Sir Charles Chaplin

His Life and Times

Charlie Chaplin

James Agee wrote of Chaplin, “the finest pantomime, the deepest emotion, and the richest and most poignant poetry were in [his] work.

Andrew Sarris called Chaplin “the single most important artist produced by the cinema, certainly its most extraordinary performer, and probably still its most universal icon.”

Chaplin’s Mother

Charlie always cited his own mother as a great inspiration.

Hannah was a singer and character comedienne in the British music halls.

Hannah Chaplin

Hannah Chaplin

Sadly her career was blighted on and off by ill health, and it was when her voice failed during one particular performance that the young Charlie Chaplin got his first taste of performing - he went on as an impromptu replacement.

Hannah Chaplin

Her health continued to decline and she found herself making a poor living as a seamstress and was eventually put into a mental hospital.

Her other children were Sydney Chaplin, and Wheeler Dryden - both by different fathers.

Hannah Chaplin

Charlie and Syd brought her over to live with them in the U.S for the last seven years of her life.

1865-1928

Charlie’s Father

The senior Charles Chaplin married Hannah in 1885 and took to the stage professionally a year later.

He was well known as a comic singer.

Charles Chaplin

Charles Chaplin, Sr.

His marriage to Hannah did not last long, and soon he was living with his mistress.

Charlie had little contact with his father, except for a short period when Hannah was in a mental hospital.

Charles Chaplin, Sr.

Alcoholism was a common problem amongst many music hall stars of the period, and it was this that eventually killed Chaplin's father at such a young age.

1863-1901

Chaplin’s Childhood

Charles Spencer Chaplin was born on April 16th, 1889, in Walworth, London

His childhood, included extreme poverty, workhouses, and seeing his mother's mental decline put her into an institution. Chaplin Before Success

Chaplin’s Career

He joined the Eight Lancashire Lads, and this eventually led to Sherlock Holmes and Casey's Court Circus.

Eventually Charlie joined his brother in the Fred Karno Company.

Chaplin in Karno Show

Chaplin’s Career

Karno was almost a college of comedy for them, and the period had a huge impact on Charlie especially.

In 1910 Charlie toured the U.S with the Karno group and returned for another tour in 1912.Chaplin 1913

Chaplin’s Career

It was on this tour that he was discovered by Mack Sennett and his Keystone Film Company.

His first film, in 1914, was aptly titled Making A Living.

Chaplin and Sennett in 1948

Chaplin’s Career

His success was such that he was able to move from one company to another, each time on to a better deal.

Chaplin’s Career

In 1915 , after thirty-five films, he moved to Essanay.

It was here he really found his feet, not to mention his longest serving leading lady, Edna Purviance.

The Champion, The Tramp and The Bank. Edna Purviance

Chaplin’s Career

In 1916 he moved to Mutual, with even greater control and financial rewards.

At Mutual he made the definitive Chaplin short comedies, The Rink, Easy Street, The Cure and The Immigrant.

Chaplin’s Career

First National was next, and it was here he constructed his full length masterpiece, The Kid.

Shorter comedies of note at this time included Sunnyside and The Idle Class.

The Big Four

Along with his great friend, Douglas Fairbanks, as well as Mary Pickford and D.W Griffith, Chaplin formed United Artists in 1919.

"So, the lunatics have taken over the asylum!"

Chaplin’s Career

He made his first film for them in 1923, the Edna Purviance vehicle, A Woman of Paris, perhaps the least known of his films, but it was followed by the Chaplin classics - The Gold Rush, The Circus, City Lights and Modern Times.

Chaplin’s Career

It wasn't until 1940 that he made his first talkie, The Great Dictator, to be followed by the more refined Monsieur Verdoux and Limelight, a look back to the music hall world of his youth.

Chaplin’s Career

Limelight (1952) was the last film he made in America.

McCarthyite political maneuverings effectively ejected him from the country and he wasn't to return until 1972, when he received a special Academy Award.

Chaplin’s Career

In the meantime, though heartily welcomed back to Britain, he moved to Switzerland with his wife, Oona O' Neill, and their children.

He made two more films, A King In New York (1957) and A Countess From Hong Kong (1967).

Chaplin’s Final Days

He spent his final years writing music for his films and enjoying his family life.

He died, at 4 a.m on Christmas Day in 1977.

Les Quais de Vevey

Chaplin’s Half-Brother

Charlie and Sydney were very close and looked out for each other from their young days.

Though younger, it was Charlie that got onto the stage first, in a play, Sherlock Holmes, but it wasn't long before Syd joined the tour. Sydney Chaplin

Syd Chaplin

Fred Karno signed up Sydney, who then recommended Charlie, giving him his biggest break.

After Charlie left Keystone, he suggested Sydney as his replacement, and he made a few comedies there.

Fred Karno

Syd Chaplin

Soon he was handling the majority of Charlie's business affairs, negotiating most of his big contracts and appearing in a few films during the First National era.

1885-1965

Charlie’s First Wife

Married in 1918 after Mildred believed she was pregnant - it was a false alarm.

She did later give birth to Charlie's first child, who only lived for three days.

Mildred Harris

Mildred Harris

Their divorce, in 1920, was acrimonious.

Mildred was an actress who appeared in a few films such as The Inferior Sex and For Husbands Only.

Charlie’s Second Wife

She played an angel in The Kid and a maid in The Idle Class.

She started out as the leading lady for The Gold Rush before falling for Charlie and then falling pregnant. Lita Grey

Lita Grey

She had two children by him, Charles Jr. and Sydney Earl.

This marriage (1924-1927) also came to a bitter end in court.

Lita carried on in Vaudeville successfully, but had problems with alcohol.

1908-1995

Charlie’s Third Wife

His third marriage lasted from 1936 to 1942

She appeared in two of Chaplin’s films: Modern Times and The Great Dictator

Paulette Goddard

Paulette Goddard

Though Charlie and Paulette divorced, it was by all accounts, on amicable terms.

1911-1990

Charlie’s Last Wife

When Charlie married Oona in June 1943, he at last found true happiness, and it seems they had both found their soul mates, despite the fact that Oona was only 18, and Charlie was 53.

Oona O’Neill

They met when Charlie considered her for a part in an unmade film, Shadow and Substance (during 1942) and were inseperable from then on.

Oona's father was the famous playwright Eugene O'Neill.

Chaplin’s Family

Together they had eight children (Geraldine, Michael, Josephine, Victoria, Eugene, Jane, Annette and Christopher).

Chaplin and OonaShe supported him totally

throughout a particularly harrowing court case in the 40's and when he was exiled from the U.S. in 1952, when she renounced her American citizenship for British, though they made their home in Switzerland.

She died on September 27, 1991.

Vevey, Switzerland