Chaplin's childhood in London was one of poverty and hardship, as his father was absent and his mother struggled financially, and he was sent to a workhouse twice before the age of nine.
When he was 14, his mother was committed to a mental asylum. Chaplin began performing at an early age, touring music halls and later working as a stage actor and comedian.
At 19, he was signed to the prestigious Fred Karno company, which took him to America. He was scouted for the film industry and began appearing in 1914 for Keystone Studios.
He soon developed the Tramp persona and formed a large fan base. He directed his own films and continued to hone his craft as he moved to the Essanay, Mutual, and First National corporations.
By 1918, he was one of the best-known figures in the world.In 1919, Chaplin co-founded the distribution company United Artists which gave him complete control over his films.
His first feature-length film was The Kid (1921), followed by A Woman of Paris (1923), The Gold Rush (1925), and The Circus (1928). He refused to move to sound films in the 1930s, instead producing City Lights (1931) and Modern Times (1936) without dialogue.
He became increasingly political, and his next film The Great Dictator (1940) satirized Adolf Hitler. meanwhile in desparation, the FBI spent years trying to prove that Chaplin was a dangerous communist.
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