SIR CHARLES SPENCER CHAPLIN
Born: April 16th, 1889 (London)
Died: December 25th, 1977 (Natural Causes)
Marriages: Mildred Harris (1918-1921), Lita Grey (1924-1927), Paulette Goddard (1936-1942), Oona Chaplin (1943-His Death)
Children: He had a total of eleven children. Norman (Lived three days), Charles Jr., Sydney, Geraldine, Michael, Josephine, Victoria, Eugene, Jane, Annette & Christopher.
Success: He is most known for his his portrayal as "The Little Tramp" and played this character, while also directing at times, in thirty-five films. He is the most pivotal star of the silent screen.
Interesting Fact: When Chaplin came to America with his understudy Stan Laurel, they lived in a boarding house that didn't allow cooking. While Laurel was frying food, Chaplin would play the violin to cover the sound.
Awards: Though he never received an Oscar for his acting alone, he did, however, win two Oscars for his contributions to the cinema, and another for the musical score in "Limelight" (1952). He has also received sixteen other awards in addition to being knighted in 1975. He had footprints at the Grauman's Chinese Theater but it was stolen in the fifties.
Hidden Gems: "The Kid" (1921), "The Gold Rush" (1925) "The Circus" (1928), "City Lights" (1931), "Modern Times" (1936), "The Great Dictator" (1940), "Limelight" (1952).
While Chaplin's life itself was full of suprising tragedy, he was the best entertainer in the business. While others were struggling through the sound years, the "Tramp" kept him busy making silents. His first talkie was "The Great Dictator" (1940), though he re-released some silent pictures with his own voice as the narrator. He was also a composer and wrote the music for many of his films.
To me, Chaplin is timeless. He created a new type of Comedy, involving sympathy, that is greatly used today. His silent pictures are the most entertaining to me, though I enjoy a Keaton and Lloyd now and then.
* Here is the famouse table ballet in "The Gold Rush" (1925).
No comments:
Post a Comment