We all are
familiar with the mustachioed Little Tramp with the bowler hat and cane_
Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977) who was born as Charles Spencer Chaplin in a poor
district of London. He was a British legendary comedian, producer, writer,
director and composer. Although Chaplin had his major success in the U.S. but
he retained his British nationality.
He is one of the world’s greatest and
widely loved silent movie stars. Behind this little fellow lurked an extremely
creative filmmaker who scripted and starred in some of the best films of the
century. His rise was a true
rags-to-riches history.He had a
rough childhood because after the separation of his parents Chaplin and his
brother spent most of their childhood in orphanages, where they often went
hungry and were beaten if they misbehaved. Barely able to read and write
Charlie left school to join on tour with a group of comic actors. Before
entering into the saga of his acting career he was a news vendor, toy maker, printer,
doctor’s boy, etc., but during this occupational digression he never lost sight
of his ultimate aim to become an actor. By the age of nineteen Chaplin had
become one of the most popular music hall performers in England.
In 1910 he visited U.S. refined his style of acting, and
became more delicate and precise in his movements. He used mime, slapstick and
other visual comedy in his acting skills. Chaplin was one of film’s first
superstars, elevating the industry in a way few could have ever imagined. With
the passage of time Chaplin consolidated his growing international figure. His
comic visionary captured the heart of early moviegoers and he became one of the
most enduring personalities in the cine world.
He improvised on the most enduring Tramp character molding it
into a poetic figure that combined comedy and pathos yet retained his
meticulously timed acrobatic skills. The ravishing charm and brilliance of his
films have always been inseparable from his convictions. In 1995 he was voted as the greatest actor in
the movie history.
The major challenge arose that Chaplin had to face was in the
era of Mc McCarthy as he was accused of Communist sympathy. Chaplin had leftist
leaning and it was evitable from many of the films he made in the period of
Great Depression, the movie theme hovered around poverty and despair for the
working man. Apart from being a multi-millionaire actor, he was an intensely
political man. Unlike the love and appreciation that was showered on him
throughout the world Chaplin’s life behind the posters proved to be trickier to
navigate.
He made many of the funniest and the most popular films of
his time. Chaplin’s work had revolutionized film comedy and turned it out in an
art form. He had the potential to lit up the audience, wowing the audience with
his natural presence and comedian angle. He was the best comedian of all time,
who has been encapsulated into a nutshell in the memory of the masses.
He was and is the man who still tickles the funny bone of his
audience every time they see him perform.
