Charlie and Marion Davies in the theater at San Simeon (home of William Randolph Hearst), 1933. Marion is holding her pet dachshund, Gandhi.

With French comedian Max Linder.  Charlie considered Linder his master & once gave him a photograph with the inscription, “To Max, the Professor, from his disciple, Charles Chaplin”. Linder and his wife committed suicide in 1925.

Chaplin directs the scene in Modern Times where the Gamine (Paulette Goddard) steals bananas and tosses them to the hungry children on the dock. This scene was filmed on location at Fish Harbor on Terminal Island in Los Angeles.

Charlie with his daughter Geraldine and her son, Shane Saura Chaplin (who was named after Geraldine's uncle, Shane O’Neill), c. 1974.

Performing the dance of the rolls, c. 1929

Charlie, out of costume, performs the roll dance from The Gold Rush.  The scene was filmed in eleven takes with Abe Lyman and a trio of players performing off-camera.

With Eric Campbell in The Fireman, 1916.

Charlie applying his makeup in the lion's cage on the set of The Circus. Henry Bergman is seated in the white shirt.

Portrait of Chaplin by Alexander Paal, c. 1940

The bowler hat, cane, and boots in the above photo were part of a Christie’s auction of Charlie Chaplin memorabilia from 1987. According to my own copy of the auction catalog, all 3 items were authenticated by Ted Tetrick who worked for Chaplin as a costumier (he was also married to Charlie's second cousin, Betty).  The description states that Charlie selected the hat from the studio costume department himself and the cane was one of his favorites. Both were used in The Great Dictator (1940). The boots, which were custom made, had a hole drilled in the right heel for “stunts”.  I have read elsewhere that there was also a shoe of the correct size (either a size 5 or size 8) built inside the oversized boots, so he could move around more easily. According to Tetrick, these boots were worn by Chaplin in many of his films.

Charlie with his sons, Sydney (left) and Charlie, Jr., at the circus, 1934. The boys are wearing their Black Foxe Military Academy uniforms.

There was a Charlie Chaplin sighting at the opening ceremonies for the Olympics in London. If you plan to watch the taped delayed broadcast tonight, look closely because it was very brief from what I hear.

UPDATE: I missed the first hour of the show, but I did see a very brief clip from City Lights. I'm glad Sir Charles was part of the ceremony.

Charlie shows Oona his beloved London, 1952.

Charlie & Edna Purviance in a photo taken during the filming of Work, 1915.

Hand-tinted J. Beagles postcard, 1920s.

French Riviera, 1931. May Reeves, Charlie's lover and traveling companion during his travels that year, is behind him.

The caption reads: "Before the bath, on the Côte d'Azur".

The Little Tramp, c. 1915

Charlie aboard the Olympic bound for England, September 1921. This was his first trip back to his native country since he left for a second tour of North America with the Fred Karno Company in October 1912.

Reading aloud from the manuscript for My Autobiography, c. 1964. Charlie often did this when friends came to visit.

Charlie with boxer Kid McCoy, Chaplin Studios, c. 1924.

With Paulette and Charlie, Jr at the tennis matches

From Photoplay magazine, July 1940. Charlie's hair appears to be dyed black for The Great Dictator.

Ad for Triple Trouble, Moving Picture World, August 1918

This "new" comedy was comprised of unused footage from Police, Work & an abandoned film, Life.  Chaplin left Essanay in 1916 so this was nothing more than an attempt by his former employers to cash in on the Chaplin name .


Charlie himself retaliated with his own ads stating that the only "new" Chaplin releases are the ones distributed by First National with his signature on them.

Photo of Charlie by Oona Chaplin, 1956.

Charlie is wearing white cotton gloves to cover the eczema on his hands. He attributed the condition to all the years he spent editing nitrate film.

(Source: Chaplin: The Genius Of The Cinema by Jeffrey Vance)

Charlie and a blonde Paulette Goddard at a tennis match in Los Angeles not long after they first met, August 1932 (sorry about the watermark).

Charlie poses on the set of The Gold Rush with actress Betty Morrissey, who portrayed one of Georgia's friends in the film. Betty also appeared in A Woman Of Paris and The Circus. She was subpoenaed for deposition during Lita Grey’s divorce from Chaplin in 1927 because Lita was suspicious of her relationship with Charlie.

With British artist the Marchioness of Queensbury, New York, 1927. Her portrait of Charlie is in the background.

Charlie and Douglas Fairbanks in Photoplay magazine, March 1917

Charlie & Maurice Chevalier, French Riviera, 1931.

Modern Times (1936)

Rest In Peace, Mildred Harris (November 29, 1901 – July 20, 1944)

Mildred was Charlie's first wife and mother of his first-born son, Norman Spencer Chaplin, who died three days after his birth.  Many years later, Mildred said that the only thing she remembered about being married to Charlie was that “he cried when the baby died”.

Easy Street (1917).
One of my favorite Chaplin films and, arguably, one of the best films he ever made.

Members of the Mutual company c. 1916. Henry P. Caulfield (Manager at Lone Star Studios), Leo White, Edna Purviance, Chaplin, Charlotte Mineau, Eric Campbell, Lloyd Bacon and Vincent Bryan (scenario editor/writer). The set of The Floorwalker is in the background.

Charlie, Feb. 1925.

Photo of Chaplin by Hartsook, c. 1915.