Charlie Chaplin: My Autobiography [Mass Market Paperback]

Charles Chaplin (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 1, 1995

Charles Chaplin was born in London in 1889 to actor parents. His career in films started in 1914 with a string of single-reelers for Keystone Comedy Film Company. Success was immediate, and nine years later, to get better terms, he helped form United Artists.

Chaplin's life was full of controversy, from his memorable arguments with the government about taxes to his marriage late in life to Oona O'Neill, daughter of playwright Eugene and two generations his junior. By her he sired an extensive brood. She in turn cared for him devotedly through the remainder of his long life (he died on Christmas Day, 1977).

"From a destitute childhood in Victorian London to fame without frontiers...one of the success extravaganzas of the century." (Publisher's Source)

--This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“For a star who made his fortune in the silent movies, Charlie Chaplin has a surprising way with words. His ’My Autobiography,’ published in 1964 and recently reissued, moves along at a quick clip, lit up throughout its many pages by bright anecdotes, easy humor, and a confident way with a good yarn.” –Biographile

“The best autobiography ever written by an actor. An astonishing work.” —Chicago Tribune

“A moving picture of the hero himself. A truly fascinating book.”
—The New York Times Book Review

“The most original, virile book about the theater in a long, long time.”
—Atlantic Monthly

“It holds the reader entranced. Every page can be read with pleasure.” —The Times (London)

“The crucial artist of the twentieth century.” —The New Yorker

“Among the greatest geniuses of film.” —Roger Ebert

“Few men in this century in any field attained his stature with the public.” —The New York Times

“Chaplin was not just ‘big,’ he was gigantic. In 1915, he burst onto a war-torn world bringing it the gift of comedy, laughter and relief while it was tearing itself apart through World War I. Over the next 25 years, through the Great Depression and the rise of Adolf Hitler, he stayed on the job. . . It is doubtful any individual has ever given more entertainment, pleasure and relief to so many human beings when they needed it the most.” —Martin Sieff

“For me, comedy begins with Charlie Chaplin. I know there were screen comedies before he came along . . . But none of them created a persona as unique or indelible as the Little Tramp, and no one could match his worldwide impact.” —Leonard Maltin --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Publisher

12 1.5-hour cassettes --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 493 pages
• Publisher: Plume (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452270782
• ISBN-13: 978-0452270787
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #811,870 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Exceptional Reading Experience! April 1, 2000

By Archie Mercer VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I originally read this book back in the early 1970's when I was a teen-ager. Recently I found it at my Dad's house and had the great pleasure of re-reading it. As with any autobiography there is a certain amount of self-promotion and justification, however this book really keeps it to a minimum. The period covered is from birth until his expulsion from the United States, and gives great insight on the early years of Hollywood, including his formation of United Artists with Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford. If you're a fan of "the Tramp" then I highly recommend this book. If you're not a fan but looking for a great true-to-life story, I would still recommend it as well.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Chaplinisque Tear Jerker August 2, 2005

By Umesh Vyas

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Chaplin is Chaplin. This is enough to make his autobiography interesting. It is his honesty and sensitivity and attempts to be in touch with himself at various points of his life that makes this book remarkable. And it is through sharing his inadequacies and traumas that the comic tramp makes me cry.

This book is invaluable in getting an insight into early days of Hollywood. It also provides a great account of Charlie's life and struggles. So the learning is tremendous.

However, the best part of the book is its humanness - fallible, confused, hesitant, and shy and yet successful, rich, adored, and mobbed by fans.

What struck my heart is the loneliness in the midst of a celebrity status and Charlie's ability to get in touch with it and share it.

What is also moving is his trauma during the McCarthy era and his eventual 'reverse migration' to Europe.

Even JFK could not get him back.

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars In His Own Words December 22, 2003

By JMack VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

While the movie Chaplin is very well done, no person can tell a story like they can tell there own. Based on this, I chose to read the book written by the cinematic legend himself. While there are some discrepencies between the book and movie, books have an ability to make details evident that movies can not make evident.

The book spends a considerable amount of time in his early life. Chaplin struggled with a rarely present father and a mentally ill mother. It was through this poverty that he followed the chosen career path of his parents in the theatre. The theatre would would lead him to America where he would begin working in the new film industry. Through this industry he made classic films that continue to influence modern cinema despite their age. When Chaplin made a film, it had something to say. It was art that spoke to the human soul with humor, love, and hope. His films were not merely a way to make money.

Aside from his work in films, Chaplin was a humanitarian. He supported America in times of war depite not being a citizen. Chaplin never forgot his roots, making him empathetic to the needs of the less fortunate. This trait led to the revoking of his residency when he spoke of openly of opening a second front in Russia during World War II. It was through this stance that he was labeled a "communist". In spite of these attacks led by J. Edgar Hoover, Chaplin rarely mentions Hoover in his book. Nor does he harbor ill will toward America. It is a travesty that this film legend and humanitarian was treated so poorly by the American government in his later years.

