Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin did not use sound to communicate to the audience in his movies. Despite the fact that there was no spoken language, his movies were sensational and the audiences loved them. Chaplin was thought of as cinema 's first genius and has been called the single most-influential artist in the history of motion pictures. I am researching Charlie Chaplin to learn how he became a sensational comedian and one of the best actors of all time. Chaplin is considered as one of the most pivotal stars of the early days of Hollywood. He lived an interesting life both in his films and behind the camera. Charlie Chaplin is most recognized as an icon of the silent film era, often associated with his popular "Little Tramp" character; a man with a toothbrush mustache, derby hat, bamboo cane, and a funny walk ("Biography for Charles Chaplin"). Charles Spencer Chaplin was born in London, England, on April 16th 1889. Charlie inherited natural talents from his parents. He took to the stage to help him start a career in acting. Charlie 's first stage appearance was at the age of five, when he had to fill in for his mother at a music hall performance ("Biography for Charles Chaplin"). He joined a juvenile tap-dancing group called "The Eight Lancashire Lads" at the age of eight where he quickly won popularity as a topnotch tap-dancer ("Biography of Charlie Chaplin"). At eleven, he appeared in "Giddy Ostende" at London ' Hippodrome ("Biography for Charles Chaplin"). Charlie 's parents, Charles Chaplin Sr. and Hannah Harriett, got married on June 25, 1885. His father was a versatile vocalist and actor. His mother, who performed under the stage name Lili Harley, was an attractive actress and singer who gained a reputation in the light opera field. The two also performed in music halls where she would play piano and he would sing ballads ("Charles Chaplin" 100). Charles Chaplin Sr. died on May 9th, 1901 because of unknown causes. On May 5th, 1903 his mother was thrown into a mental institution and committed as a lunatic. Charlie and his half-brother, Sydney, quickly found themselves without a home or parents The boys were put in an orphanage where they were often cold and hungry. After spending two years in the orphanage, they were on their own ("Biography of Charlie Chaplin" ; "Charlie Chaplin" 94). Charlie often begged for money and worked as a lather boy in barber shops, or as a janitor in a music hall ("Charles Chaplin" 100). When he turned fourteen, he got a break when he was asked to act in a legitimate stage show as "Billy" in "Sherlock Holmes". Following that gig, at the age of eighteen, he started a career as a comedian in vaudeville ("Charles Chaplin" 100). In 1912 the troupe traveled to New York, where he was a featured player with the Fred Karno Repertoire Company. Mack Sennet, founder of Keystone Studios, saw him perform one night and decided to take him on at the Keystone Studio and offered Charlie a motion picture contract. Chaplin agreed to appear before the cameras at the termination of his vaudeville commitments in November of 1913 ("Biography of Charlie Chaplin"). He did not know it, but this would be the beginning of his legendary career. Chaplin 's initial salary was one-hundred and fifty dollars a week. In February of 1914, he debuted on the big screen starring in "Making a Living". Surprisingly, the film was considered bad at the time of its release ("Biography for Charles Chaplin"). His next film, however, changed his career forever. It was called "Kid Auto Races at Venice". The film starred Chaplin as a homeless man who appeared undersized and undernourished. He was nicknamed "the Little Tramp" or "the Little Fellow" by audiences ("Biography for Charles Chaplin" ; "Charlie Chaplin" 376). His "Little Tramp" character, who had a toothbrush moustache, a battered derby hat, a bamboo cane, oversized shoes, a coat too small for him, and pants much too large, would star in nearly all of Chaplin 's upcoming films until 1940 ("Charlie Chaplin" 376). Chaplin 's career with Keystone Studios lasted one year. During that time he appeared in and directed roughly thirty-five films, and wrote some fifty movies ("Biography of Charlie Chaplin"). Charlie felt that he was worth more than the one-hundred and seventy-five dollars a week he was getting paid from Keystone, and in January of 1915 he signed with Essanay for one-thousand, two-hundred and fifty dollars a week with bonuses. Chaplin had his brother, Sydney, come to America from England to take his place as leading comedian at Keystone. In another one year deal, Chaplin made a total of fourteen films, including "The Tramp", which gave audiences their first glimpse of a Chaplin trademark: the final shot of the little fellow, alone, shuffling away from the camera down a long, barren stretch of road ("Biography for Charles Chaplin").

