One of the earliest global celebrities, Charlie Chaplin's art of comedy and cinema was deeply entwined with the lives of working-class people. He always showed respect for the poor in his movies.
charlie Chaplin was five when he made his first stage appearance. His mother, Hannah, performed in music halls in England as a singer and comedienne under the stage name Lily Harley. One evening, when her voice failed, young Charlie had to step in to give a spontaneous, impromptu performance.
Charles Spencer Chaplin, for that was his full name, was born in London in 1889. He had a poor and difficult childhood, but his talent for acting, and his gift for mimicry and observation made him one of the greatest actors of the silent-film era.
We think too much, and feel too little.
His parents both performed in music halls. Charlie's parents separated when he was only one. His father was an alcoholic and did not provide for his family. He had an older half brother called Sydney and all even later, both brothers always looked out for each other. His mother son developed mental through their hard childhood and
health issues and all through Charlie's childhood, had to spend time in and out of hospitals.
At eight, Charlie began work as an actor and tap- dancer for the 'Eight Lancashire Lads', a performing troupe. He had to spend time in workhouses (orphanages where poor boys were put up in exchange for work).
As a teenager, Charlie found work playing the role of Billy the pageboy in Sherlock Holmes productions staged by a touring company. Only nineteen, he decided to join the theatre. As part of the Fred Karno Repertoire Company where he performed as a comedian, Charlie travelled to the USA in 1910. Three years later, he had signed his first film contract. He went on to sign up with bigger film companies, making longer films that starred him as a comedian. His role as the tramp' became especially popular.
Charlie's perfect expressions, apt gestures, sense of timing and an awareness of the world around him made several of his films, like Modern Times and The Great Dictator, enduring comedies that also tell essential truths.