Chaplin, Charlie | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

Charlie Chaplin

Born April 16, 1899

London, England

Died December 25, 1977

Vevey, Switzerland

Actor and comedian in the era of American silent films

"Even funnier than the man who has been made ridiculous is the man who, having had something funny happen to him, refuses to admit that anything out of the way has happened, and attempts to maintain his dignity."

Charlie Chaplin came to the United States as an English stage actor and became one of the world's best-known and best-loved comic actors in the early days of the U.S. film industry, a time when films were known as "silent movies" because early movies did not contain sound. Chaplin created the figure known as the Little Tramp, who appeared in nearly all of his best-known works. The Little Tramp represented the common man, the ordinary fellow who confronted a loss or setback, got up, and carried on. Even after the era of films with sound, Chaplin used his talents of pantomime, or communicating silently with only hand and body gestures, to create a worldwide audience. But Chaplin fell out of favor with many, as he became involved in a series of marriages, an incident involving child support, and suspicions that he was a communist sympathizer.

Chaplin, Charlie article

Read the rest of this article.
This article contains 2,261 words (approx. 8 pages at 300 words per page).