Grant first encountered Chaplin when he saw the Fred Karno troupe perform in England as a young boy. He was also briefly married to the blind girl from City Lights, Virginia Cherrill. In 1953, a few months after Chaplin's reentry permit was revoked by the U.S. government, Grant held a press conference to announce his retirement. He used this opportunity to speak out publicly in defense of Chaplin, his idol: "He has given great pleasure to millions of people, and I hope he returns to Hollywood. Personally, I don’t think he is a Communist, but whatever his political affiliations, they are secondary to the fact that he is a great entertainer. We should not go off the deep end."
Well, first off: what a great story! Secondly, I have always wondered what CC thought of other great actors and other great movies. What did he think of Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, Spencer Tracy? Did he like Lawrence of Arabia, the Ten Commandments, the Sound of Music? I haven't seen any quotes from him or from relatives about this. I know he showed his own movies to his kids - which I find so funny because they were a captive audience.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Jerry Epstein, Charlie walked out on "The Sound Of Music" and claimed it was "the most disgusting film" he'd ever seen. I also read once that he didn't care for "Dr. Zhivago," even though his daughter was in it! He was a fan of Peter Lorre and once said that he was the "greatest living actor." He also liked Peter Sellers, esp. "Dr. Strangelove." One of the last films he ever saw was "Rocky" and he loved it. Charlie also liked Lucille Ball, Benny Hill, and Jerry Lewis.
DeleteIts kinda awesome that he liked Lucille Ball. I always heard the rumor that the infamous chocolate eating scene from "I Love Lucy" was inspired by the factory scene in "Modern Times". Meh..."The Sound of Music" is overrated anyway....
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