In 1916, Chaplin once again signed with a different company. This time he signed with Mututal. He demanded ten-thousand dollars a week and a one-hundred and fifty thousand dollar signing bonus ("Charlie Chaplin" 94). This year he would make twelve films, however, they were two-reel comedies. In one of the productions, "One A.M.", he was the only character for the entire two-reels with the exception of a entrance cabdriver in the opening scene. Another hit he had during his time with Mutual was "Easy Street". "Easy Street" was heralded as his greatest production up to that time. He stayed with Mutual through October of 1917 ("Biography of Charlie Chaplin"). In desire for more freedom and greater leisure in making his movies, he decided to become an independent producer. He built his studio in the heart of the residential section of Hollywood at La Brea Avenue and Sunset Boulevard. It was called Chaplin Studios. Early in 1918, Chaplin entered into an agreement with First National Exhibitors ' Circuit, an organization specially formed to exploit his pictures. He received one million dollars plus a fifteen-thousand dollar bonus and one-half of all profits made. ("Biography of Charlie Chaplin" ; "Charles Chaplin" 100). However, Chaplin still longed for total freedom and security and in April of 1919, he partnered with Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and D.W. Griffith. They founded the United Artists Corporation. Chaplin made films exclusively for United Artists distribution. He never again signed a contract with another company ("Biography of Charlie Chaplin"). The four cinematic giants shared stocks and profits equally and the stars became their own employers. They also produced all their own films and received the profits that the producers used to earn ("Biography of Charlie Chaplin"). Chaplin directed his first UA release, "A Woman of Paris", in 1923. It was a sophisticated film, starring his former leading lady, Edna Purviance, and Adolphe Menjou. Chaplin was only a brief cameo in the movie. The film was horrible and didn 't receive any praise ("Biography for Charles Chaplin"). Charlie Chaplin went on and made seven more feature length films under his agreement with United Artists. Most of the films were big hits and very successful in theaters, including "Modern Times". "The Great Dictator" was also a big hit in which Chaplin played dual roles in a parody of Hitler 's regime ("Biography for Charles Chaplin"). Charlie Chaplin was not only one of the greatest actors of his time, but was also very talented writing, music, and sports. He wrote at least four books, mostly about his journey through life. Chaplin was an accomplished musician who could play the cello and violin. Another aspect of music he was into was composing. He wrote and published many songs and composed entire soundtracks to some of his movies ("Biography of Charlie Chaplin"). Charlie Chaplin received many awards and prizes for his works in the world. Those awards include two Oscars from the Academy Awards ceremony in 1972 for his motion picture, Limelight, which was never officially released in the U.S.A. until that time and for his "incalculable effect in making motion pictures the art form of the century." However, the most notable award has to be his knighting in 1975 by England 's Queen Elizabeth II. His last film, "A Countess From Hong Kong", released in 1967, was the largest flop in his career. It was a romantic comedy starring great actors, Marlon Brando and Sophia Loren ("Biography for Charles Chaplin").

Charles Spencer Chaplin unfortunately passed away on Christmas day 1977. He was survived by his eight children from his last marriage with Oona O 'Neill, and one son from his brief marriage with Lita Grey. The grief didn 't stop with his poorly-timed death. In 1978, Chaplin 's corpse was stolen from his grave and not recovered for three months ("Biography of Charlie Chaplin" ; "Biography for Charles Chaplin"). Charlie Chaplin was considered one of the greatest actors of all time. Even more impressive was that he did it without the use of verbal communication. Instead, he communicated to his audiences with his actions and emotions, which he acted out so well. His films show, through the Little Tramp 's positive outlook on life in a world full of chaos, that the human spirit has and always will remain the same ("Biography for Charles Chaplin").

Works Cited
"Charles Chaplin." Current Biography Yearbook. 1961 ed.
"Charlie Chaplin." The New Encyclopedia Britannica. 1981 ed.
"Charlie Chaplin." The World Book Encyclopedia. 2001 ed. "Biography of Charlie Chaplin." 27 Sept. 2004. Online posting. Available: . "Biography for Charles Chaplin." 27 Sept. 2004. Online posting. Available: .

Cited: "Charles Chaplin." Current Biography Yearbook. 1961 ed. "Charlie Chaplin." The New Encyclopedia Britannica. 1981 ed. "Charlie Chaplin." The World Book Encyclopedia. 2001 ed. "Biography of Charlie Chaplin." 27 Sept. 2004. Online posting. Available: . "Biography for Charles Chaplin." 27 Sept. 2004. Online posting. Available: .