1922. Among his memorable films of the era are his World War I movie "Shoulder Arms," which placed the Little Tramp in the trenches. "The Kid," released in 1921, was Chaplin's longest film to date at 68 minutes, and it included child star Jackie Coogan.

In 1922, at the end of his contract with First National, Charlie Chaplin became an independent producer laying groundwork for future filmmakers to take artistic control over their work. "The Gold Rush," released in 1925 and his second independent feature, became one of the most successful movies of his career. It included key scenes such as the Little Tramp, a gold rush prospector, eating a boot and an impromptu dance of dinner rolls speared on forks. Chaplin considered it his best work.

Charlie Chaplin released his next film "The Circus" in 1928. It was another success and earned him a special award at the first Academy Awards celebration. However, personal issues including a divorce controversy, made the filming of "The Circus" difficult, and Chaplin rarely spoke about it, omitting it entirely from his autobiography.

Despite the addition of sound to films, Charlie Chaplin resolutely continued to work on his next movie "City Lights" as a silent picture. Released in 1931, it was a critical and commercial success. Many film historians considered it his finest achievement and his best use of pathos in his work. One concession to sound was the introduction of a musical score, which Chaplin composed himself.

The final mostly silent Chaplin movie was "Modern Times" released in 1936. It included sound effects and a musical score as well as one song sung in gibberish. The underlying political commentary on the dangers of automation in the workplace prompted criticism from some viewers. While praised for its physical comedy, the movie was a commercial disappointment.

Controversial Films and Reduced Popularity

The 1940s became one of the most controversial decades of Charlie Chaplin's career. It began with his broad satire of the rise to power of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini in Europe before World War II . "The Great Dictator" is Chaplin's most overtly political film. He believed that it was necessary to laugh at Hitler. Some audiences disagreed, and the film was a controversial release. The movie included the first spoken dialogue in a Chaplin piece. Successful with critics, "The Great Dictator" earned five Academy Award nominations including for Best Picture and Best Actor.

Legal difficulties filled most of the first half of the 1940s. An affair with aspiring actress Joan Barry resulted in an FBI investigation and a trial based on an alleged violation of the Mann Act, a law prohibiting the transportation of women across state boundaries for sexual purposes. A court acquitted Chaplin two weeks after the trial began. A paternity suit followed less than a year later that determined Chaplin was the father of Barry's child, Carol Ann. Blood tests that concluded it wasn't true were not admissible in the trial.

The personal controversy intensified with the announcement in 1945, amidst the paternity trials, that Charlie Chaplin married his fourth wife, 18-year-old Oona O'Neill, the daughter of acclaimed playwright Eugene O'Neill. Chaplin was then 54, but both appeared to have found their soul mates. The couple remained married until Chaplin's death, and they had eight children together.

Charlie Chaplin finally returned to movie screens in 1947 with "Monsieur Verdoux," a black comedy about an unemployed clerk who marries and murders widows to support his family. Suffering from audience responses to his personal troubles, Chaplin faced the most negative critical and commercial reactions of his career. In the wake of the release of the film, he was openly called a Communist for his political views, and many Americans raised questions about his reluctance to apply for American citizenship. Today, some observers consider "Monsieur Verdoux" one of Charlie Chaplin's best movies.

Exile From the United States

Chaplin's next film, "Limelight," was an autobiographical work and was more serious than most of his movies. It set politics aside but addressed his loss of popularity in the twilight of his career. It includes the only onscreen appearance with legendary silent film comedian Buster Keaton.

Charlie Chaplin decided to hold the 1952 premiere of "Limelight" in London, the setting for the movie. While he was gone, U.S. Attorney General James P. McGranery revoked his permit to re-enter the U.S. Although the Attorney General told the press that he had a "pretty good case" against Chaplin, files released in the 1980s showed there was no real evidence to support keeping him out.

Despite European success, "Limelight" met a hostile reception in the U.S. including organized boycotts. Chaplin did not return to the U.S. for 20 years.

