Charles Spencer Chaplin, was born on April 16, 1889 to Charles Chaplin Sr. and Hannah Chaplin in London, England. Charles Sr. was a comic singer who made it big in 1990 when he toured in the United States. Hannah was also a famous singer in the light opera stage who's stage name was Lily Harley, but sadly she had illness which hurt her career and eventually ended it after she was unable to sing and was hospitalized many times. Charles's parents divorced in 1890 and he and his younger brother Sydney lived with their mother except for when she was hospitalized and they had to live with their father. After the death of their father in 1901, the two brothers had to find a way to fend for themselves which lead them to the stage and they began performing just like their parents.
Charlie came to America in 1910 after he joined the Karno Company and played many different rolls on stage. He was very accepted by the American audience and after a repeat tour in 1912 he was offered a motion picture contract and then finally agreed to appear in a film in 1913.
Charlie went from contract to contract over the years until he entually became an indepedent producer and started to produce his own films in 1917. His first film as an indepndent producer in 1918 was "A Dog's Life". He then went on to produce and act in several famous works such as "The Kid" (1921), "The Gold Rush" (1925), "The Circus" (1928), "City Lights" (1936), and "The Great Dictator" (1940). During his life, Charlie was able to produce some of the greatest films of his time. He had 11 children and lived with his last wife Oona until his death. He died on December 25, 1977, at 88 years old, and was survived by 8 of his children and his last wife.