Chaplin
...who definitely dimpled millions of cheeks in the early 1900's. He had a huge impact on the lives of Americans during the world wars and the hard times of the Depression and he made people laugh for the first time in a long time and changed the way they looked at the world despite his own troubles. And even though his films were in black and white, he put a lot of color into everyone's life.
Charlie Chaplin was born on April 15, 1889, in London, England to Charles Chaplin, Sr., and Hannah Hill(Lynn, Kenneth, pg.376). He was taught to sing before he could talk and danced just as soon as he could walk(Untermeyer, Louis, pg.669). At a very young age Chaplin was told that he would be the most famous person in the world. From then on it was a personal goal for little Charlie. And he would do anything to reach his goal. When Charlie was five years old he sang for his mother on stage after she became ill and taken hoarse(Pringle, Glen). Everyone in the audience loved him and hurled their money onto the stage. When Chaplin was eight, he appeared in a clog dancing act called "Eight Lancashire Lads"(A.Kn, pg.94) Once again he was loved by the audience and he was excited with the attention he received. Charlie's half-brother , Sidney, acted as his agent and when Charlie was ten years old, Sidney got Chaplin an engagement at the London Hippodrome. Within a few years Charlie was one of the most popular child actors in England (Untermeyer, Louis, pg. 670).
Charlie was twelve when his father died on May 9th, 1901. He died in St. Thomas Hospital in London of alcoholism. He was thirty-seven (Robinson, David, pg. 648). After the death of her husband, Charlie's mother, became a chronically psychotic woman who was in and out of mental institutions(Weissman, Stephen, pg. 6). Charlie and Sidney, were placed in a charity home after their mother's mental health plummeted.
Chaplin...
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