Charlie Chaplin Essay -- Biography Biographies Chaplin Essays

Charlie Chaplin â€Å"It is absolutely no exaggeration to say that for the greatest part of this century Charlie Chaplin was the most recognizable human being on the planet,† (Burr, 20). Chaplin did everything in show business; he was an actor, director, screenwriter, producer and composer, (Reader‘s Companion 157). He was the ideal rags to riches role model that every American dreamed of becoming. Charlie Chaplin revolutionized American show business and inspired Americans to follow their dreams because he was proof that even underdogs could make it to the top. Charles Spencer Chaplin had a very eventful life. He was born in London on the 16th of April, 1889, (Douglas np) to two music hall performers; Charles and Hannah Chaplin. (Reader’s Companion 157). His father was a singer who had run out on the family early in Chaplin’s life; he later died of alcoholism, (Douglas np). Hannah was a smalltime singer but spent most of her life in and out of mental hospitals, (Byers 438). He had a half brother named Sydney, (imdb.com). Chaplin was married four times and had a total of eleven children, (imdb.com). His first marriage was to Mildred Harris on the 23rd of October 1918, he was 28 and she was 16 years old. They had a son together but unfortunately the baby only lived for three days, (Turk 49). Chaplin was too much of a workaholic to commit to marriage so he moved out in August 1920, while Mildred filed for divorce, (Turk 50). He later fell in love with sixteen year old Lita Grey during the making of â€Å"The Gold Rush.† Lita’s mother disapproved of the relationship but once she found out that Lita was pregnant with Chaplin’s baby she let them wed. On November 24, 1924 Lita and Chaplin tied the knot. They had two children: Charles Jr.... ...superstar.† Entertainment Weekly. Fall 1996. Byers, Paula. â€Å"Chaplin, Charles.† Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2nd Ed. Detroit: Gale Research, 1998. 438-440. â€Å"Chaplin’s Admirers Tip Their Hats for his 100th.† Time. 1 May 1989. â€Å"Chaplin, Charles.† Charlie Chaplin. Roy Export Comp. 10 February 2004. http://charliechaplin.com/ â€Å"Chaplin, Charles.† Dictionary of World Biography the 20th Century A-Inc. Volume VII. Pasadena† Salem Press, Inc. 1999. 653-656. â€Å"Chaplin, Charles.† Internet Movie Database. 1990. Internet Movie Database Inc. 9 February 2004. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000122/bio â€Å"Chaplin, Charles.† The Reader’s Companion to American History. 1991. 157 Douglas, Ann. â€Å"Charlie Chaplin: the comedian.† Time. 8 June 1998. Turk, Ruth. A Lerner Biography Charlie Chaplin Genius of the Silent Screen. Minneapolis: Lerner Publication Comp., 2000.