2:06pm: Charlie Chaplin
CHARLIE CHAPLIN
born: Apr 16, 1889
died: Dec 25, 1977
In his autobiography, he wrote, There are more valid facts and details in works of art than there are in history books.
Charlie Chaplins life was a work of art and it began on this day in 1889 in London, England. He started on his acting career as a young child, performing on stage, then touring with Fred Karnos company as a teenager. When he was twenty-four, Chaplin joined Mack Sennetts Keystone company where he made over thirty films. These films were the making of the cane-twirling clown with the baggy pants. The character of the little tramp came to fulfillment in the 1915 film, The Tramp.
Four years later, he formed United Artists Corporation with other film artists, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith, and produced many independent films including The Gold Rush in 1925, City Lights in 1931 and Modern Times in 1936. His first talkie was The Great Dictator in 1940. And one of his most remembered films was made in 1952, Limelight.
Ostracized from the American film community and denied reentry after a trip abroad, because of his refusal to become an American citizen, his left-wing causes and his marriages to several teenagers, Chaplin lived in Switzerland from 1952 until 1972 with his fourth wife, Oona, the daughter of playwright Eugene ONeill.
In 1972, he returned to the United States (this time he was permitted entry) to accept a special award at the Annual Academy Awards. And, in 1975 he was knighted by the Queen of England. Two years later, on Christmas Day, the little tramp died at his home in Vevey, Switzerland.
Many have imitated or attempted to become the next Charlie Chaplin. However, as Max Sennett once said, Chaplin is the greatest artist who ever lived. (from Those Were The Days)
Double shift last night, double again today so a short but informative and happy birthday tribute to the little tramp, Charlie Chaplin. My favorite Chaplin flik: The Gold Rush, 1925.
Posted by cronish at April 16, 2002 02:13 PM