This Day in History: 1889-04-16

Charlie Chaplin, a major comic  silent film star and founder of United Artists,   is born on this day in 1889. From childhood, Chaplin seemed to have comic genius,  but his early life was fraught with poverty and hardship. He was working as a stage comic in 1913 when he was recruited for Keystone Studios, and within a few years he became the highest paid actor in movies.  Among hundreds of films were  The Kid (1921), followed by A Woman of Paris (1923), The Gold Rush (1925), and The Circus (1928). In an unusual move for a silent film star, Chaplin refused to make “talkies” when sound technology arrived in the 1930s, instead producing City Lights (1931) and Modern Times (1936) without dialogue (but with music he composed). Chaplin became increasingly political, and his next film, with sound, was  The Great Dictator (1940), which fearlessly satirized Nazi dictator Adolph Hitler, who had (it was said) a “Chaplin” mustache.  Chaplin retired to Switzerland in the 1940s, but the 1960s and 70s saw a new appreciation for his work. He was awarded honorary degrees and   an honorary Academy Award in 1972. He died on Christmas Day, 1977.