Charlie Chaplin biography, wife, children, son, photo without makeup, cause and age of death

Biography of Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin was a legendary figure who helped shape the early days of cinema. Bernard Shaw called him "the only genius to come out of the movie industry." Creator and performer of the famous Tramp character, a versatile cinema master who worked as a director, screenwriter, and composer. Films like "The Kid," "The Gold Rush," "City Lights," "The Great Dictator," and many others have become cinema classics.

The tragicomic actor's entire life was packed with extraordinary adventures and stories. Even after his death, the drama didn't end: criminals stole the coffin with his body from the grave, demanding ransom from the family. Soon, they returned the genius's body, burying it under a concrete slab.

Childhood, Youth, Family

Charles Spencer Chaplin was born in spring 1889 to a creative London family: Hannah and Charles Spencer Chaplin Sr. His mother, a music hall performer with Romani heritage and the stage name Lily Harley, already had a child from a previous marriage, four-year-old Sydney, to whom Chaplin Sr. later gave his surname.

His father, whose lineage traced back to the Huguenots, was a renowned baritone of his era, singing in music halls in the capital, composing his own pieces, and touring Europe.

Charlie Chaplin's parents were variety artists

The family enjoyed comfortable living in a cozy three-room flat on West Square in Lambeth. In one of his early memories, Chaplin later wrote in a book:

…before going to the theater, mother lovingly tucked Sydney and me into soft beds, and after adjusting the blankets, left us in the care of a maid. At my age of three and a half, anything seemed possible to me. If Sydney could perform tricks, swallow a coin, and then pull it out from the back of his head, then I could do it just as well. To prove it, I swallowed half a penny, and mother had to call a doctor.

His parents divorced a year after Charlie was born due to the father's constant drinking. Hannah's patience ran out when Charles Sr. stopped coming home and providing money for the household and children. Worse still, Charles Sr. became violent when drunk, and one day the woman couldn't take it anymore and fled to friends.

When the boy turned five, he went on stage in a variety show to replace his mother, who had suddenly lost her voice, and sang a song from her repertoire, stopping to collect coins tossed by the crowd. The audience laughed, but Charlie's natural spontaneity and sweet voice won over the crowd in his first taste of success.

Hannah never regained her voice, and with its loss, their financial situation worsened. She first moved with her sons into two rooms, then into one, each time moving to increasingly desperate neighborhoods. The path to the stage was closed, so she bought a sewing machine to try to earn a living. Hoping that her voice would return, Hannah carefully kept a trunk with theatrical costumes.

But no miracle came. When the money ran out completely, the woman and her sons entered the Lambeth workhouse, into state care. There, Charlie experienced crushing loneliness for the first time: his mother was in the women's section, and he and his brother were in the children's section. They could only see each other in passing.

Later, the Chaplin brothers were sent to a poor school in Hanwell. There, Charlie first endured both physical pain and humiliation – he was whipped for an offense he didn't commit.

When Sydney turned eleven and was sent to the navy on the ship "Exmouth," Charlie was left completely alone. He learned to read and write but missed his family terribly. Somehow, Hannah managed to scrape together some money, left the workhouse, and took her younger son to a room she managed to rent. Soon, Sydney joined them.

But the happiness was short-lived – the children were sent back to the orphanage while their mother returned to state care. Chaplin wrote about his first sense of disaster:

One day, while Sydney was playing football, two caretakers pulled him aside and told him that our mother had lost her mind and been sent to Cane Hill Asylum. Upon hearing this terrible news, Sydney showed no sadness, but after finishing the game, he hid in a dark corner and wept. When he told me about our tragedy, I couldn't believe it. I didn't cry, but I was filled with despair. Why did she do it? Mother, so cheerful and carefree, how could she go insane? I had this vague feeling that she'd lost her mind on purpose – to stop thinking about us.

The boys moved in with their father and his new family. His wife Louise wasn't thrilled about this development – Charles was getting fewer gigs, and they already had a son of their own. Both she and her husband drank heavily, and the boys often spent nights on the street when she locked them out. Once, the police even got involved.

One day, Hannah appeared at their door, having been released from the asylum. She gathered her sons, rented another room, and they lived together once more. Charlie was happy to listen to her theater stories again.

School bored the boy, but one day just before Christmas, they announced they'd be staging "Cinderella," and Charlie got excited. Charlie was certain he'd land a role. He didn't. But soon he became a school celebrity – the boy recited a hilarious poem about a fluffy kitten, showcasing his comedic talent and earning him roles in school performances.

