There are many famous people in the world. All of them are special in their own way. Someone is the most popular celebrity while somebody else made a scientific discovery and also deserves the fame. But are there so many names that create a clear and accurate picture in our heads? This is the kind of person the legendary Charlie Chaplin was and still is. He is a talented film actor and the first world-famous comedian. His name is associated with silent cinema, and perhaps thanks to him, this form of art is still known and popular in modern society. So what was the life of this actor and was his way to success an easy one? Learn more at londonski.
The main facts from the comedian’s life
Charlie Chaplin became famous all over the world thanks to his comedic roles, but his real life was not so funny and amusing. Fate gave him an ideal image, and at the same time, doomed him with a lot of difficulties. He faced his first problems as a child when he had to learn about the disputes of adults and learn to fulfil their responsibilities. The boy was born in London on April 16, 1889. In a few years, the parents divorced and the children stayed with their mother. It became the first obstacle on his life path. The family faced poverty and it is difficult to imagine how they survived because the mother didn’t have any income. At the age of seven, Charlie Chaplin was sent to a workhouse. Later, he entered a school for poor children and orphans.
Art accompanied the talented actor since his childhood despite all the difficulties. His parents worked as variety actors, although his mother’s career was not very long (after losing her voice, she left the stage, and later, ended up in a psychiatric hospital). Charlie Chaplin’s first performance took place when the boy was five years old. Since then, he often found opportunities to be on stage and got interested in acting. He also learned to play the violin for some time. At the age of 19, the actor signed a contract with the Fred Karno Company, which brought him to America.
Charlie Chaplin’s personal life: tragic stories, disappointments and scandals
Disappointments and obstacles challenged Charlie Chaplin in his personal life as well. The actor’s first love was a dancer whom he met at the age of 19. This love story didn’t have a happy ending. They broke up after several dates, and in 1918, Chaplin found out that the girl died from the Spanish flu epidemic. The actor’s first wife was Mildred Harris, who was 16 years old when they met. Charlie Chaplin was forced to marry her because of her pregnancy. In order to avoid unnecessary comments and publicity, they had a secret wedding. Their son was born in July 1919. However, fate prepared another strike and the child died when he was three days old. The couple divorced in 1920. On November 26, 1924, Charlie Chaplin married Lita Grey, but four years later, both couldn’t cope with their marriage and divorced. The actor’s marriage with Oona O’Neill, the daughter of the American playwright, became the most significant. The wedding received condemnation and criticism in the press because of Charlie Chaplin’s scandalous relationship with actress Joan Barry. Another reason for the controversy was their big age gap, as Charlie Chaplin was 36 years older than his wife. Despite all the difficulties, the marriage turned out to be truly happy. The couple had eight children and Oona O’Neill remained the only woman for the rest of the actor’s life. All vicissitudes of the comedian’s personal life played an important role in his professional activity. They left an imprint on his memory, became an impetus for the creation of new ideas and, on the contrary, the main reason for Charlie Chaplin’s depression.
Professional success and world recognition
Charlie Chaplin’s professional success was greatly influenced by his difficult childhood. He earned a living from a young age by himself, which is why he hardly attended school. Even looking for a job, he was most afraid that he would have to read the script because the fourteen-year-old boy hardly knew how to do it. Thus, his brother Sydney helped him learn his role. Another significant obstacle was the genre of creative activity that Charlie Chaplin was willing to do. At that time, the comic genre was considered a not serious and morally questionable form of entertainment. An important period of career growth was his trip to the USA. There, the actor received a lot of offers and became famous throughout the world. Although his homeland was Great Britain, the actor worked for most of his life in the USA. Charlie Chaplin’s first tour to this country took place in 1910. His contracts brought very little money, however, by 1915, he was paid $1,250 a week. That was just the beginning.
In 1917, Charlie Chaplin signed a $1,000,000 contract with First National Pictures and became the most expensive actor of his time. In 1919, he founded his own studio, United Artists Corporation. At that time, he was at the peak of his career. In 1921, Charlie Chaplin toured Europe and received incredible support in his native London. After that, he repeated such trips two more times with several years break. In addition, it was the time when cinematography was rapidly developing and people learned to create films with sound accompaniment. Despite this, the actor adhered to the traditional cinematic canons for almost a decade. His abilities and skills have reached a new level of mastery. He not only performed various roles in silent films, but was also a producer, director, screenwriter, editor, and later, composed music for films. Charlie Chaplin made the first sound film, The Great Dictator, in 1940. In the last years of his life, the actor was engaged in creating music for his silent films and writing memoirs.
Unbelievable images and the art of transformation
One of the most famous Charlie Chaplin roles is considered the Tramp character, which made him popular in many countries of the world. A moustached man in baggy pants, big boots and a cane in his hands remains an icon of silent cinema even in our time. According to the author’s idea, that image was very versatile and its main feature was the destruction of the established rules of comicality in cinema. In each new film, the Tramp reflected new feelings and was endowed with new character traits. Charlie Chaplin sought to touch the heart of the viewer and raise important social issues. He elaborated his character with tragedy and lyricism. For example, the Tramp turned into a guardian of a little boy in the movie The Kid. This film was created after a tragic event in Chaplin’s life when he lost his first child. Probably, the author’s feelings and the experience of his own tragic childhood allowed him to create one of the first films where drama was harmoniously combined with comedy. In addition, he revealed the issue of poverty and the separation of children from their parents, which was a painful topic for many. In January 1921, the film was shown in more than 50 countries. For a long time, the Tramp character has been inspiring directors with new ideas and underlies many other films.