Chaplin, Charlie

English film actor, director, producer, and composer. One of cinema's most popular stars, he made his reputation as a tramp with a smudge moustache, bowler hat, and twirling cane in silent comedies, including The Rink (1916), The Kid (1921), and The Gold Rush (1925). His work combines buffoonery with pathos, as in The Great Dictator (1940) and Limelight (1952).

Chaplin was born in London and first appeared on the music-hall stage at the age of five. He joined Mack Sennett's Keystone Company in Los Angeles in 1913. Along with Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and D W Griffith, Chaplin formed United Artists in 1919 as an independent company to distribute their films. His other films include City Lights (1931), Modern Times (1936), and Monsieur Verdoux (1947). When accused of communist sympathies during Senator Joe McCarthy's witchhunt, he left the USA in 1952 and moved to Switzerland. He received an honorary Academy Award in 1972 for his contribution to cinema, and a belated Academy Award in 1973 for his musical theme to Limelight. He was knighted in 1975.