Final Films and Return to the United States

Charlie Chaplin established a permanent residence in Switzerland in 1953. His next film, 1957's "A King in New York," addressed much of his experience with accusations of being a Communist. It was a sometimes bitter political satire, and Chaplin refused to release it in the U.S. The final Charlie Chaplin movie, "A Countess from Hong Kong," appeared in 1967, and it was a romantic comedy. It co-starred two of the world's biggest movie stars, Marlon Brando and Sophia Loren, and Chaplin himself only appeared briefly. Unfortunately, it was a commercial failure and received negative reviews.

In 1972, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invited Charlie Chaplin to return to the U.S. to receive a special Oscar for his lifetime of achievements. Initially reluctant, he decided to return and earned a 12-minute standing ovation, the longest ever at the Academy Awards ceremony.

While he continued to work, Chaplin's health declined. Queen Elizabeth II knighted him in 1975. He died on Christmas Day, December 25, 1977, after having a stroke in his sleep.

Charlie Chaplin remains one of the most successful filmmakers of all time. He changed the course of comedy in film by introducing elements of pathos and sadness that deepened the emotional impact of his work. Four of his movies, "The Gold Rush," "City Lights," "Modern Times," and "The Great Dictator" are often included on lists of the best films of all time.

• Ackroyd, Peter. Charlie Chaplin: A Brief Life . Nan A. Talese, 2014.
• Chaplin, Charles. My Autobiography . Penguin, 2003.
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Biography Online

Charlie Chaplin Biography

 “Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot”

– Charlie Chaplin

Short bio Charlie Chaplin

Chaplin was born in London, 16 April 1889, to parents who worked in the entertainment industry. At an early age, his alcoholic father passed away, and later his mother had a breakdown and was taken to an asylum. This left Charlie and his brother to fend for themselves. Following in their parent’s footsteps, they were drawn to the musical hall, and Charlie gained a prominent reputation as a performer.

Charlie Chaplin had tremendous intensity. He would finance, write and direct all his films himself. He was a great perfectionist and would make his actors perform scenes up to 100 times to get it just right. Yet he also liked to improvise much of his performances and would not stick rigidly to a script.

The film was made one year before the US entered the war against Germany, and was controversial at a time when anti-Semitism was rife in America. Despite his parody of Hitler in this film, Chaplin refused to publicly endorse the war effort in 1942 – causing the authorities to become suspicious of his political leanings.

“Wars, conflict, it’s all business. One murder makes a villain. Millions a hero. Numbers sanctify.”

Monsieur Verdoux (1947);

“Since the end of the last world war, I have been the object of lies and propaganda by powerful reactionary groups who, by their influence and by the aid of America’s yellow press, have created an unhealthy atmosphere in which liberal-minded individuals can be singled out and persecuted. Under these conditions I find it virtually impossible to continue my motion-picture work, and I have therefore given up my residence in the United States.”

Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin later said he was not a Communist but refused to condemn Communists because he disliked the nature of the McCarthy era.

“Friends have asked how I came to engender this American antagonism. My prodigious sin was, and still is, being a non-conformist. Although I am not a Communist I refused to fall in line by hating them. Secondly, I was opposed to the Committee on Un-American Activities — a dishonest phrase to begin with, elastic enough to wrap around the throat and strangle the voice of any American citizen whose honest opinion is a minority of one.” – My Autobiography (1964)

Chaplin had great comic talent; this was a talent that shone through in his silent films but also in later years.

“I remain just one thing, and one thing only — and that is a clown. It places me on a far higher plane than any politician.”

Charlie Chaplin, as quoted in The Observer (17 June 1960)

Chaplin was put forward for a knighthood in 1956, but, it was blocked by the Conservative cabinet who feared a backlash from the American government.

Chaplin was eventually knighted in 1975. He also was awarded an Oscar in 1972 for his music score in the 1952 film Limelight . He was also awarded an honorary award in 1972 for “the incalculable effect he has had in making motion pictures the art form of this century.”

He came out of exile to receive the award and the longest standing ovation in the history of the Oscars.

Charlie Chaplin had a turbulent personal life. He had 11 children with three different women and had several other girlfriends and marriages.

He died in his sleep in Vevey, Switzerland on Christmas Day 1977.

Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan. “Biography of Charlie Chaplin”, Oxford, UK.  www.biographyonline.net , 30th Nov. 2009. Last updated 16 February 2018.