Recognizing his gift, Charlie started performing on street corners, entertaining anyone who'd watch. A school teacher named Jackson spotted him there and invited him to join a children's tap dance troupe called "Eight Lancashire Lads," where Charlie performed starting in 1899. Charlie excelled, with people predicting a bright future in tap dancing – but his real dream was making people laugh.

The ensemble 'Eight Lancashire Lads' (Chaplin is second from the left)

In 1903, Chaplin left school and started working – selling flowers, hawking newspapers, and running messages. But his acting dreams never faded. He haunted a theatrical agency on Bedford Street, though with no luck. Finally, at 14 – shortly after his mother was committed to an asylum again (his father had died two years earlier from liver cirrhosis) – he landed a small role: playing messenger boy Billy in "Sherlock Holmes" and another boy, Sammy, in "Jim, A Romance of Cockayne."

First Roles

The boy was over the moon: they could finally escape poverty, and his mother, who had suffered another mental breakdown, could be taken out of the hospital. Syd helped him quickly master the role, and Charlie started rehearsals. With "Sherlock Holmes," they went on tour, after which Chaplin received an offer to perform in a West End theatre. Chaplin called this moment his second birth, but an even bigger turning point was waiting for him.

Charlie Chaplin in the production of 'Sherlock Holmes'

Charlie's older brother was working with Fred Karno's troupe, performing in "slapstick comedies." At the time, Charlie was unemployed and anxious. Syd worked hard to convince Karno to give his talented younger brother a shot. One day, Fred was unhappy with Harry Weldon's partner in one of his biggest hits, "A Football Match," and offered Charles a chance to try the pantomime role. Chaplin blew everyone away.

Charlie Chaplin on the poster of the Karno theater

Karno signed him up, and Chaplin didn't just tour Britain. He got to visit France, a place he'd dreamed about for years:

Paris turned out to be just as I had expected. The journey from Gare du Nord to Rue Geoffroy-Marie filled me with such excitement and impatience that I wanted to jump out of the carriage and walk at every corner. It was still the Paris of Monet, Pissarro, and Renoir. Even new innovations like the automobile didn't spoil the picture.

Soon after getting back from France, Karno's troupe traveled through Canada to the United States, where they toured for two years before wrapping up in Salt Lake City. Chaplin desperately wanted to stay in America for good, knowing he'd already hit his ceiling in London. America felt like the place where he could make his bigger dreams come true.

But he had to go back to Britain – they didn't renew his contract. But during the second American tour, movie producer Mack Sennett spotted the actor and offered Chaplin Ford Sterling's spot as a comedian in Keystone Comedies.

Chaplin's first movie role was playing a newspaper reporter in Henry Lehrman's short film "Making a Living," which came out in February 1914. The director brutally cut all his comedy bits, and Chaplin almost lost hope when the film hit theaters. Years later, Henry admitted he did this because Chaplin was "getting too big for his boots" as a newcomer.

Charlie Chaplin's first film role (left)

The Peak of His Career

One day, producer Mack Sennett suggested Charlie put on makeup and try his hand at comedy. That's when his iconic tramp character was born: with a cane, a bowler hat, baggy pants, and enormous shoes. To age himself, Chaplin added a small mustache that wouldn't mask his expressions.

The character quickly developed his eccentric personality: he was a tramp, a poet, and a gentleman who dreamed of love and adventure (and this was in cinema's early days!). But when pushed too far, he could just as easily kick someone in anger and run off.

Kid Auto Races at Venice

During the first shoot – for the film "Kid Auto Races at Venice" (1914) – a huge crowd of studio employees gathered, cracking up at Chaplin's improvisation. Next came "Mabel's Strange Predicament," where Chaplin first wore the outfit that would become his signature look.

Mabel's Strange Predicament

Soon, Charlie's quickly-filmed comedies started gaining traction, and the actor offered Sennett his services as a director. His first screenplay was "Caught in the Rain" – a blend of action and comedy.

A shot from the movie 'Caught in the Rain'

After making several films, Chaplin jumped to a new studio – Essanay, where his paycheck got significantly bigger. A year later, he moved to Mutual Film Corporation, and in 1917, he inked a million-dollar deal with First National. During this time, his films "The Immigrant," "The Adventurer," and "Easy Street" were released. Chaplin's regular co-stars included Edna Purviance, Eric Campbell, Henry Bergman, and other notable actors of the time.

