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Sydney Chaplin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Sydney Earl Chaplin (1926-03-30)March 30, 1926 |
| Died | March 3, 2009(2009-03-03) (aged 82) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1952–1977 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 1 |
| Parent(s) | Charlie Chaplin Lita Grey |
| Relatives | SeeChaplin family |
Sydney Earl Chaplin (March 30, 1926 – March 3, 2009) was an American actor. He was the second son ofCharlie Chaplin andLita Grey. One of his major roles was in his father's filmLimelight (1952). In theater, Chaplin won theTony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his 1957 performance inBells Are Ringing.
Born in 1926 in Beverly Hills, California,[1] Chaplin was the second son ofCharlie Chaplin andLita Grey. His parents had married in November 1924 when Lita became pregnant with Sydney's elder brotherCharles. Sydney was born five weeks prematurely, 10 months after the birth of his older brother. He was named for his father's half-brother,Sydney Chaplin. His parents divorced a year after his birth. The boys later had eight half-siblings from their father's fourth marriage toOona O'Neill.
His mother insisted on calling him "Tommy" due to her distaste for his namesake uncle. Sydney and his older brother were brought up mostly by their maternal grandmother, while his mother attempted to advance her career as a singer. The family spent most of one year inNice, where the boys became fluent in French.[2]
Chaplin was educated at the boarding schoolsBlack-Foxe Military Institute andLawrenceville School in New Jersey, as well as the publicNorth Hollywood High School.[2]
After serving in the United States Army duringWorld War II in Europe, Chaplin returned to California, where he became involved in acting both on stage and in films. He gained early acting experience in The Circle Theater, now known asEl Centro Theatre, including acting in three plays directed by his father.[3]
He also appeared in severalBroadway productions, includingBells Are Ringing oppositeJudy Holliday in 1957, for which he won aTony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical. In 1959, he costarred withLauren Bacall inGeorge Axelrod's comedyGoodbye Charlie and headlinedJule Styne's 1961 musicalSubways Are for Sleeping. He played inFunny Girl oppositeBarbra Streisand in 1964, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award.[4] Chaplin also had supporting roles in two of his father's films,Limelight (1952) andA Countess from Hong Kong (1967).[1]
Chaplin retired from acting in the 1970s. In the 1980s, he owned and managed a restaurant, Chaplin's, inPalm Springs, California.
Following his retirement from acting, Chaplin seldom made public appearances. Exceptions included his attendance at Cinecon in Los Angeles in 1998, and at the Cineteca di Bologna 2002 festival (Il Cinema Ritrovato), which mounted a fiftieth-anniversary screening ofLimelight. He appeared also at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival in 2004, where he spoke after screenings of his father's filmThe Circus to promote film historianJeffrey Vance's Chaplin books.[5]
In 1960 Chaplin married French dancer and actress Noëlle Adam, by whom he had one son, Stephan (b. 1960). In 1985 this marriage ended in divorce.
He became involved with Margaret Beebe in 1984. They married in 1998, and remained married until Chaplin's death.
Chaplin helped complete and publish his mother's 1998 autobiography,Wife of the Life of the Party. He also wrote the book's foreword, where he shared some of his own history and private thoughts on his parents.
At age 82, Chaplin died of astroke on March 3, 2009, at his home inRancho Mirage, California.[1]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Limelight | Neville | |
| 1953 | Act of Love | Un soldat | |
| 1954 | Columbus Discovers Kraehwinkel | Clark Hunter | |
| 1955 | Abdullah the Great | Ahmed | |
| 1955 | Land of the Pharaohs | Treneh, The Captain of the Guard | |
| 1955 | Confession | Mike Nelson | |
| 1956 | Pillars of the Sky | Timothy | |
| 1957 | Four Girls in Town | Johnny Pryor | |
| 1957 | Quantez | Gato | |
| 1961 | Follow That Man | Eddie Miller | |
| 1967 | A Countess from Hong Kong | Harvey | |
| 1967 | Sept hommes et une garce | Duprat | |
| 1967 | Your Turn to Die | Inspector Chandler | |
| 1968 | If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death | Jeff Stewal | |
| 1968 | One by One | Jacques Latour | |
| 1968 | Ho! | Canter | |
| 1969 | Pagó cara su muerte | Red Stacy | |
| 1969 | Double Face | Mr. Brown | |
| 1969 | The Adding Machine | Lieutenant Charles | |
| 1969 | The Sicilian Clan | Jack | |
| 1970 | Nel giorno del signore | Melozzo | |
| 1971 | L'Homme qui vient de la nuit | John | |
| 1971 | La Grande Maffia | Le Directeur de la Banque | |
| 1971 | The Contract | District Attorney | |
| 1971 | Papa les petits bateaux... | Spiro de Palma | |
| 1972 | The Woman Hunter | George | |
| 1974 | El encanto del amor prohibido | ||
| 1974 | So Evil, My Sister | George | |
| 1977 | Satan's Cheerleaders | Monk | (final film role) |
