Sir Charlie: Chaplin, the Funniest Man in the World

by Sid Fleischman

See him? That little tramp twitching a postage stamp of a mustache, politely lifting his bowler hat, and leaning on a bamboo cane with the confidence of a gentleman? A slapstick comedian, he blazed forth as the brightest movie star in the Hollywood heavens. Everyone knew Charlie—Charlie Chaplin. When he was five years old he was pulled onstage for the first time, and he didn't step off again for almost three-quarters of a century. Escaping the London slums of his tragic childhood, he took Hollywood like a conquistador with a Cockney accent. With his gift for pantomime in films that had not yet acquired vocal cords, he was soon rubbing elbows with royalty and dining on gold plates in his own Beverly Hills mansion. He was the most famous man on earth—and he was regarded as the funniest. Still is. . . . He comes to life in these pages. It's an astonishing rags-to-riches saga of an irrepressible kid whose childhood was dealt from the bottom of the deck. Abundantly illustrated.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Middle Grade, Childrens, Film, Juvenile

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

As a children's book author Sid Fleischman felt a special obligation to his readers. "The books we enjoy as children stay with us forever -- they have a special impact. Paragraph after paragraph and page after page, the author must deliver his or her best work." With almost 60 books to his credit, some of which have been made into motion pictures, Sid Fleischman can be assured that his work will make a special impact.

Sid Fleischman wrote his books at a huge table cluttered with projects: story ideas, library books, research, letters, notes, pens, pencils, and a computer. He lived in an old-fashioned, two-story house full of creaks and character, and enjoys hearing the sound of the nearby Pacific Ocean.

Fleischman passed away after a battle with cancer on March 17, 2010, the day after his ninetieth birthday.

He was the father of Newbery Medal winning writer and poet Paul Fleischman, author of Joyful Noise; they are the only father and son to receive Newbery awards.

Reviews

[♥ Sandi ❣ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Born in the London slums 1889 - died 1977 on Christmas day, in Switzerland, exiled from the United States, one of the wealthiest comedians of his time. Pushed on stage at age 5 to cover for his mothers loss of voice, he immediately became a hit. After spending time in an orphanage and workhouse with his older brother, and with his father and his many mistresses and wives, hostile to having a young boy to care for, as his mother languished in an insane asylum, he was chosen to perform in a vaudeville act. It was not until he was 25 that the infamous "Tramp" was born, quite by accident. By then Charlie had perfected the antics of pantomime and his drunken walk. He soon started making his own movies - silent movies - and became known as a genius, albeit a strict, often unapologetic tyrant. Charlie married 3 times, fathering 10 children, 8 with his last wife of 25 years, Oona.
Charlie saw ups and downs throughout his personal life and career. Broke twice, exiled from the United States, having his footprints, in front of Gruamans Chinese Theater, jack hammered up and disposed of, he settled in Switzerland with a distasteful memory of the United States. He sold his beloved house and recording studio in Beverly Hills. He weathered the political smear that he was a Communist in the early 1950's. He supported a child into adulthood, that blood tests proved was not his. He wrote and published his own lengthy biography. He is granted a 10 day immigration pass in 1972 to return to the United States to accept an Academy Award. It is then that he is honored with his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1975.
At his death in 1977 Charlie Chaplin is still not done amazing the world. Two months after his burial his casket is dug up and stolen. Stolen for ransom, it is located 15 miles away in a shallow grave in a corn field, with the perpetrators arrested and sentenced. It was reburied in a concrete tomb.
Silent movies - both his own and those directed and produced by others - are still being viewed. It is said that in any hour of the day or night someone, somewhere, is watching a "Little Tramp" movie.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've enjoyed the two other bios that Sid Fleischman has written--on Mark Twain and Houdini. The books are written for Young Adults, well illustrated, and written with humor-and, something I always appreciate, with some facts that I had not known. I have to admit I knew a lot more about Mark Twain and Houdini than I did about Chaplin, who, as The Little Tramp, is certainly one of the iconic figures of the Twentieth Century. He emerged from the degrading poverty of London's East End to become one of the superstars of the new media--silent film. The last part of his life was tragic I thought as he was hounded out of the United States by McCarthyist witch-hunting. But in the end, he was recognized for his achievements and returned to America in triumph.

