CHARLES CHAPLIN

Chaplin was born in 1889 in London. His mother was so poor that she had to send him to an orphanage.But he started acting at the age of five,and was soon a successful comic in the theatre.When he went to America,he got into films and became a star almost immediately.In 1916,Chaplin earned $10.000 a week, and an extra $150.000 per film.

His silent films were perfect works of art. Without words,he could say everything. He created a language with his face and his body. In 'The Kid'(1921) Chaplin is a window repairer.The little boy helps him by breaking windows! In most of his films, Chaplin plays a poor man on the streets. But the actor was a millionaire.

In 1929,the age of the silent film came to an end. A new technology made it possible to record sound and pictures together. The 'talkies' arrived.They were very different from silent films. The public loved them,of course.But they were the end of the road for many film-makers.Some old director just couldn't change their style.Some great silent actors had terrible voices.They couldn't get parts in the 'talkies'.

Chaplin's voice was good but he didn't really want to work in the talkies.His love was the silent films. In 1931 he made another claasic film,'City Lights', but again it was silent. Even 'Modern Times' probably his successful film,made in 1936,had music but no dialogue.

In 1938 Chaplin moved to Sweden and lived there till the end of his life.