Remembering Charlie Chaplin, English actor and filmmaker, greatest comedian of silent era, a master mime.
Great Thinkers Datebook: April 16.
Sir Charlie (Charles Spencer) Chaplin (1889-1977), English actor and filmmaker was born April 16. He was honored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (1973), and knighted in 1975.
Regarded as the greatest comedian of the silent era and a master mime, he toured the US with a pantomime troupe and worked for Keystone Studios.
In his short films, including Tillie's Punctured Romance, The Immigrant, and A Dog's Life, he developed the "Tramp" - a wistful and jaunty soul in baggy pants and moustache.
In 1919, he founded United Artists Films as an independent production company, with Mary Pickford, D.W. Griffith, and Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.
Chaplin is known for many film features including The Kid, The gold Rush, The Circus, The Great Dictator, and Monsieur Verdoux.
He settled in Switzerland in 1952.
