One of the greatest actors in history, Charlie Chaplin, was a very complicated man, with a complicated and confused life. He was called a comedian with a sad face, and this was only partly his screen role – in fact, his biography lacked gloomy pages, which reflected on how he was a person. But films with his participation are considered recognized classics, and they will have fans, probably, always.
Parents of the future star were actors of the music hall, very popular at the time. Charlie Chaplin, American actor, was born in Great Britain, in London. Charlie first appeared on stage when he was only 5 years old. Chaplin had gypsy blood from his father’s side, which he was very proud of. He himself mentioned this fact in his biography. Charlie Chaplin’s life was hard from the start. When he was still a child, his father began to drink heavily, and he died early because of alcohol, and his mother first became seriously ill, and then lost her mind.
The young actor was forced to start earning a living early, which is why he almost did not appear at school, working as a paper peddler, an assistant in a printing house and a doctor’s assistant. Being a novice actor, the young Charlie Chaplin was almost illiterate. Once, when he was called to audition, he was afraid that he would be asked to read the text from the script of his role, since he almost did not know how to read. As a teenager, Charlie began to learn the violin, playing for many hours daily. Subsequently, he was a variety of musicians for several years. Chaplin became the first actor in the world, whose photo was published on the cover of the magazine. He received three Oscars, but none of them was awarded for an acting game. In 1954, Charlie Chaplin was awarded the International Peace Prize.
In addition to playing on stage, Charlie Chaplin composed music for films, wrote scripts and acted as a producer. For the film “The Great Dictator”, in which he ridiculed Adolf Hitler, the latter listed him on his list of his personal enemies. Chaplin was left-handed. Even he played the violin not with his right hand, but with his left. In general, there are many left-handers in Hollywood, for example, Keanu Reeves. The British Queen in 1975 granted Charlie Chaplin a knighthood.
Chaplin was married 4 times, and left behind 12 children. Perhaps, in fact, there are more of them, since he had many intrigues and love affairs throughout his life. The most popular image captured by Charlie Chaplin on the screen was the Vagabond, a small, clumsy man in a bowler hat and huge boots. He used it in more than 70 films for several decades. Chaplin loved dancing, and his most favorite style was tango. For 40 years, lived in the United States, Charlie Chaplin never received American citizenship. At one time in the 1950s, he was denied entry to this country altogether due to his left-wing political views and “moral immorality”. The last son of the actor was born when he was 72 years old.
Already being famous, he incognito took part in the contest of twins Charlie Chaplin, in which he could not win. In 1917, he became the first actor in history to enter into a $ 1 million contract. In 1928, Charlie Chaplin predicted the collapse of the exchange fund, which announced the beginning of the Great Depression, and in advance sold all the shares he owned. Since the beginning of the Second World War, they began to consider him a Communist because the actor acted as an activist of the organization “Helping Russia in War” and agitated to open the second front, and one of his speeches began with an appeal “comrades!”. Chaplin was keen on boxing, and often attended matches of famous boxers.
One of the former wives of Charlie Chaplin later became the wife of Vladimir Nabokov, the famous writer, author of Lolita and a number of other remarkable works. After Chaplin’s death, his grave was excavated and his body was stolen. The grave-diggers demanded a ransom for him, but the police managed to detain them. Charlie Chaplin is the only owner in the world of two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He wrote an autobiography about his life, naming it simply and succinctly – “My Autobiography”. The music for most of Charlie Chaplin’s films was written by him.
