By Sharon Fabian
1 "A day without laughter," said Charlie Chaplin, "is a day wasted." Charlie Chaplin spent his career trying to make sure that a day without laughter never had to happen. He created enough funny moments on film to add laughter to many days.
2 Charlie Chaplin became a film star in the era of silent films. He made silent films in the 1920's, films with music and sound effects in the 1930's, and talkies in the 1940's. Whatever kind of movies he starred in, they always made people laugh.
3 Making silent movies was challenging, and being funny in a silent movie must have been an even greater challenge. Charlie Chaplin solved the problem by creating a character known as The Tramp.
4 The Tramp had a style all his own. He wore a tight, shabby coat, really big, baggy pants, and a derby hat. He carried a cane to add a touch of class to his appearance, and always sported a toothbrush moustache. He moved with a silly, bow-legged walk, but he always tried to use the manners of a high-class gentleman.
5 The tramp was a kind-hearted person. He had big dreams too, but his lack of respect for authorities tended to get him in trouble. His fumbling, bumbling way of doing things often caused him problems too, but it made for very funny scenes on film. In fact, the combination of qualities and styles that Chaplin gave to The Tramp resulted in a character that was irresistible to movie audiences.
6 The Tramp even starred in his own film - also called The Tramp. It was a short film; the plot involved various troubles with other tramps, the rescue of a farmer's daughter, and more troubles with the daughter's boyfriend. At the end of the movie, The Tramp moved on.
7 The Tramp was also the main character in feature films of the silent era and on into the era of talking motion pictures. One of his best known films is Modern Times, written and directed by Charlie Chaplin and released in 1936. Modern Times was one of the last silent films ever made. Although it has music and sound effects, it is still considered a silent movie because the characters do not speak.
8 In Modern Times, The Tramp lands a job working in a factory. He works on the assembly line, and in a classic comedy scene, The Tramp himself somehow ends up traveling through the gears of the conveyor belt.
9 Modern Times had a serious side too. While it was making movie-goers laugh, it was also reminding them of the troubles real people were having during this time in history that later became known as the Great Depression.
10 One of Chaplin's most famous talkies also had a serious message about current events. The Great Dictator, released in 1940, featured a comic character, with a toothbrush moustache, who looked amazingly like Adolf Hitler. In the movie, this dictator ruled a place called Tomania, and gave speeches that mocked the speeches of Adolf Hitler. Chaplin played two roles in the film - the dictator and a Jewish soldier. The Jewish soldier also wore a toothbrush moustache, but he looked and acted just like The Tramp.
11 Charlie Chaplin starred in many more films during his long career. Some of these were A Dog's Life, The Gold Rush, City Lights, and Limelight. In 1975, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. He died in 1977.
12 A biographical film was later made about his life. It is called Chaplin, and it is about someone who knew how to make people laugh.
