Charles Chaplin Jr.

Charles Spencer Chaplin III (May 5, 1925 – March 20, 1968) was an American actor. He was a son of Charlie Chaplin and Lita Grey. He is known for appearing in 1950s films such as The Beat Generation and Fangs of the Wild.

Charles Chaplin Jr.
Born
Charles Spencer Chaplin III

(1925-05-05)May 5, 1925
DiedMarch 20, 1968(1968-03-20) (aged 42)
Resting placeHollywood Forever Cemetery
Alma materBlack-Foxe Military Institute
Lawrenceville School
OccupationActor
Spouse(s)
Susan Magness
(m. 1958; div. 1959)
Children1
Parent(s)Charlie Chaplin
Lita Grey
RelativesSee Chaplin family

Early life

Chaplin was born in Beverly Hills, California. He was the elder son of actors Charlie Chaplin and Lita Grey. His half-siblings from his father's last marriage to Oona O'Neill are Geraldine, Michael, Josephine, Victoria, Eugene, Jane, Annette, and Christopher. His elder half-brother Norman died as an infant.

As young children, he and his younger brother Sydney 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 in Hollywood and the Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. He served in the U.S. Army in Europe during World War II.

Career

Chaplin acted in 13 films, appearing with his father in Limelight (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 at the Circle Theatre, now named El Centro Theatre. In 1960, he wrote a book about his family life titled My Father, Charlie Chaplin.

Death

Grave of Charles Chaplin Jr.

Chaplin died of a pulmonary embolism 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 with his maternal grandmother Lillian Carrillo Curry Grey (1888–1985).

Selected filmography

Further reading

  • Grey, Lita. My Life With Chaplin, Grove Press. 1966.
  • Grey, Lita; Vance, Jeffrey. Wife of the Life of the Party: A Memoir. Scarecrow Press. 1998.
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