History dictates that Charlie Chaplin, or Charlie to his close friends, was an extremely talented and natural comic-genius.  His was the rags to riches story.  We remember him for his vintage comedy performances, most of which were silent.  As it happens, not a lot about his personal life and attitude has been recalled.

Chaplin was born inthe year 1889, in London.  Both his parents were in the showbusiness and he had an elder brother by five years called Sid.  They lived on the rich side of Lambeth, close to the Thames River and, quite often, Charlie’s mother would take him to the music-hall for weekend outings.  She was a great inspiration in his life.

Ironically, she lost her voice at the age of twenty-five and ws ridiculed by audiences at the music-hall where she had performed.  The manager, in desperation, saw young Charlie and pleaded to him to finish the act, by singing.  He was now five years.  The same audience who had been so cruel were now cheering at his song and dance act.  His first success had come out of his mother’s failure.

Family circumstances went downhill from this stage.  His mother could not find work and eventually went mad.  She was sent to a Mental Asylum by her husband.  He, in turn, resorted to alaholism and an affair with a lady called Louise.  Chaplin would frequently get involved in violent rows with Louise, as she ordered him about.  He was eventually forced to leave home and find work.

As Chaplin gained success in the famous Karno company, he often found trouble.  One evening, he had come off stage after a perfromance with a comedian called Harry Weldon in a raging state.  Weldon had been hitting him hard on the back, as audiences cheered.  In return, Chaplin accused him by saying,  “In your ****, Weldon; that’s where your talent lies!”

Now, in the modern age, we can see tinted and coloured sound-tracks of Chaplin on video, but a study of the man himself makes it more exciting.