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Birth of a comic genius -

Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. was born in London, England, on April 16, 1889.

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Charles Chaplin Sr. -

His father, Charles Chaplin Sr., was an English music hall entertainer and a chronic alcoholic.

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Hannah Chaplain -

Hannah Chaplain, Charlie's mother, also performed in music hall, as an actress, singer, and dancer.

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Early childhood -

Chaplin's childhood in London was one of poverty and hardship. His parents separated in 1891 when he was two years old, after which he rarely saw his father. By the age of nine, Chaplin and his elder half brother Sydney had twice been admitted to a workhouse. His mother, meanwhile, was eventually committed to a mental institution. The young Chaplin is pictured third row from front, third from left at age seven with fellow pupils at the Central London District Poor Law School.

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Early life -

It was an ominous start to life for the youngster. By age 13, he'd abandoned his education to follow a career in show business. He's seen here between ages 14-16, appearing as Billy the Pageboy in the play 'Sherlock Holmes.'

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Arrival in America -

In 1913, Chaplin toured the United States as part of Fred Karno's prestigious Vaudeville company. One of the young comedian's co-stars was Arthur Stanley Jefferson, later better known as Stan Laurel of Laurel and Hardy fame.

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'Making a Living' (1914) -

During a second tour of America, Chaplin was invited to join the New York Motion Picture Company. He made his first film appearance in 1914 in the one-reel comedy short 'Making a Living.'

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Screen debut of the 'Tramp' -

Chaplin's trademark character, the "Tramp," made his screen debut the same year, 1914, in 'Kid Auto Races at Venice.'

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Worldwide fame -

By the age of 26, Charlie Chaplin was one of the most famous people in the world, recognized everywhere for his Tramp persona, and earning a staggering US$670,000 a year. That's the equivalent today of around $16.5 million.

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Celebrity status -

Enjoying his global fame and fabulous wealth, Chaplin moved in high society on both sides of the Atlantic. He indulged in expensive hobbies and took full advantage of his celebrity status.

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First wife -

Chaplin's first wife was actress Mildred Harris. She was 16, he was 26. They married in 1918 but divorced, acrimoniously, in 1920. The couple had a child, but he died three days after birth. In papers, the teenaged Harris cited mental cruelty as her reason for the split. Chaplin, meanwhile, accused her of infidelity and complained she was not his intellectual equal.

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Second wife -

Chaplin first met Lita MacMurray when she was eight years old. Aged 12, she appeared as a "flirting angel" in his film 'The Kid.' Three years later, she was cast in his picture 'The Gold Rush,' and began an affair with the then-35-year-old Chaplin.

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Scandal looms -

MacMurray, still a minor, quickly became pregnant by Chaplin. To avoid a scandal, the couple married secretly in November 1924 and she started using the name Lita Grey. But the union was troubled from the start.

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Dreadful treatment -

Despite having two children together, separation was inevitable. In her divorce proceedings, Grey accused Chaplin of forcing her to "undergo an illegal operation to prevent the birth of their first child." Documents made public during the hearing outlined Chaplin's alleged affairs with numerous other women. Furthermore, his "revolting" and "inhumane" treatment of her was described in detail. Grey is pictured with the couple's two sons, Charles Chaplin Jr. and Sydney Chaplin.

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Sensational divorce -

The divorce became a sensational media event, with both appearing in court to argue their case. Chaplin was eventually ordered to pay over US$700,000 (approximately $10 million in today's money) to his former wife. The proceedings left Chaplin close to a nervous breakdown as calls for his films to be banned grew louder.

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Lonely and restless -

But Chaplin actually emerged from the scandal relatively unscathed and triumphed in 1931 with 'City Lights,' regarded as one of the best American films ever made. Its success proved something of an anticlimax for the comedian, however, who admitted to feeling lonely and somewhat restless. Then he met Paulette Goddard.

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A passion for Paulette Goddard -

In a demonstration perhaps that Chaplin had matured emotionally, he'd set his eyes on a women who was in her twenties. In fact, Paulette Goddard was 22 when she met Chaplin, in 1932. He was over 20 years older. The relationship received substantial attention in the Hollywood press.

