(Sir) Charles Spencer (Charlie) Chaplin was born on 16 April 1889 in Walworth, London England. He became one of the true stars of the silent film era, first as a comic actor, and then successively in all the other roles involved in film making, including when the ‘talkies’ came along. He died on Christmas Day 1977.
So just how rich was Charlie Chaplin? Sources estimate that Charlie’s net worth was over $50 million at his passing, accrued during his 75 years in the entertainment industry, and encompassing a remarkable rags-to-riches story.
Charlie Sr. was a music hall singer, but estranged from his mother, Hannah when Charlie Jr. was very young, and she so poor that he was eventually sent to a workhouse at the age of seven. She was subsequently committed to a mental asylum for a short period, during which time Charlie and his half-brother Sydney lived with their now alcoholic father – he died two years later from cirrhosis – and after two brief periods of remission, Hannah was to spend the rest of her life under supervision until she died in 1928. Charlie spent some time on the streets of London, but with his mother’s support he had already begun performing on stage, including dancing, so by the time he was 14 he was acting comic roles, and becoming popular as well as being recognised as a star of the future, plus earning what was the start of his net worth.
Charlie Chaplin Net Worth $50 Million
Charlie Chaplin began touring the UK music halls, dancing and comic acting, called vaudeville. He developed the persona of a tramp, parodying his own experience against adversity in comic presentation which was applauded by audiences, and which he continued with for the next 25 years. Through brother Sydney, in 1908 he was introduced to a noted comedy company, Fred Karno, and quickly became a star of the show, being included in a tour of the USA. A further tour saw Charlie signed to Keystone Studios in 1913, making his film debut in early 1914 in “Making a Living” which Chaplin really didn’t like, but positive critiques persuaded him to further develop the Tramp character, debuting the costume with the persona in “Kid Auto Races at Venice”. Studio boss Mack Sennett subsequently raised Charlie’s salary from $150 per week to $1500 to next direct his own film, the success of which saw Chaplin set for a meteoric rise. His net worth rose accordingly, especially soon afterwards, when he joined the Essanay Film Company in Chicago at a salary of $1,250 a week, plus an initial bonus $10,000, over $25,000 and $200,000 today, and quite enormous in the industry at that time.
Chaplin wasn’t called up for service in World War 1 by either the UK or USA, but entertained the troops on film anyway. By 1919 Charlie was world famous, and wealthy enough to found United Artists, through which he continued to direct, star in and distribute his films, including “The Kid” – his first full-length feature film in 1922 – followed by a series of others, all silent as he refused to use sound at this point, including in 1923 “A Woman of Paris”, “The Gold Rush” in 1925, and “The Circus” (1928), followed in the 30s by “City Lights” and “Modern Times”. All were well received, maintaining his popularity and rising net worth, but uncertainty regarding sound in his films saw him travel for a couple of years, and write a book about his experiences.
Chaplin first film of the 1940s, “The Great Dictator”, satirised Hitler, and proved popular and very profitable despite its overt political theme (anti-fascist), but during the decade Charlie was suspected of being a communist sympathiser, whilst his personal life also drew criticism regarding his relationships with much younger women, and a paternity suit. An FBI report saw Chaplin leave the US and move to Switzerland.
About this time, Chaplin finally gave-up his Tramp persona, which didn’t work too well with dialogue, as his films were usually slapstick which didn’t need sound. He eventually moved on, and released “Monsieur Verdoux” in 1947 – Chaplin paid Orson Welles $5,000 for the idea – which was appreciated far more outside of the US, but which he subsequently termed his ‘… cleverest and most brilliant film I have yet made.’, and which again incorporated Chaplin’s political ideals “Limelight” in 1952, “A King in New York” in 1957, and “A Countess From Hong Kong”(1967).
Chaplin wrote, starred in, directed, produced, edited,, and composed the music for almost all of his films from 1919, and appreciated in all these facets of movie production. A perfectionist, his growing net worth allowed him to spend as much time as he deemed necessary on the development and production of a film. His social and political themes and his own autobiography were often elements incorporated into his films, starting with the Tramp persona. Chaplin received an Honorary Academy Award in 1972, for “…the incalculable effect he has had in making motion pictures the art form of this century”. Charlie’s productions of “The Gold Rush”, “The Great Dictator”. “City Lights” and “Modern Times”, are still often ranked on industry lists of the greatest films of all time. Overall, he was involved in some way in more than 100 films, and there is no doubt that he is one of the giants of the film industry.
In Charlie Chaplin’s often public personal life, he was married four times, but somewhat notorious according to social norms of the times for affairs, often with much younger women. His first wife was American actress Mildred Harris, whom he married in 1918 when she was 16 and apparently – but not – pregnant, and he 29. A subsequent child died after birth, and they divorced in 1920. Charlie’s second wife was Lila Grey, also an American actress whom he first met when she was eight, and married in 1924 when she was just 16 and he 35, because he had supposedly impregnated her while under age. She wasn’t pregnant, but they then had two sons before divorcing in 1927, with Charlie paying a considerable settlement for the time of over $600,000. Charlie’s third wife was Paulette Goddard(1936-42) – she was 21 years younger than him. Finally, Chaplin married the love of his life, and certainly the love of her life, Oona O’Neill in 1943, when she was 18 and he 54: they had eight children, and were together until his death in Switzerland in 1977, when he was 88.
Finally, despite Charlie Chaplin’s sometimes controversial behaviour, in his obituary are listed many awards, perhaps the most prestigious being the knighthood – KBE – awarded to him by the Queen in 1975, followed by the French government’s 1971 award of Commander of the National Order of the Legion of Honour. In 1962, Honorary Doctor of Letters degrees were bestowed on Chaplin by both the University of Oxford and the University of Durham.
Among many film industry awards, Chaplin received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Lincoln Center Film Society in 1972, which has since become an annual presentation to filmmakers and called “The Chaplin Award”. Charlie was eventually given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame also in 1972. He also received three Academy Awards – two honorary – and six of his films are preserved in the National Film Registry of the US Library of Congress; “The Great Dictator” features prominently in these belated honours, so apparently all is forgiven this film-making genius.