[Mark Flowers · Rating 2 out of 5]

OK, so here's my problem with biographies:

Most people (perhaps especially famous people) don't have particularly interesting lives. They have interesting incidents in their lives - but incidents don't add up to a story. To take the current example, Charlie Chaplin actually had far more than his fair share of interesting incidents: insane mother, youth in poverty, rise through vaudeville, scandalous marriages, exile from America. But when you look at his life as a narrative, the overall arch is: started out poor, got very very rich and very very famous, and ended up pretty happy. Now, I'm glad for Chaplin the human being that he achieved success, but that's not much of a story.

So, what is really interesting about Chaplin? His movies! And this is the case with all artists. The reason we are interested in artists is because of the art they produced, not because of the facts of their lives. That's not to say that the facts are uninteresting or unimportant to understanding the art (Chaplin's life had a ton to say about his art), but the art still has to be primary, and this is where most biographies fail. We get boring accounts of the process of making the movies, but nothing about why they are important, why Chaplin was important, what it all has to say to us today.

In Jonathan Rosenbaum's new book, Goodbye Cinema, Hello Cinephilia, he has an excellent chapter on Chaplin, in which he says this:

"Has there ever been another artist--not just in the history of cinema, but maybe in the history of art--who has had more to say, an in such vivid deatil, about what it means to be poor?"

This single sentence, for me, has more of interest in it than the entirety of Fleischman's book. The tricky part here, is that to fully understand the Rosenbaum quotation, you do need to know the facts supplied by Fleischman (and he does do an excellent job of marshalling the facts). But without having some sort of take on them - some sense of what makes them important (as displayed by Rosenbaum), you just have a list of facts, some interesting, some not.

I'm very happy that we have a well written account of Chaplin's life aimed at kids and teens who have probably never seen a Chaplin film. But I am just not sure that reading this book would make them particularly excited to go out and watch Chaplin.

[Margie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining, interesting and detailed biography by Newbery Award winning author, Sid Fleischman; wonderful photos as well.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Where was the editor? This book is full of interesting information, but is often bizarrely breezy in it tone. "As to the romance and impending new marriage, he gallantly dismissed both, brewing up a demitasse of apologies in his autobiography. His new wife became, after all, the mother of their two sons." What does that mean? There is no additional info on what 'gallantly dismissing' looks like. I get that a demitasse of apologies would be a small measure, but would a kid? What is the 'after all' line meant to convey? Why are we shooting back and forth in time? The reader has not even met the woman in question. We learn her name, Lillita McMurray, on the next page. Yet, before she is even introduced as a character, she is married, divorced, twice a mother and hurried into an autobiography. The book is full of passages like this in which the author's excess of familiarity with the subject allow him to leap about in enthusiasm in a way that is difficult for the reader to follow. Fleischman clearly has a lot of info in his head and is passionately interested in Chaplin, but he seems to forget whom he is writing for, and the need to help them care about the subject. The text often feels rushed, as if he dictated it to an uncritical typist. Their are frequent references to celebrities few children will recognize, Gloria Swanson, Hannah Arendt, Typhoid Mary. I'm all for piquing interest in figures from the past, but the often gratuitous nature of Fleischman's asides, and the lack of context he provides, make it very unlikely any reader will bother to follow up. Fundamentally I found this a very sloppy book. The lack of care is a pity, because there is enough here to interest readers in Chaplin's work and convince them that Chaplin was not only a performing comic-genius, but was also a director and artist of great merit, who forever changed and shaped film. Had this book been better edited it could have been a great and meaningful addition. As it stands, I can not believe any child will wade through it.

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A few reviewers have complained about language being too hard. Most of it can be easily figured out and the sense of the book won't be lost if kids skip over the few words they may not know. Hopefully they will be curious enough to look those words up and expand their knowledge. Others have complained that the subject matter is fairly obscure. Not all that obscure, really. My own kids, 20 somethings, have watched Charlie Chaplin. Besides, even if the browser (human sort, not computer type) doesn't know who Chaplin was, s/he might be intrigued enough to pick up the book. That is where one big benefit of libraries come in, the treasures that can be found by a browser. I found this title well written, fascinating and well worth my time.