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Charlie Chaplin: Biography

Despite Chaplin's fierce temper and accusations that he fathered children by underage girls, Oona, his fourth wife, stood firmly by her 'Little Tramp'.

Charles Spencer Chaplin was born into a poor London family of music hall entertainers called Hannah Chaplin and Charles Chaplin SR. Even as a child he found success as a performer, making his stage debut in 1894. Biographer David Robinson has gone so far as to say that Chaplin's life was the ultimate rags to riches tale.

His early years were spent with his mother, who had no means of income, and brother in Kennington. Their father provided no support for his children causing Chaplin to be sent to the workhouse at the age of seven.

Chaplin spent his childhood going in and out of the workhouse as well as being educated by a range of charitable schools. In 1898, his mother was committed to a mental asylum due to a psychosis caused by syphilis and malnutrition. She remained in care until her death in 1928, leaving the young Charles and his brother Sydney to look after themselves.

He started his career in entertainment when he played a paperboy in 'Sherlock Holmes', which ran from 1903-6 from the age of 14, after which he worked as a mime in vaudeville theatres, until he left London for America. When Chaplin first arrived in the States he joined the Karno pantomime troupe, and toured with them for six years.

He signed his first film deal at the end of 1913, with Keystone pictures. His film debut was called 'Making a Living'. It was in the 1915 film, 'The Tramp', that Chaplin first appeared as the downtrodden, dreamy character for which he is most famous.

Chaplin's first controversy occurred during WWI when his loyalty to his native country was called into question as he lived in the US. Many British citizens called him a coward and a slacker.

In 1918, he married Mildred Harris with whom he had son Norman Spencer Chaplin, who only lived for three days. The couple divorced in 1920.

By the early 1920s, Chaplin was making his own films with actors Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks due to the establishment of Chaplin Studios and United Artists in 1919. Having control of his own films lead to classics such as 'The Kid', 'The Gold Rush', 'City Lights', 'Modern Times' and 'The Great Dictator'. These films made him the most popular and successful film star of his time.

During this period, Chaplin was married to Lita Grey, with whom he had sons Charles and Sydney. They had divorced by 1927. This was then followed by a brief marriage to Paulette Goodard between 1936 and 1942.

Chaplin was known for his innovative film-making techniques, although he kept tight-lipped about how he achieved them. He said that revealing his methods would be akin to a magician spoiling his own illusion.

However, it is known that he almost never worked from a finished script, improving jokes and dialogue once the set had been constructed.

Chaplin is often compared to the other great silent comedian - Buster Keaton - however, fans have noted that while Keaton is more cynical in his act, Chaplin had a love for sentimentality and pathos.

The actor also composed the music for many of his films, most notably the song 'Smile', which he wrote for 'Modern Times' and was later covered by Nat King Cole, reaching number two in the UK charts.

When sound films appeared, Chaplin's natural terrain of silent film was eclipsed by the novelty and realism of this new technology.

Chaplin was accused of being a communist by senator McCarthy, and a file was produced that supposedly detailed his subversive political activities since 1922. His first 'talkie' 'The Great Dictator' in 1940 added heat to this accusation and caused a stir. The film saw Chaplin play a caricature version of Adolf Hitler, which was seen as being in bad taste.

Despite this, it grossed over $5 million and won five Academy Awards. His support in aiding the Russian struggle against the invading Nazis was also scrutinized, leading the House of Un-American Activities Council issuing a subpoena against him in 1947 but later decided he didn't need to testify.

In 1952, Chaplin visited Europe for the premiere of his film 'Limelight' and was not allowed to return to the US; he settled in Switzerland. He made a film, 'The King In New York', in 1957, which was full of criticism of McCarthy and American society in general.

In 1964, he released his first autobiography called 'My Autobiography', which was followed by 'My Life in Pictures' in 1974.

He was allowed to return to the US in 1972 to receive an Oscar for his services to film. Chaplin was then given a Knighthood of the British Order by the Queen in 1975.

He died in Switzerland aged 88 from natural causes in 1977.

By the time of his death, Chaplin had fathered 12 children, eight of those with his last wife Oona O'Neill, the daughter of playwright Eugene O'Neill, whom he had married in 1943.

