Charlie Chaplin Biography, Bio, Profile, pictures, photos from Netglimse.com

Destroyed the original negative of Sea Gull, The (1933) before a number of witnesses. The film never saw release, possibly because he was dismayed by the poor performance of his lead actress, Edna Purviance.
Grandfather of Dolores Chaplin and Carmen Chaplin.
Long after becoming a millionaire, he continued to live in a shabby hotel room, and kept his studio checks in a trunk for months.
He thought his period with Mutual was the most consistently pleasant period in his career, although he felt that the plots of the films were too formualic for his taste.
Ranked #79 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]
He was 29 years old when he wed Mildred Harris; she was 16.
He was 35 years old when he wed Lita Grey; Lita was 16.
He was 47 years old when he wed Paulette Goddard; Paulette was 25.
He was 54 years old when he wed Oona O'Neill (Oona Chaplin); Oona was 17.
On 3 March 1978 his dead body was stolen from the Corsier-Sur-Vevey cemetery. It took until 18 May when the police found it.
His Beverly Hills residence was known as "Breakaway House". Designed by Chaplin himself and built by studio carpenters, it began falling to bits over the years, much to the amusement of visitors. Built on Summit Drive in the Pickfair neighborhood, the house boasted a pipe organ Chaplin continually used to entertain his guests in the great hall; he also screened his films there. His tennis court was a hive of activity; even the elusive Greta Garbo was a frequent player. He seems to have been an inspiring host; many of his guests joined in with his antics, and reflected that they had never been so funny before or since -- it was the influence of Chaplin.
Half-brother of Syd Chaplin
Father of Charles Chaplin Jr.
Father of Sydney Chaplin
Father, with Oona Chaplin, of Geraldine Chaplin, Josephine Chaplin, Christopher Chaplin, Jane, Eugene, Michael Chaplin, Victoria Chaplin, and Annette-Emilie.
He was subpoenaed by the House Un-American Activities Council (HUAC) in September of 1947, but his appearance was postponed three times, and he never appeared. He sent HUAC a telegram stating "I am not a Communist, neither have I ever joined any political party or organization in my life". HUAC determined that it was no longer needed for him to appear.
Knighted in 1975.
In her book, "Tramp: The Life of Charlie Chaplin", Joyce Milton asserts that Vladimir Nabokov's controversial classic, "Lolita", was inspired by Chaplin's relationship with Lita Grey. On the 100th anniversary of Charlie Chaplin's birth, celebrations were held in Corsier and Vevey, Switzerland, where he last lived. For the occasion, 100 children from the region performed a choreography dressed up as little tramps.
Interred at Corsier-Sur-Vevey Cemetery, Corsier-Sur-Vevey, Switzerland.
A much-repeated story claims that he once entered a Charlie Chaplin-look-a-like-contest and finished third! In some versions of the story, he came in second.
Stan Laurel was his understudy on the English stage.
When both Stan Laurel and Chaplin moved to America they shared a room in a boarding house.
Cooking was not allowed in the boarding house where Stan Laurel and Chaplin stayed, so he would play the violin to cover up the sound of Laurel frying up food on a hot plate.
Invented his tramp costume with the help of 'Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle' 's pants. Arbuckle's father-in-law's derby, Chester Conklin's cutaway, Ford Sterling's size-14 shoes, and some crepe paper belonging to Mack Swain (which became the tramp's mustache). The only item that actually belonged to Chaplin was the whangee cane.
His bowler and cane was sold for $150,000 in 1987
He was the first actor to appear on the cover of "Time" magazine, (July 6, 1925).
He was also the first actor to have a comic strip about him; Ed Carey's 1916 strip, "Pa's Imported Son-in-Law", detailed the adventures of Chaplin.
After his body was recovered from grave robbers, Chaplin was reburied in a vault surrounded by cement.
Pictured (as Charlie Chaplin) on one of ten 29� US commemorative postage stamps celebrating stars of the silent screen, issued 27 April 1994. Designed by caricaturist Al Hirschfeld, this set of stamps also honored Rudolph Valentino, Clara Bow, Lon Chaney, John Gilbert, Zasu Pitts, Harold Lloyd, Theda Bara, Buster Keaton, and the Keystone Kops.
Pictured on one of fifteen 32� US commemorative postage stamps in the "Celebrate the Century" series, issued 3 February 1998, celebrating the 1910s.
In Spain he had a different dubbing actor in each of his sound films. They were: Ricardo Solans (The Great Dictator (1940)), F�lix Acaso (Limelight (1952)) and Joaqu�n D�az (A King in New York (1957)). The dubbing actor of Monsieur Verdoux (1947) is, at this time, unknown.
Father-in-law of Jean-Baptiste Thi�rr�e.
Son-in-law of Eugene O'Neill.
Grandfather of James Thi�rr�e.
Most people (now and during his lifetime) believe that Chaplin had brown eyes because they had only seen him in black and white with black eye makeup on. It fact they were very blue. Chaplin remarked in his autobiography that people meeting him for the first time were always struck by his blue eyes. And his future wife Oona Chaplin wrote "Just met Charlie Chaplin. What blue eyes he has!" to a girlhood friend in 1942.
Was an accomplished musician who, in his later years, often reissued his silent films with scores he had composed himself.
His handprints, footprints and signature were immortalized in cement at Grauman's (now Mann's) Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, but after his fall from grace with the Americans because of his political views, the section of cement was removed from public view. It cannot be located and is now feared lost.
Half brother of Wheeler Dryden.
His mother, Hannah Smith Chaplin, was Romanichal (English Gypsy).
Grandfather of actress Kiera Chaplin.
Grandfather of Aur�lia Thi�rr�e.
Although Adolf Hitler was not at all a fan - in fact he had been misinformed that Charlie was Jewish, and therefore despised him - he was also well aware of how beloved Charlie was throughout the world at that time, and that was the reason he grew the Chaplin moustache: he thought it would endear him to the people. (Source: The Tramp and the Dictator)
Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith. Pg. 99-102. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387
As a child he was confined to a bed for weeks due to a serious illness. At night his mother would sit at the window and act out what was going on outside. This was a major reason Chaplin became a comedian.
When Chaplin arrived in the U.S. with the Fred Karno troupe on Oct. 2, 1912, in his second trip to America, according to Ellis Island immigration records he had $45 in his pocket. He listed his half-brother, Sydney, as his next of kin even though his mother was still alive. Sailing with him was fellow Karno troupe member Arthur Stanley Jefferson - later to be known as Stan Laurel.
Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume One, 1890-1945". Pages 115-124. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1987.
Did not receive screen credit on the many comedies he made for Keystone in 1914-15, as it was studio policy not to credit its actors (any Keystone film that credits Chaplin is a reissue print). His first screen credit appeared on His New Job (1915), his first film for Essanay.
Called Bronenosets Potyomkin (1925) his favorite movie.
He was voted the 9th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
Is mentioned in the song called "Facts of life" from 2004.
Was 73 years old when his youngest son, Christopher, was born.
Received an Honorary Oscar the The 44th Annual Academy Awards (1972) (TV), when for the only time in the awards' televised history, the Best Picture Award was not given last. Instead, that moment was chosen to present the award to him. He appeared on stage blowing kisses to the Hollywood audience with tears running down his face while he received a long standing ovation. Ironically, he won another Oscar the following year.
He and Buster Keaton had an interesting relationship. Long considered rivals but always having avoided commenting about each other in the press, Chaplin hired Keaton for a part in Limelight (1952). Keaton, who was flat broke at the time, went into a career decline after having been signed by MGM in 1928, as the studio would not let him improvise in any of his films nor allow him any writing or directorial input, and he was eventually reduced to writing gags--often uncredited--for other comedians' films. In one scene, Chaplin's character was dying. While the camera was fading away, Keaton was muttering to Chaplin without moving his lips, "That's it, good, wait, don't move, wait, good, ahh, we're through." In his autobiography Keaton called Chaplin "the greatest silent comedian of all time."
At the Golden Camera Awards 2005 in Berlin, Geraldine Chaplin told in a moving speech honoring Jerry Lewis about the last time she saw her father alive. He watched a movie of Lewis on television screaming "He`s funny, that bastard!".
Named the #10 Greatest Actor on The 50 Greatest Screen Legends list by the American Film Institute
In all his years of living and working in the United States he never became a U.S. citizen.
Ia portrayed by Robert Downey Jr. in Chaplin (1992), by Joe Geary in Young Charlie Chaplin (1989) (TV), by Eddie Izzard in The Cat's Meow (2001), by Clive Revill in The Scarlett O'Hara War (1980) (TV) and by Lorne Kennedy in The Hearst and Davies Affair (1985) (TV)

