Charlie Chaplin (16th April, 1889 – 25th December, 1977)

Charlie Chaplin was one of the most successful actors of the cinema. He had a very hard childhood. His parents were both Music Hall entertainers but they got divorced when Charlie was only three. He went round theatres with his mother, even sang on stage at the age of five. But, his mother got ill, and Charlie and his brother Sydney were left in a workhouse and put to a paupers’ school. This period in Charlie’s life was an important source for his later characters in films.

As young men, Charlie and his brother started performing in music halls. In 1910, Charlie travelled to America with the Karno theatre company, and he stayed there after his second tour in 1913. His performance was seen by a film producer, and in 1914, he made his first comedy Making a Life. Chaplin’s most famous character, the tramp, appeared in 1914 in his third film, Mabel’s Strange Predicament.

Chaplin tells about it himself in his autobiography: “I had no idea what makeup to put on. I did not like my get-up as the press reporter [in Making a Living]. However on the way to the wardrobe I thought I would dress in baggy pants, big shoes, a cane and a derby hat. I wanted every­thing to be a contradiction: the pants baggy, the coat tight, the hat small and the shoes large. I was undecided whether to look old or young, but remembering Sennett had expected me to be a much older man, I added a small moustache, which I reasoned, would add age without hiding my expression. I had no idea of the character. But the moment I was dressed, the clothes and the makeup made me feel the person he was. I began to know him, and by the time I walked on stage he was fully born.” (Chaplin, My Autobiography p. 154).

To start with, Chaplin only acted in the movies but soon he thought he was good enough to direct them as well. After about 70 successful short films, he founded his own film company in 1919. There he had a studio for shooting his films, a laboratory to develop them, and a wardrobe. He practically did everything himself in a film: he wrote the screenplay, acted in it, directed it and even wrote the music. Now that he had more money, he also produced his films. His company, United Artists, distributed the film to the cinemas. As a director, he was a perfectionist. He wanted all the scenes to be perfect. For example, in A Woman of Paris there was a kissing scene, which needed over a hundred takes before Chaplin was satisfied.

He was always worried that his films wouldn’t make the audience laugh, but he worried in vain: they were great box-office hits. Before the year 1927, all the films had been silent films. When the talking pictures started, many actors’ careers ended. Chaplin’s career continued, however, though he never believed in sound or sound effects in films. He made his last movie A Countess from Hong Kong in 1967. He directed it and played a small role. The film was also his only colour film, all the rest had been black and white. It had a great cast but it was a flop. The title song by Chaplin became very popular, though. This Is My Song sung by Petula Clark remained for 14 weeks as number one on the British charts in 1967. Being about 75 years old, Chaplin is the oldest person to have written a UK number one single!

Because of political issues, Chaplin moved to Switzerland, where he died at the age of 88. Three months later, his body was stolen from the grave in order to blackmail money from the relatives. The men were caught, and after that, Chaplin’s body was buried under concrete. During his career, he received one Oscar, two honorary Oscars and several nominations for Oscar as an actor, screenwriter, producer and composer. He was also knighted at the age of 85.