Quotes

"All I need to make a comedy is a park, a policeman, and a pretty girl."

[Returning to Los Angeles after a 20-year self-imposed exile to accept his honorary Oscar in 1971] "Thank you so much. This is an emotional moment for me and words seem so futile, so feeble...I can only say that... thank you for the honor of inviting me here and...oh...you're wonderful, sweet people. Thank you."

"I like friends as I like music, when I am in the mood. To help a friend in need is easy, but to give him your time is not always opportune."

"The minute you bought your ticket you were in another world."

"I remain just one thing, and one thing only, and that is a clown. It places me on a far higher plane than any politician."

"The saddest thing I can imagine is to get used to luxury."

[On being informed that Hitler sat through two screenings of "The Great Dictator"] "I'd give anything to know what he thought of it."

"I have no further use for America. I wouldn't go back there if Jesus Christ was President."

[Answering the bad critics he got on his last movie "A Countess From Hong Kong"] "If they don't like it, they are bloody idiots. A diplomat falls in love with a prostitute - what better story can they get than that?"

"The summation of my character [The Tramp] is that I care about my work. I care about everything I do. If I could do something else better, I would do it, but I can't."

"Words are cheap. The biggest thing you can say is 'elephant.'"

"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 onto the stage he was fully born."

"I don't believe that the public knows what it wants; this is the conclusion that I have drawn from my career."

"A tramp, a gentleman, a poet, a dreamer, a lonely fellow, always hopeful of romance and adventure."

"Actors search for rejection. If they don't get it they reject themselves."

"All my pictures are built around the idea of getting in trouble, and so giving me the chance to be desperately serious in my attempt to appear as a normal little gentleman."

"Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself."

"I do not have much patience with a thing of beauty that must be explained to be understood. If it does need additional interpretation by someone other than the creator, then I question whether it has fulfilled its purpose."

"Movies are a fad. Audiences really want to see live actors on a stage."

"I went into the business for the money, and the art grew out of it. If people are disillusioned by that remark, I can't help it. It's the truth."

"My childhood was sad, but now I remember it with nostalgia, like a dream."

Trivia

  • Destroyed the original negative of "The Sea Gull" (1933) before a number of witnesses. The film never saw release, possibly because he was dismayed by the poor performance of his lead actress, Edna Purviance.
  • Grandfather of Dolores Chaplin and Carmen Chaplin.
  • Long after becoming a millionaire, he continued to live in a shabby hotel room, and kept his studio checks in a trunk for months.
  • He thought his period with Mutual was the most consistently pleasant period in his career, although he felt that the plots of the films were too formualic for his taste.
  • Ranked #79 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list [October 1997].
  • He was 29 years old when he wed Mildred Harris; she was 17.
  • He was 35 years old when he wed Lita Grey; Lita was 16.
  • He was 47 years old when he wed Paulette Goddard; Paulette was 26.
  • He was 54 years old when he wed Oona O'Neill (Oona Chaplin); Oona was 18.
  • On March 3rd 1978 his dead body was stolen from the Corsier-Sur-Vevey cemetery. It took until March 18th when the police found it.
  • His Beverly Hills residence was known as "Breakaway House." Designed by Chaplin himself and built by studio carpenters, it began falling to bits over the years, much to the amusement of visitors. Built on Summit Drive in the Pickfair neighborhood, the house boasted a pipe organ Chaplin continually used to entertain his guests in the great hall; he also screened his films there. His tennis court was a hive of activity; even the elusive Greta Garbo was a frequent player. He seems to have been an inspiring host; many of his guests joined in with his antics, and reflected that they had never been so funny before or since - it was the influence of Chaplin.
  • Half-brother of Syd Chaplin.
  • Father of Charles Chaplin Jr.
  • Father of Sydney Chaplin.
  • Father, with Oona Chaplin, of Geraldine, Josephine, Christopher, Jane, Eugene, Michael, Victoria, and Annette-Emilie.
  • He was subpoenaed by the House Un-American Activities Council (HUAC) in September of 1947, but his appearance was postponed three times, and he never appeared. He sent HUAC a telegram stating "I am not a Communist, neither have I ever joined any political party or organization in my life." HUAC determined that it was no longer needed for him to appear.
  • Knighted in 1975.
  • In her book, "Tramp: The Life of Charlie Chaplin," Joyce Milton asserts that Vladimir Nabokov's controversial classic, "Lolita," was inspired by Chaplin's relationship with Lita Grey.
  • On the 100th anniversary of Charlie Chaplin's birth, celebrations were held in Corsier and Vevey, Switzerland, where he last lived. For the occasion, 100 children from the region performed a choreography dressed up as little tramps.
  • Interred at Corsier-Sur-Vevey Cemetery, Corsier-Sur-Vevey, Switzerland.
  • A much-repeated story claims that he once entered a Charlie Chaplin-look-a-like-contest and finished third. In some versions of the story, he came in second.
  • Stan Laurel was his understudy on the English stage.
  • When both Stan Laurel and Chaplin moved to America they shared a room in a boarding house. Cooking was not allowed in the boarding house, so he would play the violin to cover up the sound of Laurel frying up food on a hot plate.