Page "Charlie Chaplin" Paragraph 55

In 1942, Chaplin had a brief affair with Joan Barry, whom he was considering for a starring role in a proposed film.

The relationship ended when she began harassing him and displaying signs of mental illness.

Chaplin's brief involvement with Barry caused him much trouble and controversy.

After having a child, she filed a paternity suit against him in 1943.

Although blood tests proved Chaplin was not the father of Barry's child, Barry's attorney, Joseph Scott, convinced the court that the tests were inadmissible as evidence, and Chaplin was ordered to support the child.

The injustice of the ruling later led to a change in California law to allow blood tests as evidence.

Federal prosecutors also brought Mann Act charges against Chaplin related to Barry in 1944, of which he was acquitted.

Chaplin's public image in America was gravely damaged by these sensational trials.

Barry was institutionalised in 1953 after she was found walking the streets barefoot, carrying a pair of baby sandals and a child's ring, and murmuring: " This is magic ".

Chaplin's second wife, Lita Grey, later asserted that Chaplin had paid corrupt government officials to tamper with the blood test results.

She further stated that " there is no doubt that she Ann was his child.