Re: Infomation on Chaplin's early years requested -- The Charlie Chaplin Forum

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Date Posted: 20:01:14 04/23/00 Sun
Author: Sean Gray
Subject: Re: Infomation on Chaplin's early years requested
In reply to: Jenelle 's message, "Infomation on Chaplin's early years requested" on 08:36:33 04/22/00 Sat

> I was wondering if any of you know much about Chaplin
> before he struck fame. Was he in a band? Do you know
> of any weebsites or literature that records this sort
> of infomation? Please help quickly!!

Chaplins early years are actually quite well documented. He was born to two stage performers in London on April 16th, 1889. His parents seperated when he was about three and he and his half brother Sydney went to live with there mother. Hannah Chaplin had a host of mental problems and was soon institutionalised, leaving the two boys to fend for themselves on the streets of London.

Chaplin entered the theatre after the death of Charlie's father, not as an art form, but as a means of survival. Charlie played in the successful Sherlock Holmes play as a paperboy. Soon after he hooked up with a song and dance troop known as the eight Lancashire Lads. Finally he was given a starring role with the Fred Karno Company playing the part of Archibald the drunk in A Night in an English Music Hall. It was this play that first took Chaplin on tour in America, and brought him to the attention of Mack Sennett.

Mack Sennett ran the Keystone studios that, on the unheard of offer of $150.00 per week (five times what he was making with the Karno troop) introduced the little tramp to the silver screen.

A more detailled biography can be found on the Internet Movie Database (imdb.com), as well as a search under the name Chaplin in Yahoo! or any other search engine.

Cheers!

Sean Gray.
Toronto, Canada.

--------------
"Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of youself."
-Charlie Chaplin

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