Born Charles Spencer Chaplin in London, England, on April 16, 1889, Charlie Chaplin’s rise to fame is a true rags-to-riches story. His father, a notorious drinker, abandoned Chaplin and his mother, Hannah Hill, and his older half-brother, Sydney. Hannah inexplicably lost her voice in the middle of a show, which prompted the stage manager to push five-year-old Chaplin, whose singing he had heard before, onto the stage to replace her. Chaplin lit up the audience, wowing them with his natural presence and comedic angle.
When Chaplin was about twelve, he got his first chance to act in a legitimate stage show, and appeared as “Billy”, the page boy, in support of William Gillette in “Sherlock Holmes“. After this show came to an end, Charlie started a career as a comedian in Vaudeville, which eventually took him to the United States in 1910 as a featured player, with the Fred Karno Repertoire Company.
Chaplin more or less invented global recognizability and helped turn an industry into an art. In 1916, his third year in films, his salary of $10,000 a week made him the highest-paid actor — possibly the highest paid person — in the world.
Every movie he made was a story or a sensation in itself. “The Circus” won Charlie Chaplin his first Academy Award. “City Lights” proved to be the hardest and longest undertaking of Chaplin’s career. The premieres were among the most brilliant that the cinema had ever seen. In Los Angeles, Chaplin’s guest was Albert Einstein, where as in London, Bernard Shaw sat beside him. “City Lights” was a critical triumph. All Chaplin’s struggles and anxieties seemed to be compensated by the film which still stands as the zenith of his achievement and reputation.
Through his work, Chaplin came to be known as a grueling perfectionist. His love for experimentation often meant countless retakes, and it wasn’t uncommon for him to order the rebuilding of an entire set. It also wasn’t rare for him to begin with one leading actor, realize he’d made a mistake in his casting, and start again with someone new.
Chaplin’s versatility extended to writing, music, and sports. He was the author of at least four books, “My Trip Abroad”, “A Comedian Sees the World”, “My Autobiography”, and “My Life in Pictures” along with all his scripts. An accomplished musician, though self-taught, he played a variety of instruments with equal skill.
Charlie Chaplin passed away on Christmas day in 1977, survived by eight children from his last marriage with Oona O’Neill, and one son from his short marriage to Lita Grey.
Thank you Chaplin!
Your “The Tramp” act is still fresh in our minds.
The refreshing silence portrayed in your art will always remain with us. As you put it up in your own words-
“Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot.” !