Chaplin

Feltham once said, "Laughter should dimple the cheek, not furrow the brow." Charlie Chaplin was a man who definitely dimpled millions of cheeks in the early 1900's. He had a huge impact on the lives of Americans during the world wars and the hard times of the Depression and he made people laugh for the first time in a long time and changed the way they looked at the world despite his own troubles. And even though his films were in black and white, he put a lot of color into everyone's life.

Charlie Chaplin was born on April 15, 1889, in London, England to Charles Chaplin, Sr., and Hannah Hill(Lynn, Kenneth, pg.376). He was taught to sing before he could talk and danced just as soon as he could walk(Untermeyer, Louis, pg.669). At a very young age Chaplin was told that he would be the most famous person in the world. From then on it was a personal goal for little Charlie. And he would do anything to reach his goal. When Charlie was five years old he sang for his mother on stage after she became ill and taken hoarse(Pringle, Glen). Everyone in the audience loved him and hurled their money onto the stage. When Chaplin was eight, he appeared in a clog dancing act called "Eight Lancashire Lads"(A.Kn, pg.94) Once again he was loved by the audience and he was excited with the attention he received. Charlie's half-brother , Sidney, acted as his agent and when Charlie was ten years old, Sidney got Chaplin an engagement at the London Hippodrome. Within a few years Charlie was one of the most popular child actors in England (Untermeyer, Louis, pg. 670).

Charlie was twelve when his father died on May 9th, 1901. He died in St. Thomas Hospital in London of alcoholism. He was thirty-seven (Robinson, David, pg. 648). After the death of her husband, Charlie's mother, became a chronically psychotic woman who was in and out of mental institutions(Weissman, Stephen, pg. 6). Charlie and Sidney, were placed in a charity home after their mother's mental health plummeted.

Chaplin attended 2 years of school at Hern Boy's College. This was the only formal education that he ever recieved. Charlie was at school when his mother suffered a mental breakdown and was taken away to an institution. Completely alone, Charlie lived on the streets.

When she was well enough, his mother took the children back and supported them by sewing(Untermeyer, Louis, pg.670). Between his twelfth and his fourteenth birthdays, Charlie's places of employment included a barbershop ( where he absorbed the techniques that the Jewish barber would display in "The Great Dictator"); a stationery store, a doctor's office, a glass factory, Chandler's shop, and a printing plant (Lynn, Kenneth S., pg.65).

From 1903 to 1906, Charlie performed in "Sherlock Holmes" as the paperboy, Billy(Pringle, Glen). After his time with "Sherlock Holmes", Charlie joined "The Casey Circus" in 1906 as a mime. He remained there for a year(Pringle, Glen). As a gawky adolescent whose voice was changing, Charlie found that he could not remain a child actor in the legimate theater and was forced back into Vaudeville where he discovered the gift for comic pantomime. After remaining in Vaudeville for a few years, Charlie, not quite twenty, came to the United States as a top comedian( Untermeyer, Louis, pg.670). There he started his career as the most famous person that ever lived.

In 1907, Chaplin joined the Karno Pantomime Troupe. He made his first tour of the United States and Canada in 1910 with the Karno Troupe. He stayed with the Karno Troupe until 1913. In May of 1913, Charlie signed a contract with Adam Kessel, who had an interest in the Keystone Film Company, for $125 per week. On December 29, 1913, Chaplin signed with Keystone Films for $150 a week. In January of 1914, Chaplin made his first feature film, "Making A Living". Charlie remained with Keystone Films all through 1914 until November when he signed a contract with Essanay Films for $1,250 a week to make 14 films during the year of 1915 (Pringle, Glen). In the spring of 1915, Chaplin made his first appearance as the "tramp" character in "The Tramp". The film was a bittersweet comedy with a signature ending in which - plucky and resilient after losing in love - this homeless comic hero waddles down life's highway, desolate and utterly alone ( Weissman, Stephen). His character, the Tramp, was a short, twitchy man with a black mustache, baggy suit and a waddling penguinlike walk(Corn, Kahana, pg13). A biographist, Theodore Huff, believed Chaplin's costume for the Tramp character personified shabby gentility- the fallen aristocrat at grips with poverty. He said the cane was a symbol of attempted dignity. And he thought his mustache was a sign of vanity (Untermeyer, Louis, pg.671). Within two years of his first appearance in motion pictures, in 1914, he had become one of the best known personalities in the nation (A.Kn., pg. 93).

On the 27th of February, 1916, Chaplin signed with Mutual Films for $10,000 a week plus a $150,000 signing bonus(Pringle, Glen). He remained with for a little over a year, until June 17, 1917, when he signed with First National Exhibitor's Circuit for $1,075,000 a year( Pringle, Glen). He was still a bachelor - handsome, rich, and famous - when he became infatuated with a sixteen- year-old movie ingenue, Mildred Harris. On October 23rd, 1918, they were suddenly married (Untermeyer, Louis pg.672). By the early 1920's his box office appeal was so great that no studio could afford his talents, and he appeared only in films produced by himself. Chaplin, together with two other of the foremost stars of the day, Mary Pickford , Douglas Fairbanks (who was Chaplin's best friend) and the director D.W. Griffith formed United Artists, so that each could produce and distribute his own films independently (A.Kn, pg.94). He demanded unquestioning obedience from his associates; years of instant deference to his point of view had persuaded him that it was the only one that mattered.

Chaplin's most famous films that brought him the most admiration, and controversy were: "The Kid"(1920), "The Gold Rush"(1925), "City Lights"(1931), "Modern Times"(1936), "The Great Dictator"(1940), "Monsieur Verdoux"(1947), and "Limelight"(1952) (1998 World Book, pg.377). After these films Chaplin filled the sky as the most famous person in the world. Until he was nearly thirty Chaplin's life had been quiet, scandal-free and without any serious involvement.

Then, "Talkies" started coming out. These are movies with sound. "Talkies are spoiling the oldest art in the world- the art of pantomime. They are