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Charles Chaplin (1889-1977)

IMDbPro Starmeter Top 5,000 478

• 28 wins & 6 nominations total

• Writer (as Charlie Chaplin)

• book "My Autobiography"

• Writer (uncredited)

• original screenplay

• original story
• screenplay by

• an original story written by

• written by (as Charlie Chaplin)

• An Old Steward
• Narrator (voice)
• King Shahdov
• Henri Verdoux - Alias Varnay - Alias Bonheur - Alias Floray
• Hynkel - Dictator of Tomania
• A Jewish Barber
• A Factory Worker (as Charlie Chaplin)
• A Tramp (as Charlie Chaplin)

• Charles Chaplin (uncredited)

• The Lone Prospector

• Station Porter (uncredited)

• Charlie Chaplin

• Charles Chaplin
• Director (as Charlie Chaplin)

• Director (uncredited)

Personal details

• 5′ 3¾″ (1.62 m)
• April 16 , 1889
• Walworth, London, England, UK
• December 25 , 1977
• Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland (stroke)
• Spouses Oona Chaplin June 16, 1943 - December 25, 1977 (his death, 8 children)
• Children Victoria Chaplin
• Parents Hannah Chaplin
• Relatives Oona Chaplin (Grandchild)
• Other works Composed the love theme for Modern Times (1936) , as a totally instrumental, unnamed composition (although it was the music for a sequence of the film in which smiling was the emphasis. Much later the song became widely known as the named song that we came to know in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century as "Smile" after lyrics had been added by James John Turner Phillips (as John Turner ) & Geoffrey Parsons in the 1950s, at John Turner's Peter Maurice Music Company in the late 1950s. Chaplin was known to be less than pleased that his little melody was re-written with lyrics.
• 20 Biographical Movies
• 68 Print Biographies
• 25 Portrayals
• 158 Articles
• 4 Pictorials
• 16 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

• Trivia Most people (now and during his lifetime) believe that Chaplin had brown eyes because they had only seen him in black and white with black eye makeup on. It fact they were very blue. Chaplin remarked in his autobiography that people meeting him for the first time were always struck by his blue eyes. And his future wife Oona Chaplin wrote "Just met Charlie Chaplin. What blue eyes he has!" to a girlhood friend in 1942.
• Quotes All I need to make a comedy is a park, a policeman and a pretty girl.
• Trademarks A tramp with toothbrush mustache, undersized bowler hat and bamboo cane who struggled to survive while keeping his dignity in a world with great social injustice.
• The Little Tramp
• Salaries The Tramp ( 1915 ) $1,250 /week
• When did Charles Chaplin die?
• How did Charles Chaplin die?
• How old was Charles Chaplin when he died?

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A Short Biography Of Charlie Chaplin

Reading comprehension – a short biography of charlie chaplin, charlie chaplin: a cinematic legacy.

“the incalculable effect he has had in making motion pictures the art form of this century”.

Comprehension:

Chaplin - A Musical Biography

“Chaplin’s musical genius is that of organized revolt against conventions, combined with perfect feeling for the real thing.” - Ray Rasch

Charles Chaplin recalled that in his childhood his mother would take him to the theatre, where he would stand in the wings listening to her and the other acts of the music hall shows. At home, in the happier times, she would entertain him and his step-brother by singing, dancing, reciting and imitating other artists. His own very first appearance on the stage at the age of five was precipitated when her voice broke in front of a particularly tough crowd. Charlie, already a natural performer, it seems, was pushed on in her stead and sang two songs, pausing only to pick up coins thrown by the surprised and amused audience.

In 1898, aged 9, he began his own music hall career with a troupe of juvenile clog dancers, the Eight Lancashire Lads. He was to remain in the theatre, alternating work and periods of unemployment, until he joined Fred Karno’s company. As a rising star with Karno he went to America in 1910 to tour the vaudeville circuits. Stan Laurel, a fellow Karno performer, recalled that during their 1912 US tour Charlie “carried his violin wherever he could. Had the strings reversed so he could play left handed, and he would practise for hours. He bought a ‘cello once and used to carry it around with him. At these times he would always dress like a musician, a long fawn coloured overcoat with green velvet cuffs and collar and a slouch hat. And he’d let his hair grow long at the back. We never knew what he was going to do next.” Chaplin later wrote that “each week I took lessons from the theatre conductor or from someone he recommended. I had great ambitions to be a concert artist, or, failing that, to use [my violin] in a vaudeville act, but as time went on I realised that I could never achieve excellence, so I gave it up.”

