Christmas with Charlie, Vol. 9

"Chaplin owned a few cars, a formal Rolls Royce, and two Fords--with special engines--one for him and one for Oona. At Christmas he would get out his Ford and Oona and the children, along with Peggy and Norman Lloyd and their two children, would pile in for a holiday drive and motor around Hollywood taking in all the sights. Charlie made up a game in which the children had to ooh and aah every time they passed Christmas lights, and the car rocked with their delighted cries. The contrast between the way Charlie acted with his youngsters and his older boys was very evident to his longtime friends, and even Charlie himself admitted he had been a neglectful father to Charlie, Jr. and Sydney. According to the Lloyd's, it was not just Charlie; Lita Grey Chaplin was uncomfortable in the role of mother and really did not know what to do with her children whereas Oona Chaplin, they agreed, did."

--Jane Scovell, Oona: Living in The Shadows, Warner Books, 1998