Charlie Chaplin

Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. lived from 16 April 1889 to 25 December 1977. He was an English performer—actor, filmmaker, singer, editor, and composer—who became famous during the silent film era. His character the Tramp turned him into a global icon, and he is regarded as a major figure in cinema. His career lasted over 75 years, starting in his Victorian-era childhood and ending just a year before his death.

Chaplin grew up poor in London. His father was not around, and his mother had money troubles. He was sent to a workhouse twice before turning nine. When he was 14, his mother was placed in a mental asylum. He started performing early, touring music halls and later working as a stage actor and comedian. At 19, he joined the Fred Karno company, which brought him to the United States. In 1914, his work with Keystone Studios made him widely popular. He soon introduced and adopted the Tramp as his on-screen persona. He began directing his own films and improved his skills at Essanay Studios, where the Tramp gained emotional depth in *The Tramp* (1915). He built a large fanbase and demanded higher pay as he moved to Mutual and First National. By 1918, he was among the world’s highest-paid and most famous people.

In 1919, Chaplin helped start the distribution company United Artists, giving him full control over his movies. His first feature-length film was *The Kid* (1921), followed by *A Woman of Paris* (1923), *The Gold Rush* (1925), and *The Circus* (1928). He initially resisted switching to sound films in the 1930s, making *City Lights* (1931) and *Modern Times* (1936) without dialogue. His first sound film was *The Great Dictator* (1940), a satire of Adolf Hitler.

The 1940s brought controversy, and Chaplin’s popularity quickly dropped. He was accused of communist sympathies, and the press and public were scandalized by a paternity suit and his marriages to much younger women. The FBI opened an investigation, and in 1952 Chaplin was forced to leave the United States, settling in Switzerland. He abandoned the Tramp in later films like *Monsieur Verdoux* (1947), *Limelight* (1952), *A King in New York* (1957), *The Chaplin Revue* (1959), and *A Countess from Hong Kong* (1967).

Chaplin wrote, directed, produced, edited, and composed music for most of his films. He was a perfectionist, and his financial independence let him spend years developing and producing a single picture. His films mix slapstick with pathos, especially in the Tramp’s struggles against hardship. Many include social and political themes and autobiographical elements. In 1972, he received an Honorary Academy Award for “the incalculable effect he has had in making motion pictures the art form of this century,” part of a renewed appreciation for his work. He remains highly respected, with *The Gold Rush*, *The Circus*, *City Lights*, *Modern Times*, and *The Great Dictator* often appearing on lists of the greatest films.

**Life and career**

**1889–1913: early years**

**Background and childhood hardship**

Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. was born on 16 April 1889 in London to Hannah Chaplin (née Hill) and Charles Chaplin Sr. Some have speculated that his paternal grandmother was Romani, but without a birth certificate, the truth is unknown. No official birth record exists, though Chaplin believed he was born at East Street, Walworth, in South London.

His parents had married four years earlier, and Charles Sr. became the legal guardian of Hannah’s first son, Sydney John Hill. Both parents were music-hall entertainers at the time of Chaplin’s birth. Hannah, a shoemaker’s daughter, had a short, unsuccessful career under the stage name “Lily Harley.” Charles Sr., a butcher’s son, was a popular singer. Though they never divorced, the couple was estranged by around 1891. The next year, Hannah had a third son, George Wheeler Dryden, fathered by entertainer Leo Dryden. The child was taken by Dryden at six months old and did not reappear in Chaplin’s life for about 30 years.

Chaplin’s childhood was defined by poverty and hardship. His authorized biographer David Robinson called his later rise “the most dramatic of all the rags to riches stories ever told.” Chaplin spent his early years with his mother and brother Sydney in the Kennington district of London. Hannah had no income except occasional nursing and dressmaking, and Charles Sr. gave no financial support. As conditions worsened, Chaplin was sent to Lambeth Workhouse at age seven. The council housed him at the Central London District School for paupers, which he later described as “a forlorn existence.” He reunited briefly with his mother 18 months later, but Hannah had to readmit the family to the workhouse in July 1898. The boys were then sent to Norwood Schools, another institution for destitute children.

In September 1898, Hannah was committed to Cane Hill mental asylum, having developed psychosis apparently from syphilis infection and malnutrition. During her two-month stay, Chaplin and Sydney lived with their father, whom they barely knew. Charles Sr. was severely alcoholic, and conditions were bad enough to prompt a visit from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. He died two years later, at age 38, from cirrhosis of the liver.

Hannah recovered temporarily but fell ill again in May 1903. Chaplin, then 14, had to take her to the asylum.