[Monica Edinger]

My blog review is here, but I'll paste the text of it here too.

I wasn't going to post here about Sir Charlie , but having found it difficult to comment cogently about it on this Heavy Medal post, I'm going to attempt to try to do so more clearly here. As I've noted here already I'm a long time fan of Charlie Chaplin, have shown his movies to my 4th graders for decades, and for the last year have been researching his life and art for my own book. As a result I read Fleischman's biography of Chaplin (several times by now) with a whole lot of background of my own.

But before offering my reservations about this particular book, I want to express my admiration for Sid Fleischman who was in a class by himself as a writer for children. While I was well aware of his status as a wonderful writer of fiction, it was as a biographer that I came to know him best. I was completely charmed by Escape: The Story of the Great Houdini in which Fleischman, a practicing magician himself who knew Houdini's widow, gives a very personal and engrossing account of the remarkable escape artist. And then, having been a lifelong fan of Mark Twain, I delighted in The Trouble Begins at 8: A Life of Mark Twain in the Wild, Wild West , Fleischman's energetic and entertaining take on that witty man of letters. Having enjoyed these two so much I am sorry that I am unable to bring the same enthusiasm to Sir Charlie .

First and most of all, I feel that Fleischman does not succeed in communicating to his intended audience of young readers exactly how and why Charlie Chaplin was the "funniest man in the world." I can imagine potential young readers seeing that subtitle, enthusiastically diving into the book, and then being lost as to why this man was supposedly so funny. Sure, many people including Fleischman and myself think he is funny, but the challenge is to write in a way that makes young readers, those who know absolutely nothing about him, think so too.

I realize that humor is very subjective, but does this make you laugh or want to check out a Chaplin movie? Fleischman on page 58:

In his drunk act, Charlie enters to seat himself in a theater box, pausing first, with great dignity, to peel off a white glove. Moments later, too hazy to remember, he again attempts to remove the glove. He tries to light his cigar from an electric light. When a stooge in the next box lights a match for him, Charlie reaches for it with his cigar and falls out of the box.

Charlie's gift for constant invention reveals itself. He climbs back into the box, only to balance out and hang on again, feet dangling. The audience gasps. Physical humor is triumphant. At the climax, the diminutive drunk finds himself onstage wresting a huge and terrible villain. (Fleischman, page 58.)

While it certainly is an appreciation of Chaplin's gags expressed by a sincere and true fan, I don't think it succeeds at helping a young readers unfamiliar with Chaplin get that this is really funny and even make them eager to see for themselves. Having read many descriptions of Chaplin's gags I feel that some of the best come from the man himself. For example:

I entered with my back to the audience...I looked immaculate dressed in a frock coat, top hat, can and spats -- a typical Edwardian villain. Then I turned showing my red nose. There was a laugh. That ingratiated me with the audience. I shrugged melodramatically, then snapped my fingers and veered across the stage , tripping over a dumbbell. Then my cane became entangled with an upright punching bag, which rebounded and slapped me in the face. I swaggered and swung, hitting myself with my cane on the side of the head. The audience roared. (Chaplin's Autobiography, pg 101)

Here are two more contrasting examples.

Fleischman (page 71) describing Chaplin as he launches the Little Tramp in Kid Auto Races in which Charlie plays a spectator who is obsessed with getting in front of the cameraman who is filming the race.

Every time the director moved the setup, in shuffles the tramp to mug for the camera. Soon Charlie is almost run down by racing cars, only to duck a cop policing the crowd. He goes from improvisation to improvisation until the cameraman delivers a swift kick to launch him out of the shot and the picture.

Versus this excerpt from Chaplin's own version (describing Mabel's Strange Predicament which was released after Auto Races, but may have been filmed first):

In all comedy business an attitude is most important, but it is not always easy to find an attitude. However, in the hotel lobby [the setting of Mabel's Strange Predicament] I felt I was an impostor posing as one of the guests, but in reality I was a tramp just wanting a little shelter. I entered and stumbled over the foot of a lady. I turned and raised my hat apologetically, then stumbled over a cuspidor, then turned and raised my hat to the cuspidor.