At the end of 1913 Chaplin left Karno to remain in America and work in moving pictures. While working at the Mutual Film Company he had the opportunity to meet musicians such as Paderewski and Leopold Godowsky who visited the now famous movie star. In 1916 he set up his own music publishing company. “We printed two thousand copies of two very bad songs and musical compositions of mine – then we waited for customers. The enterprise was collegiate and quite mad. I think we sold three copies, two to pedestrians who happened to pass our office on their way downstairs.” In fact the Charles Chaplin Music Company closed shop after publishing three Chaplin songs: Oh! That Cello, There’s Always One You Can’t Forget, and The Peace Patrol.

Film was obviously Chaplin’s most important concern, and in 1918 he moved into his own studios and could exert total production control.

In the silent period it was usual to commission professional arrangers to devise suitable musical accompaniments for major films. These were generally compiled from published music, and performed live by whatever instrumental combinations each individual cinema could afford. Chaplin always had an interest in the music for his feature films. He approved and co-compiled scores for A Woman of Paris (1923) with Fredrick Stahlberg, and with Karli Elinor for The Gold Rush (1925). However not until City Lights did he complete a full-length score – a début heard by millions around the world when the film was released.

According to conductor-composer (and Chaplin music expert) Timothy Brock, Chaplin was a born tunesmith with real composing talent. “Even if he could neither read nor write music, complex, sophisticated compositions were complete in his head. His only problem was to get his collaborators to understand and transpose onto paper what he could hum or sketch out for them on the piano.” Chaplin remembered the only happy thing in his view about the arrival of the talkies as being “that I could control the music, so I composed my own. I tried to compose elegant and romantic music to frame my comedies in contrast to the tramp character, for elegant music gave my comedies an emotional dimension. Musical arrangers rarely understood this. They wanted the music to be funny. But I would explain that I wanted no competition, I wanted the music to be a counterpoint of grave and charm, to express sentiment ….”

As Brock explains: “For his scores, Chaplin was aided by what he termed as a ‘musical associate.’ This was a person who, to varying degrees of participation, helped with the notation and orchestration of his compositions. Chaplin played both the violin and piano by ear, but, like many of the great popular composers of any era, was unable to transcribe the notes on paper. Yet however constrained in his ability to notate his work, nearly every score has the indelible Chaplin mark. No matter who the associate, the musical structure and approach remains distinctively his own. Furthermore, the soundtrack recordings contain extremely specific stylistic choices unique to Chaplin. For example, as a violinist himself, he required the string player to mimic his style of playing and his unambiguous traits are ever-present in the extended violin solos in each of his scores. The majority of the extended violin solos (and every Chaplin film score has them) are written in a beautifully odd, yet specific, manner. His string writing in general contains a unique set of principles revealing that he was a composer bent on sound, and not technical affability.”

After City Lights, Chaplin composed the scores for all of his films. As Brock remarks, “His writing was so moment-specific, so tightly synchronized, that one can nearly follow a Chaplin film by only hearing its score without the benefit of the image.”

The Gold Rush, originally released in 1925 as a silent film, was re-released in 1942 with a narration by Chaplin and a musical score that he composed. The Great Dictator and Monsieur Verdoux followed. Later he took obvious pleasure in creating the pastiches of Edwardian music hall songs and acts for Limelight (1952), and later writing parodies of 50s pop songs for A King in New York (1957). His interest in pastiche and parody is not limited to the music, as the lyrics too are full of humour and word-play.

The Chaplin family left Hollywood in 1952. In his home in Switzerland Chaplin continued to develop his love and knowledge of music and to entertain musicians, among them Arthur Rubinstein, Isaac Stern, Rudolf Serkin, and Clara Haskil. His daughter Josephine has nostalgic memories of how, regularly after supper, he would insist that the lights were turned off, and that the family listen by candle-light to record after record of classical music.

