Charles Spencer Chaplin III (May 5, 1925 – March 20, 1968), known professionally as Charles Chaplin Jr., was an American actor. He was the eldest son of

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

and

Lita Grey Lita Grey (born Lillita Louise MacMurray, April 15, 1908 – December 29, 1995), who was known for most of her life as Lita Grey Chaplin, was an American actress. She was the second wife of Charlie Chaplin, and appeared in his films '' The Kid'' ...

, and is known for appearing in 1950s films such as ''

The Beat Generation The Beat Generation was a literary subculture movement started by a group of authors whose work explored and influenced American culture and politics in the post-World War II era. The bulk of their work was published and popularized by members o ...

'' and ''Fangs of the Wild''.

Early life

Chaplin was born in Beverly Hills, California. He was the elder son of actors

and

. His half-siblings from his father's last marriage to

Oona O'Neill Oona O'Neill, Lady Chaplin (14 May 1925 – 27 September 1991) was a British actress, the daughter of American playwright Eugene O'Neill and English-born writer Agnes Boulton, and the fourth and last wife of actor and filmmaker Charlie Chaplin. ...

are Geraldine,

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

, Josephine,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

Eugene Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gene Eugene, stage name of Canadian born actor, record producer, engineer, composer and musi ...

, Jane, Annette, and

Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...

. His elder half-brother, Norman, died as an infant. As young children, he and his younger brother,

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, were used as pawns in their mother's bitter divorce from Charlie Chaplin, during which a lot of the couple's "dirty linen" was aired in public, sensational divorce hearings. Following the divorce, the brothers were raised by their mother and maternal grandmother until the mid-1930s, when they began to make frequent visits to their father. Chaplin attended the

Black-Foxe Military Institute The Black-Foxe Military Institute was a private military school for boys in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was located adjacent to the Wilshire Country Club to the west and south and the Los Angeles Tennis Club to the ...

in Hollywood and the

Lawrenceville School The Lawrenceville School is a Private school, private, coeducational College-preparatory school, preparatory school for boarding and day students located in the Local government in New Jersey, unincorporated community of Lawrenceville, New Jers ...

Lawrenceville, New Jersey Lawrenceville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) within Lawrence Township in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

. He served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

in Europe during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Career

Chaplin acted in 13 films, appearing with his father in ''

Limelight Limelight (also known as Drummond light or calcium light)James R. Smith (2004). ''San Francisco's Lost Landmarks'', Quill Driver Books. is a non-electric type of stage lighting that was once used in theatres and music halls. An intense illum ...

'' (1952). In 1959, he had a role in the film '' Girls Town'' which featured the son of another famous silent movie comedian, Harold Lloyd Jr. He appeared with his brother Sydney in the play ''

Ethan Frome ''Ethan Frome'' is a 1911 novella by American author Edith Wharton. It details the story of a man who falls in love with his wife's cousin and the tragedies that result from the ensuing love triangle. The novel has been adapted into a film o ...

'' at the Circle Theatre, now named

El Centro Theatre El Centro Theatre is a Hollywood theater. It was founded in 1946 and is located at 804 N. El Centro Ave. Hollywood, California 90038. History In 1946, students from UCLA, including William Schallert, Jerry Epstein, Kathleen Freeman, Sid Rusha ...

. In 1960, he wrote a book about his family life titled ''My Father, Charlie Chaplin''.

Death

Chaplin died of a

pulmonary embolism Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an pulmonary artery, artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream (embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include dyspnea, shortness of breath, chest pain ...

on March 20, 1968, in Santa Monica, California, aged 42. He is buried in the Abbey of the Psalms mausoleum at the

Hollywood Forever Cemetery Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematorium, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries ...

with his maternal grandmother Lillian Carrillo Curry Grey.

In popular culture

In the 2022

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

film ''

Blonde Blond () or blonde (), also referred to as fair hair, is a human hair color characterized by low levels of eumelanin, the dark pigment. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some yellowish color. The color can be ...

'', Chaplin was portrayed by

Xavier Samuel Xavier Samuel (born 10 December 1983) is an Australian film and theatre actor. He has appeared in leading roles in the feature films '' Adore'', ''September'', ''Further We Search'', ''Newcastle'', '' The Loved Ones'', ''Frankenstein'', '' A Fe ...

Selected filmography

* ''

'' (1952) as Clown (uncredited) * ''

Columbus Discovers Kraehwinkel ''Columbus Discovers Kraehwinkel'' () is a 1954 West German comedy film directed by Ulrich Erfurth and Alexander Paal and starring Eva Kerbler, Rudolf Platte and two sons of Charlie Chaplin, Charles Chaplin Jr. and Sydney Chaplin . The film's ...

'' (1954) * '' High School Confidential'' (1958) * '' Girls Town'' (1959)Girls Town (1959) - Turner Classic Movies
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chaplin, Charles Jr. 1925 births 1968 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male film actors Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery Charles Jr. Deaths from pulmonary embolism Lawrenceville School alumni Male actors from Beverly Hills, California Military personnel from California Military personnel from Los Angeles United States Army personnel of World War II