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Beginning of his career
Charlie Chaplin , byname of Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin , born April 16, , London , England—died December 25, , Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland , British comedian, producer, writer, director, and composer who is widely regarded as the greatest comic artist of the screen and one of the most important figures in motion-picture history. Comedian, actor, producer, writer, and director Charlie Chaplin is widely regarded as the greatest comic artist of the screen and one of the most important figures in motion-picture history. Audiences loved his cheekiness, his deflation of pomposity, his unexpected gallantry, and his resilience. When the mentally unstable Hall was later confined to an asylum, Chaplin and his half brother, Sydney, were sent to a series of workhouses and residential schools. Charlie Chaplin learned to perform onstage, debuting at age five filling in for his mother and becoming a professional entertainer at age eight as a clog dancer.
Early life and career
He was born in His childhood in London was burdened with desperate poverty; the son of a struggling actress, he got his first acting job at fourteen, enjoyed success in the music halls, and, in , sailed with the Fred Karno troupe for a three-year gig in the United States. Every man, woman, and child shall have my name on their lips—Charles Spencer Chaplin! The rodomontade was, Laurel saw, a gag, but the essence of its truth was soon realized. I shall save like a son of a gun. I had no idea of the character. But the moment I was dressed, the clothes and the makeup made me feel the person he was. I began to know him, and by the time I walked onto the stage he was fully born. When I confronted Sennett I assumed the character and strutted about, swinging my cane and parading before him. Gags and comedy ideas went racing through my mind.
His father was a versatile vocalist and actor; and his mother, known under the stage name of Lily Harley, was an attractive actress and singer, who gained a reputation for her work in the light opera field. Charlie was thrown on his own resources before he reached the age of ten as the early death of his father and the subsequent illness of his mother made it necessary for Charlie and his brother, Sydney, to fend for themselves. Chaplin aged 9 or 10, at the time he toured with the Eight Lancashire Lads. Having inherited natural talents from their parents, the youngsters took to the stage as the best opportunity for a career. At the close of this engagement, Charlie started a career as a comedian in vaudeville, which eventually took him to the United States in as a featured player with the Fred Karno Repertoire Company.
