Ode to comedy
Artistes across the world commemorate the 122th birth anniversary of unforgettable actor Charlie Chaplin on April 16, writes Paramjit Singh

Charlie Chaplin, the most loved and widely imitated actor of 20th century, was a great actor, wise producer and a brilliant film-buff. He was born on April 16, 1889, as Charles Spencer Chaplin at Walworth, London (England). His parents were London music hall entertainers namely Charles Chaplin and Hannah Hill. When Charlie was just three years old, his mother separated from his father. She, along with Charlie and his brother, moved to Sydney.

Charlie Chaplin’s entry into the world of entertainment was not a deliberate one but it was a matter of chance. In 1894, his mother was performing at a theatre named The Canteen. She was suffering from larynx disorder, which disrupted her entire performance. The irate audience, consisting of rioters and soldiers, began to spoil the entire show. This disheartened the five-year-old Charlie, who stepped on the stage quite confidently and successfully calmed down the audiences with the then popular number ‘Jack Jones’. This maiden appearance on the stage became a stepping stone for him.

In 1910, Charlie toured America for the first time with the Fred Karno troupe. Two years later, he returned to the country to stay back. In 1913, Mack Sennet of Keystone Studios noticed his act and brought him on the rolls of the studio. In his second film Kid Auto Races At Venice, Charlie did a commendable job and succeeded in capturing the hearts of American audiences.

Charlie Chaplin, the storehouse of wisdom, as he was called by his friends, set up the United Artists Film Distribution Company in 1919, along with Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D. W. Griffith and produced films like A Woman of Paris (1923), Gold Rush (1925), The City Lights (1931) and Modern Times (1931) etc. The last film had sound only in the form of music created by Charlie himself.

Though the talkies were introduced in 1927 in Hollywood and in 1931 in India, it was only in 1940 that Charlie delivered his first talkie The Great Dictator. It was a bold piece of resistance to Adolf Hitler and Nazism. His growing Leftist inclination was visible in the climax speech of The Great Dictator, which raised concerns about jingoistic patriotism. His appeal for a second European front in 1942 to assist the Soviet Union and refusal to support America made him a controversial figure.

In 1952, while he was returning from the London premiere of Limelight, Chaplin was denied re-entry into America. He blamed propaganda groups for creating an unhealthy atmosphere wherein liberal-minded individuals could be singled out and persecuted. He added that he found it virtually impossible to continue his motion pictures work in such an environment and was hence giving up his residence in the USA.

After creating A King in New York, a satire on the political situation in America, he steered clear of making political statements, maintaining that comedians and clowns should be ‘above politics’.

Though this great comedian returned to America in 1972 to receive an honorary Oscar, he continued living in Vevey (Switzerland). He passed away on December 25, 1977. He was survived by nine beloveds, three wives and 11 children. His last wife Oona O’Neil was 18 years old when she married 54-year-old Charlie on June 16, 1943.

About his most-loved character — the Tramp, he wrote in his autobiography (My Autobiography: Charlie Chaplin) — "I had no idea what make up to put on. I did not like my get-up as the press reporter...I thought I would dress in baggy pants, big shoes, a cane and a derby hat. I wanted everything to be a contradiction: the pants baggy, the coat tight, the hat small and the shoes large... I had no idea of the character. But the moment I was dressed, the clothes and the make up made me feel the person he was. I began to know him and by the time I walked on the stage, he was fully born."