Then there is the writing. While I like much of it, I also agree with the commentator on Heavy Medal who complained that some of it veers into purple prose. ("...insolent as a cannonball" from page 1, for example.) Additionally, there are moments in the book where Fleischman puts one sentence next to another in ways that require young readers to fill a dauntingly huge chasm in between. Here's an example when he is writing about Chaplin's discovery of reading:

Later and offstage, he could almost always be found struggling through a book. His ambitions had taken a profound shift. Performing was necessary for fried bread and haddock. He would spend a lifetime pursuing a closeted aspiration to become well educated. An intellectual. (Fleischman, pg 32)

Seems to me that young readers could do with something after that mention of bread and haddock to make the point that he was also looking for intellectual nourishment. Not to mention, I don't think this is true of Chaplin as performing for him was definitely more than a way to make ends meet. I also don't at all feel his wish to be an intellectual was closeted. Far from it --- he loved to befriend intellectuals, writers, and such and writes about them in name-dropping profusion (which Fleischman does indeed note) throughout his autobiography.

Fleischman does a good job with Chaplin's harsh early life, but I did find some odd moments. For example, in "Chapter Four: Life With Father" I feel he sets the stepmother up as a complete villain even though Chaplin doesn't himself in his autobiography. In it he shows how she was horribly abused by his father and how that clearly was the reason for her unhappiness. In fact he writes of his horror and shock when the father knocks her unconscious, "I was shocked at Father's action, such violence made me lose respect for him... She loved Father. Even though very young I could see it in her glance the night she stood by the fireplace, bewildered and hurt by his neglect." (Autobiography, pg. 37)

Then there is this flippant comment of Fleischman's about poor Charlie's purchase of a Latin-English dictionary: "One can only guess what he intended to do with it. Hit Karno over the head with Ovid in the original language?" (Fleischman, pg 50) Actually I feel that Chaplin's mention of this in his autobiography is a poignant example of his life-long effort to educate himself. Given the profound class differences in Britain he well knew that knowing Latin was a sign of status. Fleischman does note other examples of Chaplin buying and reading challenging texts such as Schopenhauser --- it seems to me very possible that Chaplin thought he might be able to teach himself Latin as he'd done with other things.

I also disagree strongly with Fleischman's statement on page 85 that "As an actor he had to learn not to look at the camera." and then the note on page 245 where he comments that "Chaplin was not a genuis of consistency. Sometimes on a reaction take or shot, he'd gaze directly at the camera." Actually this was very intentional. Dan Kamin in his excellent book, The Comedy of Charlie Chaplin , spends several pages considering Chaplin's way of engaging with the film audience. "One of the most striking things about Chaplin's film performances was that he seemed to relate to the world outside his films --- he was aware that there was an audience out there watching him, and he looked directly at the camera to acknowledge it." (Kamin, pg 14)

Finally, I'm highly uncomfortable with Fleischman writing in a note for page 66 "... Chaplin, writing in an earlier autobiography, Charlie Chaplin's Own Story, Bobbs-Merrill, Indianapolis, 1916, cited in McCaffrey's Focus on Chaplin, p. 31..." (Fleischman, pg 243) The problem is that this is a totally bogus autobiography. Rose Wilder Lane (yeah, that Rose Wilder Lane who helped her mother write the Little House books) interviewed Chaplin in 1915 for the San Francisco Bulletin. After the original publication the manuscript was juiced up with all sorts of made-up stuff and then published as Charlie's autobiography. He was outraged when he encountered it. After quoting from it, David Robinson in Chaplin: His Life and Art , writes, "The book is full of such romantic and misleading nonsense, which has nevertheless continued to supply and confuse gullible Chaplin historians for seven decades." (pg. 182)

There's more, but I'm not on the Newbery Committee so I'll stop now. Good and decent book --- yes. Newbery quality --- no, at least not in my opinion.

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

He was just five years old when he first took the stage, but it was a bitter sweet occasion. His mother lost her voice in the middle of a song while performing at a theatre. To appease the crowd, the venue’s manager forced young Charlie out onto the stage. “And in the turmoil I remember the manager leading me by the hand and, after a few explanatory words to the audience, leaving me on the stage alone,” he writes in his autobiography. “Before a glare of footlights and faces in smoke, I started to sing, accompanied by the orchestra, which fiddled about until it found my key.” He sang a standard called Jack Jones, and managed to charm the audience with his stiff manner and innocence, not to mention a few wicked impressions.