The book ends shortly after Chaplin has settled in to his new life in Switzerland. With his new life, Chaplin has a positive outlook.... One has to wonder what might have been if Chaplin finished his life in America. Surely he was capable of creating more great work. However, sometimes a man's greatest work and pleasure is his family. Read more ›

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Read the entire book, please November 25, 2008

By Snorre Smari Mathiesen

Format:Paperback

Despite all the exquisite books that have been devoted to Charlie Chaplin through the years, the comedian's own account of his life remains my first recommendation to anyone interested in his life and work. In fact, it seems to me that the relevance of MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY increases as every new book is written, because every Chaplin-biographer since has relied so heavily on the incredible memory, sensitivity and insight provided in this book. Thus to not recognize it in its entirety would likely result in an unbalanced view of the man.

It is the general standpoint that the first twelve out of twenty-nine chapters are the most fascinating. Born and raised in London, Chaplin's intense observations of the late Victorian era, seen through the eyes of a man who suffered a confused and insecure childhood, are often heartwrenching. Although Chaplin tells his story in retrospect as one of the richest and most celebrated personalities the world has ever known, it is made so obvious in his writing that the feelings of desperation and inferiority never quite left him, that I constantly found myself imagine not Chaplin the man, but Charlie the boy telling me his story as though it happened yesterday. His first appearance on the stage, the struggle for money, his mother being transmitted to a mental asylum, the death of his alcoholic father, his first experience with love, his rise from a bit player to a major comedian on the stage, leading to his first movie contract while on tour in the States; it is all here, told through a vast amount of anecdotes and descriptions of everyone and anything....

Chaplin devotes an entire chapter on his first year in the movie industry; he talks about the working methods of the time, the various comedians he worked with, his first attempts as a director, and of course the birth of his famous Tramp character who within months turned him into not only a star but also the truly first icon of the movies. He also spends some time further into the book analyzing the development of his character, how the Little Fellow (as he always named him) matured from a rough charicature with certain saddistic traits, into the lovable and (mostly) well-meaning Tramp we remember. As for his movies, one thing of particular interest to me was that Chaplin as early as in 1916 intended to make a science-fiction comedy, having his Tramp character travelling to the moon; one sequence was to have him feeded by a machine. Sadly this movie was never made, but Chaplin used the idea of the feeding machine twenty years later in one of his most acclaimed films.

However, as he turns attention to his position as a celebrity, it seems as though Chaplin becomes less interested in talking about his work. He shares interesting recollections of how he was inspired to do THE KID, THE GOLD RUSH, CITY LIGHTS, THE GREAT DICTATOR, MONSIEUR VERDOUX and LIMELIGHT as well as the receptions of these films, but only names a few particular incidents from the shootings. Several pages are spent on his trip to Hawaii in the early 30's, but the making of MODERN TIMES is gained less than two pages. Many readers find this disappointing, and not without reason, but I don't think the comedian's neglections are that surprising. The general enthusiasm in Chaplin's writing reveals that he probably wrote this memoir as much for his own pleasure as for his readers, and it can be assumed that he simply didn't find enough amusement in recalling the inexhausting years he spent on his masterpieces. On the other hand, he expressed in interviews that he remembered his early years as an entertainer with nostalgia; which quite certainly explains why he is more obsessed with his early work than later on.

As for his private life, Chaplin spends little time discussing his well publicized affairs with young women, including his two first wives. He does not by any means ignore this aspect of his life; he is frank with his interest in sex, which was mostly present when he had no work to attend, but prefers not to dwell on it, which I think is understandable considering that he'd led a very happy and healthy life with Oona and their children for twenty years by this time. I for one would hardly focuse much on such things if I ever wrote a memoir, as I think they are nobody's business but the involved parts. (Besides, as Chaplin- biographer Robinson has pointed out, this was in the 1960's when a "memoir" obviously was viewed by another standard than today.) From the infamous Joan Barry-scandal on, though (when he was forced to pay for a child that was not his), Chaplin is very open with his bitter feelings, and he remains such throughout the recollections of his exile from the U.S. in 1952.

The comparatively brief time spent on his sex life and working habits seems to be the only thing many people care about. What strikes me as far more important is that despite some slight disappointments, MY AUTOBIOGRAPHY remains a wonderful book throughout. Chaplin talks about love, loneliness, the nature of comedy and tragedy, and his passion for music even till the very last page. His vocabulary is outstanding; it is impossible to recognize the fact that this man got only two years of formal education. In contrast to most memoirs written by movie stars, it is vertified that nothing of Chaplin's book was ghost-written.

In addition to being an actor, Charlie Chaplin wrote, directed, produced, edited and compsed the music to his own films; it is through this phenomenal amount of talent, unequalled by anyone else in the business, that he remains one of the most recognizable figures the world has known. He gave us this book to tell his story, and we should be grateful for that. Read more ›