Charlie Chaplin was born in 1889 and died in 1977; he invented “the tramp”, one of the most famous characters in the history of movies.

This generous, clumsy vagabond was the great comic of silent movies from 1910 to 1920.

There are lots of expressions with the word Charlie in it, for example: “a right Charlie”, meaning an idiot.

Charlie Chaplin played “the tramp” but he also directed his films, wrote the stories and even composed the music!

Born in London, he started acting when he was young.

But he became a star in the United States, at the birth of the movie industry in Hollywood.

He set up his own cinema studio to be independent and make the films he wanted.

Some of his films are masterpieces, such as the “great dictator” that made fun of the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

But Charlie Chaplin became more and more criticized in the 1940s.

Newspapers reported his affairs with young actresses and accused him of having political ideas criticizing America.

Charlie Chaplin decided to go and live in Europe.

He received many awards and honors for his role in the history of movies.

In 1972, he was awarded an honorary Oscar. It was America’s way of making amends, and acknowledging one of the greatest moviemakers of all time!