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'Modern Times' (1936) -

Goddard went on to appear as her husband's leading lady in 1936's 'Modern Times' (pictured) and 'The Great Dictator' (1940). They married in 1936 and had no children. Goddard filed for divorce in 1942, though it was never clear whether the couple had ever tied the knot in the first place.

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The Joan Barry affair -

After his split from Goddard, more brief flings with various starlets followed, including an affair with Joan Barry (pictured), which resulted in two terminated pregnancies and a paternity suit filed against the then 54 year old, after he denied fathering Barry's child, Carol Ann. He lost the case.

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Violating the Mann Act -

More damaging was the fallout from the Joan Barry affair. J. Edgar Hoover, who had long been suspicious of Chaplin's political leanings, used the opportunity to generate negative publicity about him. The FBI chief embarked on a smear campaign to besmirch Chaplain's character by alleging the comedian had violated the Mann Act, which prohibits the transportation of women across state boundaries for sexual purposes. Chaplin, seen here with his attorney Jerry Giesler during the trial, was eventually acquitted, but not before the press had compared the scandal with that of the sensational Fatty Arbuckle murder trial in 1921.

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Fourth wife -

In 1943, Chaplin stepped out with Oona O'Neill (pictured), the 18-year-old daughter of Irish-American playwright Eugene O'Neill. Chaplin was in his mid-fifties.

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"Perfect love" -

In his autobiography, Chaplin described meeting O'Neill as "the happiest event of my life," and claimed to have found "perfect love."

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Exile -

The couple remained married until Chaplin's death, and had eight children over 18 years. The pair are seen with four of their offspring sailing to England on board RMS Queen Elizabeth in 1952. It proved to be a voyage of no return.

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Blacklisted -

In 'Monsieur Verdoux' (1947), Chaplin took a swipe at capitalism. He also criticized the war industry. A critical and commercial flop in the United States, the film fared better in Europe. In America, however, Chaplin was accused of being a communist, and the FBI launched an investigation against him.

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'Limelight' (1952) -

The autobiographical 'Limelight' alluded not only to Chaplin's miserable childhood and the lives of his parents, but also to his loss of popularity in the United States. Costarring Claire Bloom and featuring an appearance by Buster Keaton (the only time the two silent movie legends worked together), the picture required Chaplin to promote the release abroad. After sailing to England, he learned that his reentry visa to the United States had been revoked.

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Move to Switzerland -

Effectively banned from the country, a bewildered Charlie Chaplin turned his back on the United States and in January 1953 settled with his family at Manoir de Ban, an expansive estate overlooking Lake Geneva in Corsier-sur-Vevey.

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'A King in New York' (1954) -

Chaplin remained a controversial figure throughout the 1950s. His 1954 picture 'A King in New York,' a political satire, attacked elements of 1950s culture, including consumerism, plastic surgery, and wide-screen cinema. It was not shown in America until 1973.

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Authoritarian style -

As a filmmaker, Charlie Chaplin was notorious for his exacting standards, insisting on take after take to achieve the perfect scene. While making 'A Countess from Hong Kong' in 1967, he even managed to inflame Marlon Brando, who later expressed dismay at Chaplin's didactic style of direction and his authoritarian approach. Chaplin made a cameo in the picture, which marked his final screen appearance.

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Family strife -

Meanwhile, his marriage to Oona was by all accounts plagued with outbursts, raging temper, and cruelty towards his children.

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Genius rewarded -

Chaplin's health began to fail him in the late 1960s, just as his life and career were being reevaluated. In 1972, he returned to America to receive his second Academy Award, an honorary Oscar. In an emotionally charged ceremony, he was recognized for "the incalculable effect he has had in making motion pictures the art form of this century."

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Death -

Charlie Chaplin died on December 25, 1977 at his home in Switzerland. He was 88. But there was one final and macabre act to be played out in his long and often controversial life.

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The final act -

Chaplin was laid to rest in the village cemetery of Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland. On March 1, 1978, the comedian's body was dug up from its grave by two thieves who reburied it in a field in the nearby village of Noville. The pair then attempted to exhort money from Chaplin's widow, Oona. The grave robbers were eventually caught and the body returned to the same grave, this time reinterned in a reinforced concrete vault.

Sources: (Britannica) (Charlie Chaplin Official Website) (History) (The New Yorker)

See also: Famous individuals who were exhumed from their graves

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