| Charlie Chaplin United Artist/Silent film legend |
| He is quoted as saying once at a press conference..."all I need to make a comedy is a park, a policeman, and a pretty girl." Ahhh what a tramp..Charlie Chaplin, aka The Little Tramp - and he lived up to every word of it ... well, in his movies anyway. Not so much in his real life as the media portrayed it. Even when he was making the millions, he prefferred the simple life living in shabby accomodations. He lived in a mansion he designed called "California Gothic," at 1085 Summit Drive in Hollywood. The house was built by studio carpenters, it began falling apart over the years. He would entertain his guest, who would also sometimes join in. "You simply can't find a better night out, filled with entertainment, than you can at Charle's house," a guest once told the press. Charlie was a force in Hollywood! The world loved him, except for a select few that tried to ruin him. He came out on top, but not without scars .... Charles Spencer Chaplin, was born in London, England on April 16th, 1889. He was born to music hall vaudevillian parents. His father was never around much and provided little, if any, support to the family. Charlie immediatly became very attached to his mother at a very early age. Sadly, by the time Charlie was 7, his mother had been commited to a hospital with a mental disease. He would later credit his mother for much of his success. His first acting job came at the age of 14. It was a stage show and Charlie was hooked. In 1910, he came to America in search for the vast opportunities in showbizz that it had, and by 1912 was offered a contract. He was an instant hit in America and by 1915, had earned a big enough reputation in Hollywood to "command" his own rates. He was at the height of his carrer. From 1915 on, Charlie pumped out a slew of new films, often playing, "the little tramp" in them. In 1919 .... he along with D.W. Griffith, Doug Fairbanks, and Mary Pickford, formed United Artist (UA) (later obtained by MGM). In 1921, "The Kid," hit theaters. It was Charlie's first film from his new company, and first full-length feature film. Charlie was sailing on top of Hollywood hill, he was a giant....but it did come with some controversy. The first big scandal came during WWI, during which is homeland of England questioned his loyalty to them. Chaplin claimed he was a "paying visitor" to the United States and did not want to become a citizen...thus never applied for U.S. citizenship. Many in Britain called Chaplin a coward and slacker as they felt he was negleting his native land. In another instance, a slut named Joan Berry came forward to claim Charlie as the father of her baby. He denied it, and blood test revealed he was not the father. As if this wasn't enough the king of vaccuums came to suck him dry...J. Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI and the House Un-American Activities Council believed that he was making a mockery of the very country in which he was only a guest thus leading to scrutiny and investigations by the FBI. Chaplin had a "thing" for young women which also the press ate up. When he was 29, he married Mildred Harris...she was 16. When he was 35, he married Lita Grey...who was 16, and when he was 54, he wed Oona O'Neil, who was 17. All in all - Charlie had 11 children. His fame was starting to deteriorate with news and rumors that he was a communist or communist sympathizer. There were organized protest by various unions resulting in theaters refusing to show his films. One of his last films would be "Limelight," made in 1952. After it's flop and growing growing weary of being hounded by tax collectors - he decided to retire him, and his family to native England, only to be rejected. He recieved a telegram informing him that the State Department had declined his reentry permit -- effectively locking him out of the country as an undesirable alien. In 1954, his wife Oona renounced her U.S. citizenship, and the family relocted to Switzerland with Charlie quoting, "I have no further use for America. I wouldn't go back there if Jesus Christ was President." He did return, however, to America in 1972, twenty years after leaving. He returned to Hollywood to claim a special Oscar honoring his lifetime contributions to movies. In his acceptance speech, he said "Thank you so much. This is an emotional moment for me and words seem so futile, so feeble...I can only say that.. thank you for the honor of inviting me here and...oh...you're wonderful, sweet people. Thank you." As Charlie grew older, he became more of a legend and all things were forgotten by both sides, it was all foolishness as far as he was concerned. He was knighted in his homeland of Great Britain in 1975. He died - in his sleep - at his home in Switzerland on Christmas day of 1977. It was natural causes. See his grave here. TRIVIA: In 1978, Chaplin's corpse was stolen from its grave and was not recovered for three months; he was re-buried in a vault surrounded by cement. Ranked #79 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. He once entered a Charlie Chaplin-look-a-like-contest and finished third! |
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