Unfortunately, while Chaplin first found his voice that night, his mother never recovered hers. It would be the last time she ever sang or performed in public.

Sid Fleischman’s well-researched tribute is a classic rags-to-riches story of Chaplin’s rise from the London slums to become one of Hollywood’s biggest, funniest, and richest movie stars.

The Little Tramp was known for his mustache-caneand- bowler-hat persona and slapstick comedy, which made him a silent-film legend. Chaplin became a producer, director, and movie mogul, and later in his career, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. Chaplin moved to Switzerland in 1952, returning to the United States two decades later to receive a special Academy Award. Abundant photographs and a time line help make the book a memorable read. The Library of Congress selected Chaplin’s first full-length movie, The Kid, for preservation.

Charlie Chaplin became a king of comedy though he had to undergo great struggles in the initial stages of his career due to acute poverty and lack of parental support. He built up his career independently and charted a new course though he lacked any formal training. His rags to riches story will definitely inspire us to achieve success by overcoming all obstacles.

[Kathleen Vincenz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent. Just the right amount of information told in an engaging way. The author used metaphors to enliven otherwise dry facts. The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators has a humor award in the author's name. Now I know why.

The author loved his subject but still included all sides of Chaplin's personality and mistakes. I actually was surprised at how honest a portrayal it was for a middle-grade biography. Charlie had lots of shotgun marriages and subsequent divorces among other misdeeds.

I'd read the author's other biographies but Houddini and Mark Twain aren't interesting to me. I'll just have to read his humorous books.😉

[Lillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sid always does a great job of writing interesting fast-paced non-fiction. I had no grid of what Charlie Chaplin’s life was actually like. Love how big the font is. Fun pictures and made me want to watch all of Chaplin’s films.

[₳₦₮ⱧØ₦Ɏ ₲ł฿฿₴ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A theme in this book could be to never give up. Charlie Chaplin grows up having to move from house to house living next to a slaughterhouse, having his mom go into an insane asylum, etc. Charlie grows up to act in movies (even writing them) and make a living off of that.

[Janssen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't know much about Charlie Chaplin and this was really interesting. My big girls were very into it - my little girls were a little underwhelmed.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, okay, this was really good. I've never been a Charlie Chaplin fan; I don't care for slapstick. (I do remember enjoying The Great Dictator--I saw several of his movies when I was a kid.) But this is accessible, interesting, and fast-paced. Like most biographies, the first half is best. People have this habit of growing up to be adults with jobs and marriages and stuff, which is generally less interesting than when they're busy pulling themselves up by their bootstraps etc etc.

Fleischman was such a GOOD writer. He generally used more metaphors than I like, but just as he captured Mark Twain's over-the-top personality in the language of that book, here the style is lightly imbued with the sense of melancholy that Chaplin is supposed to have lived with.

I think the complexity of the language is perfect for the advanced elementary school readers who are likely to be interested in the book. I don't quite understand the complaints about that in the other reviews, especially since many sixth graders are delving into adult books--particularly non-fiction. If it's too advanced... don't read it?

I think this is a better book than The Trouble Begins at 8, if more conventional in style and structure. I'd be happy to see it granted a Newbery Honor.

Earlier:

I don't really want to read this, but I'm sure it'll be good for me.

(Um, yeah, that's a really great attitude with which to approach a book.)

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a 2011 nominated book from YALSA. Charlie Chaplin…a funny man? Absolutely! It’s amazing how one can create so much humor and provide entertainment with silent films. He started in the early 1900s and is still well known and mimicked today. Charlie’s childhood was difficult in London. His father abandoned the family (he had one brother) at an early age and his mother was never really stable; she was in and out of asylum homes. Charlie learned quickly and was motivated to succeed despite living in poverty and instability. Charlie began in the theatre at age 5 and by his mid 20s he was a millionaire. He performed and directed many silent films, mostly in America and London, and pleased the crowds. His adult personal life was a roller coaster…many marriages/children. But he survived and became a very popular and funny man. He was honored with several awards and was even knighted by Queen Elizabeth II (became Sir Charles). Creating laughter in his life was probably what saved him? I know when I make people laugh, it makes me feel good! I like this comparison Fleischman uses – “A Chaplin film without Chaplin was champagne without the bubble.” (p. 216) This book provides some great photographs too.

