It's the birthday of actor Charlie Chaplin, born in 1889. Although Chaplin's birth certificate has never been found, it has always been assumed that he was born in London. Earlier this year, the Chaplin children shared a new piece of information about their father: He may have been born in a gypsy caravan. His daughter Victoria inherited a desk from her father, and when she had a locksmith open a locked drawer, she found a letter from a man named Jack Hill. He said: "Hello Charlie, If you would like to know, you were born in a caravan. It was a good one, it belonged to the gypsy queen who was my auntie. You were born on the Black Patch in Smethwick. So was I, two and a half years later. Your mum did move again with her dad's circus and later settled down in London but whereabouts I do not know."
The Black Patch was a bustling Romani community (the Romani are an ethnic group often called Gypsies) outside the city of Birmingham.
Chaplin's parents, both entertainers, split up when he was two years old. He lived mostly with his mother and half-brother, but his mother was in and out of asylums, and he spent time in a workhouse and then in a school for poor children.
He went on to become one of the most famous film stars of all time. He got a job in a play, The Painful Predicament of Sherlock Holmes, that turned out to be a surprise hit. He toured the United States with an acting troupe and got signed on to the movies. He starred in short films that featured slapstick comedy, and developed his signature character, the Little Tramp, a vagabond gentleman in an old coat, funny little mustache, and cane. He was convinced that a movie would be funny as long as he put a well-developed character in to a setting and let things evolve. But this improvisation was combined with intense control over other parts of the film — he insisted on going through every scene again and again with every actor until it was how he wanted it. His films included The Kid (1921), The Gold Rush (1925), and The Great Dictator (1940).
He said, "Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself."
And, "'I remain one thing and one thing only and that is a clown. It places me on a far higher plane than any politician."
The Black Patch was a bustling Romani community (the Romani are an ethnic group often called Gypsies) outside the city of Birmingham.
Chaplin's parents, both entertainers, split up when he was two years old. He lived mostly with his mother and half-brother, but his mother was in and out of asylums, and he spent time in a workhouse and then in a school for poor children.
He went on to become one of the most famous film stars of all time. He got a job in a play, The Painful Predicament of Sherlock Holmes, that turned out to be a surprise hit. He toured the United States with an acting troupe and got signed on to the movies. He starred in short films that featured slapstick comedy, and developed his signature character, the Little Tramp, a vagabond gentleman in an old coat, funny little mustache, and cane. He was convinced that a movie would be funny as long as he put a well-developed character in to a setting and let things evolve. But this improvisation was combined with intense control over other parts of the film — he insisted on going through every scene again and again with every actor until it was how he wanted it. His films included The Kid (1921), The Gold Rush (1925), and The Great Dictator (1940).
He said, "Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself."
And, "'I remain one thing and one thing only and that is a clown. It places me on a far higher plane than any politician."
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