BIOGRAPHY:
Charles Spencer says Charlie Chaplin was born on April 16, 1889
in Walworth a poor district from London from parents artists
from music hall.
He passes a part of his early childhood ballotté between
institutions for young paupers and a poor and precarious life
to the sides of his mother and his half-brother.
He makes his first appearance on scene, whereas he is only five
years old, to come to assistance of his mother who, taken of
an extinction of sudden voice, cannot ensure her spectacle any
more. He are both hooted by the public.
At ten years, it begins its professional career in a troop from
children tap dancers, "the eight guy of Lancashire".
Then during several years, it interprets the role of small the
groom Billy in the part "Sherlock Holmes".
In 1908, it signs
a contract with Fred Karno, then large imprésario British
of spectacles of cabaret, to be in its theatre company. It is
a unique opportunity for Charles to make known itself. He plays
in several sketches and plays through England and crosses even
the Atlantic to occur in the United States. Conquered by this
country it settles in 1912 and makes there its first appearance
with the screen in 1913 in a production of Keystone Film Company
under the direction of Mack Sennett.
It created the universally famous character of Charlot in 1914
in the film "Charlot is content with him" (Kid Auto
Races At Venice).
Very quickly, it becomes itself realizer and, taking again the
character of Charlot (wandering with the duck step, characterized
by a bowler hat overhanging a black and frisottée hair,
a moustache in fly under the nose, a frock coat narrow and threadbare,
too broad trousers and used, tired and immense godillots, eternal
a badine of snap ring to the hand), the met in scene in more
than 70 films: "The Kid", "the Pilgrim",
"Gold rush", "the Circus", "Lights
of the city", "Times Modern", etc.
Chaplin, with the advent of the talking films, had difficulties
in adapt its style which as from "Modern Times" takes
a political dimension (virulent description of the assembly
line work). Marking this political and sound transition, "the
Dictator", true anti-hitlérien lampoon, use all
the resources of speaking.
In 1947, Chaplin is shown communist sympathies by the Commission
of the anti-American activities. Moreover, J Edgar Hoover conducts
against him a baited campaign, aiming at making him recognize
the paternity of a child of one of its ex-conquests. Vis-a-vis
with its charges Chaplin decides to exile itself. In 1952, it
settles in Switzerland. Its exile puts almost a crushing argument
at its career.
Its film, "a King in New York", turned to Great Britain
in 1957, testifies to this period and is a violent judgment
of the obscurantism of the maccarthysme.
Its last film "the Countess of Hong Kong" (1967) is
one cooking failure. In 1972 it receives a Oscar rewarding its
contribution to cinematographic industry. In 1975 it is anobli
by the Queen of England. It dies on December 25, 1977 without
never to have ceased its activity of scenario writer and musician.
