Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin, KBE (16 April 1889 – 25 December 1977), better known as Charlie Chaplin, was an Academy Award-winning English comedy actor. Chaplin became one of the most famous actors as well as a notable director, composer and musician in the early to mid Hollywood cinema era. He is considered to have been one of the finest mimes and clowns ever caught on film and has greatly influenced performers in this field.

Chaplin acted in, directed, scripted, produced, and eventually scored his own films. Chaplin was also one of the most creative and influential personalities in the silent-film era. His working life in entertainment spanned over 65 years, from the Victorian stage and music hall in the United Kingdom as a child performer almost until his death at the age of 88. Chaplin's high-profile public and private life encompassed highs and lows with both adulation and controversy. Chaplin is also one of the co-founders of United Artists, the movie studio that revolutionized Hollywood.

Chaplin's principal character was "The Tramp" (known as "Charlot" in Andorra, France and the French-speaking world, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Romania, and Turkey, as "Carlinhos" in Brazil and "Carlitos" in Argentina). "The Tramp" is a vagrant with the refined manners and dignity of a gentleman. The character wears a tight coat, oversized trousers and shoes, and a derby; carries a bamboo cane; and has a signature toothbrush moustache.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Chaplin
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