The Chaplin family archives hold many audio tapes of Chaplin working on the piano, improvising and humming as he composed. He once said that even if he did not remember how a tune went, he could remember the pattern it made on the black and white notes of the keyboard. Between 1958 and the early 1970s he composed and recorded music for all his other silent 1918-1928 films: Shoulder Arms, The Pilgrim and A Dog’s Life (re-released together as The Chaplin Revue), The Circus, The Kid, The Idle Class, Pay Day, A Day’s Pleasure, Sunnyside and A Woman of Paris. Many of his tunes were hits, in particular those from A Countess from Hong Kong sung by Petula Clark in the late 1960s. Smile from Modern Times has been recorded by hundreds of artists, from Nat King Cole to Michael Jackson.

“To work is to live - and I love to live,” Chaplin, aged 87, told journalists on June 30, 1976. He died a year and a half later on Christmas day 1977. The music he composed until nearly the end of his life is a testament to his love for work, and for life.

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• Charlie Chaplin Biography

About Charlie Chaplin

Known as one of the greatest comedians to ever grace the earth, Charlie Chaplin was born Charlie Spencer Chaplin. A world-renowned personality, he is remembered for his extraordinary comic timings and his ability to emote without words. In the history of motion pictures, Charlie Chaplin stands out as one of the most prominent figures. Here, we will learn about his childhood, Charlie Chaplin date of birth, Charlie Chaplin death date, nationality, achievements and more. 

Early Childhood

The date of birth of Charlie Chaplin was 16th April 1889. He was born in London England to actor parents. The real name of Charlie Chaplin was Charlie Spencer Chaplin and it was inspired by his father’s name, a versatile actor and entertainer. He spent his early childhood years with his mother, a popular singer and actress before she was confined to a mental asylum. Charlie also had a half-brother named Sydney. 

Given to look after themselves, both the brothers found themselves in numerous residential schools and bleak workhouses. In the year 1897, Charlie was able to become a member of a clog-dancing act, the ‘Eight Lancashire Lads’ as an entertainer. 

Career 

Charlie had already gained favour as a tap-dance artist among the ‘Eight Lancashire Lads’, when at the age of 12, he got a chance to act on stage, essaying the role of ‘Billy’, the page boy and then went on to act in William Galette’s Sherlock Holmes, where he played a small role. 

Post this, Charlie Chaplin began his career as a comedian with the Casey’s Court Circus’ vaudeville act. It was the year 1908 when he joined the Fred Karno Repertoire Company as a part of the pantomime troupe. It was here when Charlie Chaplin’s status quickly escalated to that of a star and eventually took him to the United States of America. His portrayal of the Drunk in the sketch ‘A Night in an English Music Hall’ was an immediate hit with the American audiences so much so that in Fred Karno Troupre’s repeat tour of the USA in 1912, Charlie was offered a contract of a motion picture. 

With his Vaudeville commitments expiring in 1913, Charlie agreed to appear before cameras when he joined the Mack Sennett and the Keystone Film Company. This was Charlie Chaplin’s first entrance into the world of cinema. 

The first onscreen character that he portrayed was that of a mercenary dandy, which, claim historians, did not showcase his talents in the best light. He was then ordered by Sennet to come up with an image that would work better on screen. This was the moment when the iconic too small coat, too large pair of pants, floppy shoes and battered derby completed with a postage stamp moustache look of Charlie Chaplin that we all know and love was born. He also adopted a cane as an all-purpose prop to complete his look. This eventually gave birth to his on-screen alter ego the ‘Little Tramp’  in his second Keystone film ‘Kid Auto Races at Venice’, an immortal presence until today. 

In the vast array of characters portrayed by Charlie Chaplin, however, he was not always confined to the role of a tramp. His characters in the parts that he played were often employed as a fireman, store clerk, waiter, etc. A more apt description of his character portrayal was the archetypical misfit, usually left out by the ‘polite society’, not so lucky in love and of the like. He was also depicted as a survivor, someone who is able to plunge out of his sorrows and move on jauntily to newer adventures. 

