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The emergence of a young entertainer during the era of silent films, who has revolutionized the world of entertainment through his artistic expression. Famously known for his slapstick comedy and his mascot known as “The Tramp”, Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr., more commonly known as Charlie Chaplin was a famous English comedic actor, filmmaker and composer whose career in the entertainment industry spanned for over 75 years.
Charlie was born on 16 April 1889, Walworth in London, United Kingdom to Charles Chaplin Sr. and Hannah Chaplin. Both of his parents were music hall entertainers. His father was a comic singer whereas his mother was an actress, singer and dancer who was also known by the stage name Lily Harley. His parents had not divorced but their relationship had started to drift apart which led to the absence of Charlie’s father in his life. He lived in poverty with his mother and his half-brother Sydney Chaplin. His mother’s declining health made it so that she wasn’t able to sing and perform well, so she wasn’t able to provide for her children financially. That was when Charlie entered a workhouse for the first time at the age of seven years old with his older brother Sydney. His father died in 1901 whereas his mother got admitted in Cane Hill mental asylum and later died in 1928.
His first appearance on stage was at the age of five, when he had to take his mother’s place as an impromptu replacement in Aldershot. With the help of his father’s connections he was able to join the Eight Lancashire Lads who toured from 1899 to 1900. He landed his first role as a newsboy in Jim, a Romance of Cockayne by Harry Arthur Saintsbury. It only ran for 2 weeks in July 1903 as it was unsuccessful. He later played the role of Billy the pageboy in Charles Frohman’s Sherlock Holmes and completed his final tour of this play in early 1906.
Charlie’s brother, Sydney had joined Fred Karno’s company in 1906 and become one of their most important actors by 1908. He had convinced Karno to let his brother work on a 2 week trial. Initially Karno was skeptical about Charlie and believed that he was too young. Despite his beliefs, Charlie had greatly impacted him at the London Coliseum and he signed a contract with him. He played a role of the “Inebriate Swell” which was one of this successful roles in the play titled Mumming Birds which was the longest running sketch which the music halls had produced and it lasted for 21 months.
His career in films started when he met up with Keystones Studio and signed a contract for $150 per week in 1913 and began working for then in January 1914. He wasn’t used much in films for some time and during that time he attempted to learn the process of film making. The one-reeler- Making a Living released on 2 February 1914, marked his debut in acting. Charlie was picking out a costume which he would be identified by, he wanted everything to be a contradiction. Baggy pants, a tight coat, a small hat and large shoes and a moustache that made him seem older. He didn’t know how to act, but as soon as he stepped on the stage, he completely understood his character. “The Tramp” became more popular with the audience in Kid Auto Races at Venice released on 7 February 1914. Charlie was allowed to direct his next film which was Caught in the Rain released on 4 May 1914, marked Charlie’s directorial debut and was very successful.
He then on went to create his own studio called “Charlie Chaplin’s Studio” in 1917 and co-founded the United Artists in 1919 with D.W Griffith and Mary Pickford. He wrote, starred in and directed many films, his most famous works being The Kid (1921), The Gold Rush (1925), City Lights (1931) and Modern Times (1936) which were released without dialogue when sound films were introduced. His first sound film, The Great Dictator (1940) was a dark comedy which satirized Hitler became one of his most controversial films and has received 5 Academy Awards nominations.
In the 1940’s, Charlie faced many legal proceedings which significantly affected his public image. Besides the controversial film, there were many other factors which led to him facing there controversies including affairs, paternity suits, negative press and allegations of communist ties. Another one of his controversies was his marriage with Oona O’Neill on 16 June 1943 when Oona was 18 and Charlie was 54. In April 1947, he released Monsieur Verdoux in which he voiced his political views. This was Charlie’s first film which was unsuccessful. After the failed Monsieur Vertoux, he released his next film Limelight in 1952 which was his most autobiographical film. The film was subjected to large-scale boycott. The same year he was banned from the United States due to his alleged communist ties.
In January 1953, he and his family had moved to Switzerland. In the year 1954, he started working on his first European film- A King in New York which was released in September 1957, receiving mixed reviews. Charlie decided not to release the movie in the United States and was not shown to America till 1973. In September 1964, he released his memoir, My Autobiography, which he had worked on since 1957. Shortly after he started working on A Countess from Hong Kong in 1967.
In 1972, he was invited back to America to receive an award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. After 20 long years, Charlie had returned to America and received a 12- minute standing ovation, the longest standing ovation in Academy history. He accepted his award for “the incalculable effect he has had in making motion pictures the art form of this century”. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II on 4 March 1975.
Chaplin died at the age of 88 on 25 December 1977. His funeral was held of the 27th and was a small and private Anglican ceremony. He was interred in the Corsier-sur-Vevey cemetery
By: Ayushvi Mahajan
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