Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (1889–1977) was an English film actor, director, and composer who rose to fame in the era of the silent film. He is widely regarded as the greatest comic artist of the screen and one of the most important and influential filmmakers of all time.
Chaplin’s notable films include The Kid (1921) The Gold Rush (1925,) City Lights (1931,) and The Great Dictator (1940.) For over twenty-five years, Chaplin frequently played a bowler-hatted tramp; he said of his trademark character, “The little chap I want to show wears the air of romantic hunger, is forever seeking romance, but his feet won’t let him.”
Chaplin was born into south London poverty, the child of an unidentified father and a mother whose brief career as a singer and a dancer ended when Charlie was a boy. To support the family, Chaplin danced and performed in the streets. Chaplin’s skills as a comical entertainer got him spotted by clog-dancing troupes. Soon, his talents in improvisation and pantomime got him many minor roles in theatrical productions. After gaining the attention of Mack Sennett, founder of the Keystone Film Studio, Chaplin immersed himself filmmaking and, before long, was writing and directing films in Hollywood.
After living in the United States for 40 years as a British citizen, Chaplin was suspected by the United States to be a communist sympathizer. In 1952, when he was traveling to England with his family, he was informed that he could not return to the United States until he addressed questions concerning his political affiliations. He decided to remain in exile in Switzerland, returning to the United States only once more, in 1972, to receive an honorary Oscar. He died in Switzerland.
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Our knowledge has made us cynical. Our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little.
—Charlie Chaplin
In this world there is room for everyone. And the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way.
—Charlie Chaplin
There’s something just as inevitable as death. And that’s life.
—Charlie Chaplin
You’ll never find a rainbow if you’re looking down.
—Charlie Chaplin
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself.
—Charlie Chaplin
I remain just one thing, and one thing only — and that is a clown. It places me on a far higher plane than any politician.
—Charlie Chaplin
You’ll never find rainbows if you’re looking down.
—Charlie Chaplin
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