Charlie Chaplin, actually Charles Spencer Chaplin, was born in London, England, on April 16th 1889. Charlie Chaplin's father was a versatile vocalist and actor; and his mother, known under the stage name of Lily Harley, was an attractive actress and singer, who gained a reputation for her work in the light opera field. Charlie Chaplin was thrown on his own resources before he reached the age of ten as the early death of his father and the subsequent illness of his mother made it necessary for Charlie and his brother, Sydney, to fend for themselves. Having inherited natural talents from their parents, the youngsters took to the stage as the best opportunity for a career. Charlie Chaplin made his professional debut as a member of a juvenile group called "The Eight Lancashire Lads" and rapidly won popular favour as an outstanding tap dancer. When he was about fourteen, he got his first chance to act in a legitimate stage show, and appeared as "Billy" the page boy, in support of William Gillette in "Sherlock Holmes". At the close of this engagement, Charlie Chaplin started a career as a comedian in vaudeville, which eventually took him to the United States in 1910 as a featured player with the Fred Karno Repertoire Company. He scored an immediate hit with American audiences, particularly with his characterization in a sketch entitled "A Night in an English Music Hall". When the Fred Karno troupe returned to the United States in the fall of 1912 for a repeat tour, Charlie Chaplin was offered a motion picture contract. He finally agreed to appear before the cameras at the expiration of his vaudeville commitments in November 1913; and his entrance in the cinema world took place that month when he joined Mack Sennett and the Keystone Film Company. His initial salary was $150 a week, but his overnight success on the screen spurred other producers to start negotiations for his services. At the completion of his Sennett contract, Charlie Chaplin moved on to the Essanay Company (1915) at a large increase. Sydney Chaplin had then arrived from England, and took his brother�s place with Keystone as their leading comedian.