In 1919, Chaplin gained near-total creative control by co-founding United Artists with several friends. He stuck with silent films to the end, even as Hollywood embraced sound. During this period, he created the heartwarming "The Kid" and the psychological drama "A Woman of Paris." Later followed the famous "The Pilgrim," "The Gold Rush," and "The Circus."

Chaplin's fame was so massive that he received hundreds of thousands of letters, and crowds would gather at train stations just to catch a glimpse of him passing through.

"City Lights" (1931), the story of a blind flower girl and the Tramp, catapulted the director to even greater fame. But it proved to be a nightmare for novice actress Virginia Cherrill. For the simple scene where she says "Flower, sir," Chaplin shot a staggering 342 takes, insisting she deliver the line as if speaking to a deaf person. He never explained why this was necessary for a silent film, later blaming it on a nervous breakdown. Cherrill was convinced that Charlie hated her.

Charlie Chaplin and Virginia Cherrill in the movie 'City Lights'

Chaplin's first sound film was "The Great Dictator," released in 1940, where he boldly mocked Hitler's regime. He wrote the script, composed the music, produced, and starred in dual roles as Adenoid Hynkel and a Jewish barber. The film also starred Paulette Goddard and Jack Oakie. This marked Charlie's final appearance as his iconic Tramp character.

Charlie Chaplin - Final Speech from The Great Dictator

After the film's release, accusations of anti-American activities against Chaplin intensified, with rumors swirling about his Communist Party connections. The accusations reached fever pitch in 1942 when Chaplin publicly called for opening a second front.

Meanwhile, Chaplin penned "Limelight," which became the 1952 film of the same name, earning him an Oscar for Best Original Score – his third Academy Award after two previous honors for his contributions to cinema. The world premiere was set for London that fall, with the master himself expected to attend. He was not allowed to return to America.

Chaplin was forced out of the USA because of accusations of communist views

Having anticipated this turn of events, Chaplin relocated to Switzerland. In the town of Corsier-sur-Vevey, he made his home in a villa he called "Manor of the Exile." His final films – both made in the UK – were "A King in New York" in 1957 (starring Chaplin himself) and "A Countess from Hong Kong" in 1967 (starring the legendary Marlon Brando and Sophia Loren).

Visiting Chaplin, 1973

Last Years of Charlie Chaplin's Life

But the actor's fame came with a dark side. Over the years, he faced accusations of supporting communist causes. As a result, many of his films were banned from theaters. Chaplin himself often faced widespread criticism.

"The Great Dictator," where Chaplin portrayed Hitler, also brought him serious trouble. The pressure eased somewhat after Germany invaded Poland, but fascist sympathizers continued sending him threatening letters.

In his final decade, Charlie Chaplin retired from acting. He spent his golden years in the Swiss town of Vevey, where he peacefully died in 1977. A monument to the comedian stands in the town that became his final resting place.

Charlie Chaplin's Personal Life

Charlie Chaplin's first love was young ballerina Hetty Kelly. She was only fourteen, and their relationship consisted of just a few dates. During one of these dates, Charlie confessed his love, which scared Hetty. They parted ways, but this platonic first love stayed in the actor's heart forever. Later, he would prefer young women—sometimes disturbingly young.

Chaplin's romance with actress Edna Purviance began as he was taking his first steps as a director. They dated for three years, and he even considered marriage. However, their relationship never progressed beyond their film collaborations. Edna appeared in over thirty of Chaplin's films and later married American colleague Thomas Meighan, maintaining a friendly relationship with Chaplin.

Edna Purviance, Charlie Chaplin's first wife

In 1918, already a famous actor and director, 29-year-old Chaplin married 16-year-old Mildred Harris after learning she was pregnant. Unfortunately, their first child, Norman, lived for only three days. Chaplin hesitated to file for divorce immediately, hoping for happiness, but it wasn't meant to be. They eventually divorced. Chaplin recalled that they simply couldn't understand each other—Mildred was too down-to-earth:

Mildred wasn't mean, but she was hopelessly ordinary. I could never reach her soul. It was stuffed with pink fluff and silly trifles.

At that time, Chaplin was finishing the film "The Kid." His wife's lawyers tried to seize the film to claim its future profits. Chaplin packed over 100,000 feet of film into coffee cans, secretly smuggled them out of California, and edited "The Kid" in a Salt Lake City hotel room. He paid his ex-wife $100,000 instead of the initially demanded $20,000.

For a while, Chaplin dated actress May Collins and even got engaged to her, but they never married. In 1924, he was forced to marry Lillita McMurray, whose stage name was Lita Grey. Chaplin was thirty-five, and she was sixteen.

