Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Chaplin, popularly called Charlie Chaplin, was a prolific British actor, director and writer and one of the greatest comic artists of all time. He was born in 1889 in London to an alcoholic father and a mentally ill mother. He began performing on stage from the age of five (his parents were singers), which helped him overcome the hardships he faced as a child. While touring in the US in 1913, he got film offers and he began his celebrated career in Hollywood.
Chaplin is best loved for his character ‘The Tramp’. He wore a battered bowler hat, ill-fitting clothes and a toothbrush moustache and carried a walking stick. The character first appeared in short films in 1914 and then in the 1915 feature film 'The Tramp'. People loved it—a downtrodden character with odd mannerisms and unlucky in love, but nevertheless a survivor.
Most of Chaplin’s films are richly comic yet poignant. They entertain and also raise deeper social and philosophical questions. A wonderful example of this is 'The Kid' (1921), Chaplin’s directorial debut. It depicts the relationship between the Tramp and his adopted son John (played by five-year old Jackie Coogan). The most autobiographical of Chaplin’s movies, it shows elements of his unhappy childhood. He began filming it just weeks after losing his three-day old son. His attempts to coach Coogan and bond with him, taking him out for picnics and pony rides, helped him to overcome his loss.
Another noteworthy silent film was "The Gold Rush'. Its most iconic scene depicts the Tramp as being so hungry that he boils and eats his own shoe!
When silent films gave way to the talkies in the 1930s, Chaplin initially bucked the trend—he produced 'City Lights' and 'Modern Times' without dialogue. His first sound film was 'The Great Dictator' (1940), a spoof on German dictator Hitler. For the film, Chaplin received his only Oscar nomination as best actor.
Chaplin moved to Switzerland in 1953 as he had political differences with the US government. He returned only in 1972 to receive an honorary Oscar.
Chaplin’s Last Words: Chaplin died on Christmas in 1977 after getting a stroke. As he lay on his deathbed, the priest read him his last rites and ended with “May God have mercy on your soul.” Chaplin responded, “Why not? After all, it belongs to Him.”