The following year Charlie Chaplin was even more in demand and signed with the Mutual Film Corporation for a much larger sum to make 12 two-reel comedies. These include "The Floorwalker", "The Fireman", "The Vagabond", "One A.M." (a production in which he was the only character for the entire two reels with the exception of the entrance of a cab driver in the opening scene), "The Count", "The Pawnshop", "Behind the Screen", "The Rink", "Easy Street" (heralded as his greatest production up to that time), "The Cure", "The Immigrant" and "The Adventurer". When his contract with Mutual expired in 1917, Charlie Chaplin decided to become an independent producer in a desire for more freedom and greater leisure in making his movies. To that end, he busied himself with the construction of his own studios. This plant was situated in the heart of the residential section of Hollywood at La Brea Avenue. Early in 1918, Charlie Chaplin entered into an agreement with First National Exhibitors� Circuit, a new organization specially formed to exploit his pictures. His first film under this new deal was "A Dog�s Life". After this production, Charlie Chaplin turned his attention to a national tour on behalf of the war effort, following which he made a film the US government used to popularize the Liberty Loan drive: "The Bond". Charlie Chaplin's next commercial venture was the production of a comedy dealing with the war. "Shoulder Arms", released in 1918 at a most opportune time, proved a veritable mirthquake at the box office and added enormously to Chaplin�s popularity. This he followed with "Sunnyside" and "A Day�s Pleasure", both released in 1919.

In April of that year, Charlie Chaplin joined with Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith to found the United Artists Corporation. B.B. Hampton, in his "History of the Movies" says: "The corporation was organized as a distributor, each of the artists retaining entire control of his or her respective producing activities, delivering to United Artists the completed pictures for distribution on the same general plan they would have followed with a distributing organization which they did not own. The stock of United Artists was divided equally among the founders. This arrangement introduced a new method into the industry. Heretofore, producers and distributors had been the employers, paying salaries and sometimes a share of the profits to the stars. Under the United Artists system, the stars became their own employers. They had to do their own financing, but they received the producer profits that had formerly gone to their employers and each received his share of the profits of the distributing organization". However, before he could assume his responsibilities with United Artists, Chaplin had to complete his contract with First National. So early in 1921, Charlie Chaplin came out with a six-reel masterpiece, "The Kid", in which Charlie Chaplin introduced to the screen one of the greatest child actors the world has ever known - Jackie Coogan. The next year, he produced "The Idle Class", in which he portrayed a dual character. Then, feeling the need of a complete rest from his motion picture activities, Charlie Chaplin sailed for Europe in September 1921. London, Paris, Berlin and other capitals on the continent gave him tumultuous receptions. After an extended vacation, Charlie Chaplin returned to Hollywood to resume his picture work and start his active association with United Artists.

Under his arrangement with U.A., Charlie Chaplin made eight pictures, each of feature length, in the following order: "Woman Of Paris" (1923) which he wrote, directed and produced, but in which he only appeared in a cameo role and gave the limelight to Edna Purviance and Adolphe Menjou; "Gold Rush" (1925); "Circus" (1928); "City Lights" (1931); "Modern Times" (1936); "The Great Dictator" (1940), in which Charlie Chaplin played a dual role and talked on the screen for the first time; "Monsieur Verdoux" (1947) in which the public saw a new Charlie Chaplin, minus his traditional moustache, baggy trousers and wobbly cane; and "Limelight" (1952) . In 1957, Charlie Chaplin released his comedy "A King in New York" which Chaplin wrote, acted in and directed, as well as composing the music, and in 1966 he produced his last picture "A Countess from Hong Kong" for Universal Pictures, starring Sophia Loren and Marlon Brando.

Charlie Chaplin�s versatility extended to writing, music and sports. He was the author of at least four books, "My Trip Abroad", "A Comedian Sees the World", "My Autobiography", "My Life in Pictures" as well as all of his scripts. An accomplished musician, though self-taught, he played a variety of instruments with equal skill and facility (playing violin and cello left-handed). Charlie Chaplin was also a composer, having written and published many songs, among them: "Sing a Song"; "With You Dear in Bombay"; and "There�s Always One You Can�t Forget", "Smile", "Eternally", "You are My Song", as well as the soundtracks for all his films. Charlie Chaplin was one of the rare comedians who not only financed and produced all his films (with the exception of "A Countess from Hong Kong"), but was the author, actor, director and soundtrack composer of them as well.

Charlie Chaplin died on Christmas day 1977, survived by eight children from his last marriage with Oona O�Neill, and one son from his short marriage to Lita Grey.