Born: 16 April 1889 · Died: 25 December 1977 · Age: 88
English comic genius who created the Tramp and wrote, directed and starred in silent classics such as The Kid, City Lights and Modern Times
Did you know?He composed the music for many of his own films, including the famous song Smile.
Quick facts
Date of birth16 April 1889
Date of death25 December 1977
Age at death88
Cause of deathStroke, cerebral hemorrhage
NationalityBritish
BirthplaceWalworth, United Kingdom
Occupationfilm director, composer, film actor
Editor's Take:
Charlie Chaplin was cinema's first global superstar. He grew up in desperate poverty in south London, with his mother often in asylums, and went on stage as a child. Touring America with Fred Karno's comedy troupe, he was signed by Keystone Studios in 1913. Within a year he had created the Tramp, with his bowler hat, cane and baggy trousers. He was soon writing, directing, producing, editing and even composing the music for his own films. The Kid, The Gold Rush, City Lights and Modern Times mixed slapstick with real feeling. In The Great Dictator he mocked Hitler in a film released in 1940. Politically targeted in the McCarthy era, he was refused re-entry to the United States in 1952 and settled in Switzerland.
Key Milestones
1914: Creates the Tramp at Keystone Studios
1919: Co-founds United Artists
1936: Releases Modern Times
1940: Releases The Great Dictator
1972: Returns to Hollywood to accept an honorary Oscar
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 1889 – 25 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, singer, film editor and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film.
Geraldine Chaplin, Charles Chaplin, Christopher Chaplin, Eugene Chaplin, Jane Chaplin, Josephine Chaplin, Michael Chaplin, Sydney Chaplin, Victoria Chaplin