Later, after their divorce, Lita claimed she and Chaplin had their first intimate encounter when she was just 13. Their "meetings" continued for two years until she became pregnant. When her parents discovered their affair, they demanded marriage, threatening to sue Chaplin for seducing a minor. He tried to buy them off:

I can't marry this child. I already married a 16-year-old once, and the press made me a laughingstock.

Chaplin married the actress away from journalists in Mexico. The wedding was "disguised" as a film shoot. During their three-year, deeply unhappy marriage, their sons Charles and Sydney Earl were born. Chaplin hadn't planned on a second child. A few years later, their divorce cost Chaplin $700,000. The children stayed with their mother.

Another secret wife of the "silent film great" was actress Paulette Goddard, who lived with Charles from 1932 to 1940 in his Beverly Hills home. It only became known that they were officially married in 1936 after their separation. Paulette soon married German writer Erich Maria Remarque.

Chaplin's fourth and final wife was actress Oona O'Neill. The wedding took place in 1943. Despite their thirty-year age gap. According to Charlie, their honeymoon in Santa Barbara was the happiest time of his life. Oona, the daughter of playwright Eugene O'Neill, declared she wanted to devote herself entirely to her family.

Together they had eight children: three sons (Christopher, Eugene, and Michael) and five daughters (Josephine, Joanna, Victoria-Emilie, and Geraldine). Geraldine would later portray fashion icon Coco Chanel in a Karl Lagerfeld film.

Chaplin had eight children in his last marriage

Geraldine's daughter, Oona Chaplin, also became an actress and starred in the series "Game of Thrones."

Death and Memory

Charlie Chaplin spent his final years in Switzerland. He died peacefully in his sleep at age 88. The legendary Tramp was buried in the Corsier-sur-Vevey cemetery. However, his final rest wouldn't come easily.

In March 1978, just months after his death, two immigrants dug up Chaplin's coffin. Police later discovered that Polish Roman Wardas and Bulgarian Gantscho Ganev had done this to extort ransom from the family. Authorities quickly caught the culprits and reburied the coffin in the same grave. Nearly two meters of concrete were poured over it.

The grave of Charlie Chaplin and his wife

The cinema legend has been honored in several feature and documentary films, including "Chaplin" (with the great comedian portrayed by Robert Downey Jr.).

In honor of Charlie Chaplin, a statue was erected on the shore of Lake Geneva, an asteroid was named after him, and many followers of his work have used the image of the Tramp. For example, Raj Kapoor imitated him in the film "Mr. 420," and Soviet clown Karandash mimicked him in the circus.

Interesting Facts

Throughout his life, Charlie Chaplin was the subject of countless rumors. One such rumor concerned his origins. Even though his parents were English, people insisted his real name was Israel Thornstein. In the 1930s, he was even listed in "The Richest Jews" and included in the encyclopedia "Who's Who Among American Jews."
As a teenager, Charlie had two terrifying encounters with murderers—and lived to tell about both. The first was Edgar Edwards, who killed the owners of a grocery store and hid the bodies in a large box. The second was bartender George Chapman, who poisoned his lover. These chilling experiences haunted him and later inspired his dark comedy "Monsieur Verdoux."
At 21, Chaplin seriously considered ditching acting altogether to raise pigs in Arkansas. But a pig farming book—complete with graphic details about castrating piglets—horrified him so much that he decided to stick with acting.
In his youth, Chaplin owned just one set of clothes that he washed twice a month, earning him a reputation for being unkempt. Once he became famous, he hired staff to help him stay presentable. Without their help, he'd get so lost in his work that he'd forget he'd been wearing the same outfit for days.
In 1932, Chaplin narrowly escaped death in Japan while promoting "City Lights." After the premiere, he was scheduled to dine with Prime Minister Tsuyoshi Inukai. Instead, Chaplin decided to hang out with Inukai's son and catch a sumo match. That choice saved his life. Japanese military nationalists attempting a coup stormed the dinner and assassinated the Prime Minister. In court, ringleader Seishi Koga admitted he had nothing personal against Chaplin—he just hoped killing him would spark a war with America. The lieutenant didn't realize Chaplin wasn't even an American citizen.
Chaplin was close friends with both Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt. Churchill taught him bricklaying, while Roosevelt convinced him to make "The Great Dictator" despite threats from American Nazi sympathizers. Chaplin was so worried the film would be banned that he actually stopped production—until Roosevelt gave him the green light. The finished film delighted the American president.

Photos: Charlie Chaplin