Charlie Chaplin biography

Charles Spencer Chaplin , known only as  Charles Chaplin  had many professions, such as director, producer, writer, screenwriter, musician, but his prominence is due to his career as an actor and comedian.

Biography index:

Who was Charlie Chaplin?

Born in London on April 16, 1889, Chaplin became known worldwide for his character Carlitos.

His mother was Hannah Chaplin, an English actress who used the stage name Lily Harley and his father was Charles Spencer Chaplin, who was also an artist and abandoned the family in little Charles' childhood.

Chaplin's childhood was very poor. His father was an alcoholic and his mother suffered from serious psychological problems, which caused her to be admitted to an asylum.

Her mother, who sang, had laryngitis, which made it impossible for her to sing, and she had to take her family to live in very poor parts of London.

Even in the face of all this picture, Charlie Chaplin developed a vocation for comedy from an early age.

Charlie Chaplin's career

Charlie Chaplin's career began very early, due to his mother's illness. As she couldn't perform, Chaplin, who was already singing at the age of 5, made some presentations alongside her father.

Thanks to the contacts that his mother had, at the age of 11 he joined dance groups.

Passionate about the circus, at the age of 17 he was hired by a children's circus, which had as a characteristic the fact that all the actors were children.

Charlie Chaplin's career takes off when his older brother Sydney Chaplin takes over his career and becomes his manager. Sydney arranges for her brother to be hired by Fred Karno's theater company in London.

Chaplin was an important milestone in the history of cinema by bringing mime to silent cinema.

At the age of 24, the actor had problems with the director of a role he played. According to the director, his face was too young for the role.

It was then that in his second film, a short film called “Mabel's Strange Predicament”, he assembles his own costume and incorporates a mustache to his character, thus creating one of the most famous characters in the history of cinema: Carlitos.

In 1919 he set up his own production company, producing classic films such as “The Immigrant”, “The Boy” and “Modern Times”.

Its decadence begins with the release of the film “The Great Dictator”, produced in the United States in 1940. Chaplin produced, directed, scripted, narrated and played music, in addition to acting in this film.

Even though it was a satire on Adolf Hitler, Chaplin was persecuted by the US government for considering that he had communist practices, being extradited from the country.

In 1972 he returns to the United States for the last time, this time to be awarded an Oscar.

In 1975, at the age of 86, Chaplin is decorated by Queen Elizabeth with Sir , the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. This is an order of British chivalry that rewards people who have made great contributions to the arts and sciences.

The love life

Chaplin had a hectic love life. The proof of this are his 4 marriages:

1. Mildred Harris: Her First and Shortest Marriage. In 1918, when he was 29 years old, he marries Mildred Harris, who was an actress. Her marriage took place when she thought she was pregnant with Chaplin. She later gave birth to Charles' first child, who unfortunately died after three days. In 1920 they divorce;
2. Lita Gray: between 1924 and 1927 he marries for the second time, this time with Lita Gray, also an actress. Together they had two children;
3. Paulette Goddard: the third marriage lasted from 1936 to 1942. Paulette was also an actress and participated in the films “Modern Times” and “The Great Dictator”;
4. Oona O'Neill: Her longest lasting marriage. Oona remained with Chaplin for the rest of her life. When they got married, he was 53 and she was 18. Together they had 8 children.

Your death

On Christmas 1977, exactly on the 25th of December, Chaplin died at the age of 88, in the city of Vevey, Switzerland.

His death was peaceful, since he died in his sleep, but his burial would still suffer a last tragicomic episode, which involved his films a lot.

His body was stolen from the cemetery by two men who demanded around $400,000 in ransom. 11 weeks later the body was recovered and the men arrested.

Films

• Carlitos Casanova, 1914;
• The Tramp, 1915;
• The Immigrant, 1917;
• Dog's Life, 1918;
• Carlitos in the Trenches, 1918;
• Idyll in the Countryside, 1919;
• The Boy, 1921;
• Shepherd of Souls, 1923;
• Luxury Wedding, 1923;
• In Search of Gold, 1925;
• The Circus, 1928;
• City Lights, 1931;
• Modern Times, 1936;
• The Great Dictator, 1940;
• Monsieur Verdoux, 1947;
• Ribalta Lights, 1952;
• A King in New York, 1957;
• The Countess of Hong Kong, 1967. This was her only color film and it starred Sophia Loren and Marlon Brando.

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