Charlie Chaplin
“The Little Tramp who turned silent comedy into an art of pathos, satire, and enduring humanity.”
In 1914 Chaplin debuted the Tramp, the bowler-hatted, cane-twirling vagabond who would become the most recognizable figure of the silent era. The character made him a global icon within a year and one of the first true movie superstars. He became a star in 1914-1915.
From the Workhouse to the World
Chaplin endured a poverty-stricken London childhood, spending time in workhouses before joining the stage. The Fred Karno comedy troupe carried him to America, where the movies found him.
The Tramp
His bowler hat, cane and waddling walk created the Tramp in 1914, a character that made him perhaps the most famous person on earth. He soon controlled his own work, co-founding United Artists in 1919.
Art, Exile and Honor
Masterpieces like 'The Gold Rush,' 'City Lights' and 'Modern Times' fused comedy with social conscience. Hounded out of the U.S. in 1952, he settled in Switzerland, returned for an honorary Oscar in 1972, and was knighted in 1975.
Career Timeline
- 1889Born in London into poverty and hardship
- 1910Tours the U.S. with Fred Karno's comedy troupe
- 1914Debuts the Tramp character at Keystone Studios
- 1919Co-founds United Artists for creative control
- 1921Releases first feature, 'The Kid'
- 1925Comedy masterpiece 'The Gold Rush'
- 1931Defies talkies with silent 'City Lights'
- 1936Industrial satire 'Modern Times'
- 1940First talking film, 'The Great Dictator'
- 1952Effectively exiled from U.S.; settles in Switzerland
- 1972Returns to receive honorary Academy Award
- 1975Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II
Biggest Hits
- He co-founded United Artists in 1919 with Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith to control his own films.
- He kept making silent films into the late 1930s; 'The Great Dictator' (1940) was his first in which he truly spoke onscreen.
The Moment You Remember
The final scene of <em>City Lights</em>, in which the Tramp watches a once-blind flower girl recognize her benefactor by touch, is often cited as among the most moving moments in film.
Portrait: Strauss-Peyton Studio · Public domain (PD-1923, published before 1930) · via Wikimedia Commons