The tramp, however, had more of a universal appeal for the character was cheeky yet casually savage. Combined with a gallantry that is unexpected of such a character and the ability to be resilient in the face of adversity struck a chord with a majority of the audiences. The portrayal of this character made Charlie Chaplin the biggest movie star within months after his debut as the same. The 35 comedy films that Charlie Chaplin had with Keystone is usually regarded as the gestation period of the ‘Tramp’ with caricature usually shifting up to be the character. 

On completion of his contract with Sennet, Charlie Chaplin moved on to work with the Essanay Company in 1915. During his time with Essanay studios, the element of paths was incorporated into his comedy by Charlie Chaplin in shorts such as The Tramp and Burlesque on Carmen. 

Given the rise in his popularity, Charlie then moved on to sign an even better deal with the Mutual Film Corporation where he was required to make twelve two-reel comedies. Some of the popular works from this association include The Rink (1916), One A.M. (1916), The Vagabond (1916) and Easy Street (1917). 

In the year 1918, Charlie Chaplin entered a contract with First National Film Corporation where he was required to produce eight short films. Some of the notable works under this include Shoulder Arms (1918), The Pilgrim (1923) and The Kid (1921), his first starring feature. 

Independent Achievements

Charlie Chaplin was famous for being a perfectionist. He went to great lengths to achieve the desired outcomes in his films. He went on from producing for other film studios to building his own production company, United Artists, which he co-founded with D.W. Griffith, and husband and wife Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford (both of whom were superstars). From his own company, Charlie Chaplin produced three movies between 1923 and 1929. This included his masterpiece and only dreams, The Gold Rush (1925), A Woman of Paris (1923) and The Circus (1928). After a  number of successful films, Charlie Chaplin produced his first sound picture in the year 1940, The Great Dictator, regarded as his most overt political satire. This film performed well on the box-office and also earned Charlie Chaplin his only Academy Award nomination in the Best Actor category. Among his greatest works from the latter years include Monsieur Verdoux (1947), Limelight (1952), A King in New York (1957) and A Countess from Hong Kong.

Personal Life

Charlie Chaplin’s personal life was rather a tumultuous one. It was after his contract with the First National Film Corporation when Charlie Chaplin got married to Mildred Harris, a 16-year old who worked as a film extra. They, however, got divorced in the year 1921. Charlie Chaplin then again married Lillita MacMurray in 1924, 16-years old at the time, and later became known to the world as Lita Grey, the film star. But this marriage was also short-lived as the couple got divorced, rather noisily, in the year 1927. Post this, in the year 1932, Charlie courted Paulette Goddard, who starred in a number of his productions but the couple separated in 1942. Charlie again re-married in 1943, the 18-year old Oona O’Neill. He was the father of 8 children from his last marriage with Oona O’Neill, along with one son from his marriage to Lita Grey.

Final Years

Charlie Chaplin, in his final years, was conferred with several honours. In 1972 he accepted the Special Academy Award for the immeasurable effect that he projected in the making of motion pictures the art form of this century. His final public appearance was in 1975 when he was knighted. Charlie Chaplin passed away on 25th December 1977.  In addition to being an author and a producer, Charlie Chaplin also honed a number of other skills, he was a musician, played a variety of instruments and authored at least four books. He was truly a remarkable personality whom the world remembers with great fondness.

FAQs on Charlie Chaplin Biography

Q1. Explain the Importance of Charlie Chaplin?  

Ans. Charlie Chaplin is one of the most prominent figures in motion-picture history. His portrayal of comedic characters on-screen revolutionized motion pictures. He was not only an actor and a comedian but also a writer, director and producer. For his immense contribution to the world of motion pictures and making them an art form of the present century, he was presented with a Special Academy Award in the year 1972.

Q2. What is Charlie Chaplin best remembered for? 

Ans. Although Charlie Chaplin portrayed a number of characters on screen, he is best remembered for the characterisation of ‘the Little Tramp’, a recurring silent film character. The comedic relief provided by this character in the oversized pants, tiny coat, battered derby, floppy shoes combined with the postage stamp moustache and cane is Chaplin’s most widely circulated representation. Audiences loved this character for its many traits that tickled their nerves. 

Q3. What is Charlie Chaplin’s Nationality?  

Ans. Sir Charlie Spencer Chaplin, was a British national.