Sir Charles Spencer " Charlie " Chaplin, KBE ( 16 April 188925 December 1977 ) was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era.

Chaplin was one of the most creative and influential personalities of the silent-film era.

Chaplin was identified with left-wing politics during the McCarthy era and he was ultimately forced to resettle in Europe from 1952.

In 2008, Martin Sieff, in a review of the book Chaplin: A Life, wrote: " Chaplin was not just ' big ', he was gigantic.

Charles Spencer Chaplin was born on 16 April 1889 to Hannah Chaplin ( née Hill, 1865 – 1928 ) and Charles Chaplin Sr. ( 1863 – 1901 ).

There is no official record of his birth, although Chaplin believed he was born at East Street, Walworth, in South London.

Because of this poverty, Chaplin was sent to a workhouse at seven years old.

In September 1898, Hannah Chaplin was committed to Cane Hill mental asylum — she had developed a psychosis seemingly brought on by malnutrition and an infection of syphilis.

" For the two months she was there, Chaplin and his brother were sent to live with their father, whom the young boy scarcely knew.

Charles Chaplin Sr. was by then a severe alcoholic, and life with the man was bad enough to provoke a visit from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

" There was nothing we could do but accept poor mother's fate ", Chaplin later wrote, and she remained in care until her death in 1928.

Hannah had been booed off stage, and the manager chose Chaplin, who was standing in the wings, to go on as her replacement.

It was an isolated performance, but at nine years old Chaplin became interested in the theatre.

Chaplin worked hard and the act was popular with audiences, but dancing did not satisfy the child and he dreamt of forming a comedy act.

The manager sensed potential in Chaplin and he was soon on the stage.

" It was like tidings from heaven ", Chaplin recalled.

Chaplin quickly began work in another role, touring with his brother — who was also pursuing an acting career — in a comedy sketch called Repairs.

It was popular with audiences and Chaplin became the star of the show.

Late in life, he served as narrator for a British television series on the films of Charlie Chaplin, Unknown Chaplin, which was aired in the U. S. on PBS and later issued on home video.

Tathwell Hall at Tathwell was the longtime home of the Chaplin family, a branch of the Chaplin family of Baronets of Blankney, who served as MPs for Lincolnshire and who were descended from Sir Francis Chaplin, Lord Mayor of London in 1677.

In 1971, Carl ( who served as the group's de facto musical director at this juncture ) decided to spice up the structure of The Beach Boys by hiring third guitarist Blondie Chaplin, whose soulful singing brought a strong R & B element into the band's sound.

Colonel Reginald Chaplin served in the 10th Hussars and married Henrietta Maud Dunsmuir, their daughter June Isabel Chaplin married Sir Rudolph de Trafford 5th Baronet.

He was the elder half-brother of Sir Charlie Chaplin and served as his business manager, and the half-uncle of the actor Sydney Chaplin ( 1926 – 2009 ), who was named after him.

* 1917-1935 James Chaplin ( Union Government, Conservative ), served as Minister of Trade and Commerce from 1926

During its lifetime, the hotel served many famous guests including Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Charlie Chaplin, Bette Davis, Tallulah Bankhead, and Nat King Cole, and U. S. Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower.

`` Behind that Charlie Chaplin moustache and that truant lock of hair that always covered his forehead, behind the tirades and the sulky silences, the passionate orations and the occasional dull evasive stare, behind the prejudices, the cynicism, the total amorality of behavior, behind even the tendency to great strategic mistakes, there lay a statesman of no mean qualities: Shrewd, calculating, in many ways realistic, endowed -- like Stalin -- with considerable powers of dissimulation, capable of playing his cards very close to his chest when he so desired, yet bold and resolute in his decisions, and possessing one gift Stalin did not possess: The ability to rouse men to fever pitch of personal devotion and enthusiasm by the power of the spoken word ''.

" His early years were spent with his mother and brother in the London district of Kennington ; Hannah had no means of income, other than occasional nursing and dressmaking, and Chaplin Sr. provided no support for his sons.

From October 1903 to June 1904, Chaplin toured with Saintsbury in Charles Frohman's production of Sherlock Holmes.

Several months of unemployment followed, however, and Chaplin lived a solitary existence while lodging with a family in Kennington.

After some adjustments, Chaplin signed with Keystone on 25 September.

" For his second appearance in front of cameras, Chaplin selected the costume with which he became identified.

In June, Keystone issued adverts in Britain with the words: " Are you prepared for the Chaplin boom?

The Essanay Film Manufacturing Company sent Chaplin an offer of $ 1, 250 a week with a signing bonus of $ 10, 000.

Chaplin was unimpressed with the conditions there, and after making one film ( His New Job, released 1 February 1915 ), moved to the company's small studio in Niles, California.

She went on to appear in 35 films with Chaplin over eight years.

The use of pathos was developed further with The Bank, released four films and four months later, as Chaplin chose to have a sad ending.

Shops were stocked with Chaplin merchandise, he was featured in cartoons and comic strips, and several songs were written about the star.

A contract was negotiated with Mutual that amounted to $ 670, 000 a year, making Chaplin — at 26 years old — one of the highest paid people in the world.

For The Pawnshop he recruited the actor Henry Bergman, who was to work with Chaplin for 30 years.

Despite this campaign Chaplin was a favourite with the troops, and his popularity continued to grow worldwide.

Frustrated with their lack of concern for quality, Chaplin joined forces with Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, and D. W. Griffith to form a new distribution company — United Artists, established in January 1919.

Chaplin was eager to start with the new company, and offered to buy out his contract with First National.