[Oalfardan4]

Charlie Chaplin, the 'worlds funniest man', wanted nothing more than to have a family, to have his family together, but that couldn't happen, his mother was slipping in and out of insanity and his brother and him were separated from each other because of age groups. So one day when charlie's mother lost her voice he was pushed on stage, that was his first time on stage and his mothers last. Then that's where the journey starts.

"Sir Charlie" is a book about overcoming obstacles, and strength of character.

[Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again, Sid Fleischman has written an interesting, thoughtful biography for readers who might never have heard of Charlie Chaplin and don't really understand or appreciate early films. This book has excellent photographs, is well written and engages the reader from start to finish.

[Josiah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Near the end of his life, author Sid Fleischman turned primarily from the fictional adventure stories that had made him famous, such as his Newbery Medal-winning The Whipping Boy, to focus on creating biographies of some of the figures of the entertainment world that had always especially captured his attention. What we have learned from this period of Sid Fleischman's writer career, in addition to the treasure trove of information about the subjects of the biographies, is that Sid Fleischman is at least as good at penning true stories as he is at writing fiction.

For most people, perspective on silent films equate to the sped-up image of The Little Tramp, Charlie Chaplin in character, walking along in his instantly recognizable shuffling gait and tipping his undersized bowler hat in a show of comedic respect. It's not just aficionados of the silent film era that know Chaplin; everybody is familiar with his style to a certain extent, and he continues to be nearly as ubiquitous a presence in pop culture today as he was so many years ago. Sir Charlie is a walking tour through the life of one of Hollywood's greatest screen legends, knowledgeably guided and conducted by an author who grew up during the era of Charlie Chaplin's finest cinematic work, when The Little Tramp was viewed almost universally as the funniest man in the world.

Charlie Chaplin had no rosy childhood, that's for sure. His parents both had jobs in show business, but they were not the most personally stable guardians for a boy and his brother. The father left the family when Charlie was very young, and the mother fought a losing battle with madness throughout her life. Charlie and his older brother, Sydney, bounced around from home to home in London but always lived in great poverty, and there seemed to be little hope that things would ever get better for such a poor Cockney kid from England. Until, that is, Charlie found his way into his mother's stage act when he was a mere five years old; his infectious style of physical and vocal mimicry was a prodigious hit among theater goers, and the start of a long career in the entertainment industry was born.

Charlie Chaplin really received his big break when legendary comedic movie producer Mack Sennett recognized his talent and had him imported to California to work in his studio. At once, Charlie was put on a break-neck shooting pace that had him starring in new movie shorts scheduled to be completed at a rate of about two per week. There was no script, no solid plan for the action, nor even more than a hastily sketched idea of what was generally supposed to happen in the story. The rest was to come from the improvisational skills of the actors, in the hopes that the end product would be something that could be formed into a short film. While it's difficult to imagine that process being used in today's pragmatically rigid film industry, it seems to have been the norm back in those days. To his credit, Charlie Chaplin adapted very well, quickly proving that whatever performing talents were to be most coveted for the silver screen, he had them to a greater degree than anyone else around him.

When Charlie Chaplin eventually created his own movie studio, his creative powers were finally able to hit full stride. Making daring decisions on several occasions that went against the impassioned advice of those who could have reasonably been expected to know best, Charlie began risky film projects that paid off in spades, making mounds of money for himself and his production company, and catapulting him to the top of his profession as perhaps the greatest and most celebrated comedic actor in the world. Mixing together humor and sadness into a single movie, which is so common today, was virtually unheard of back then, yet Charlie Chaplin engineered the mix with the precision of a master chemist, and the results were consistently brilliant. The Kid, released in 1921, is one of the finest movies that I have ever seen from any motion picture era, and is arguably the ultimate example of the depths of achievement reached by Charlie Chaplin at the pinnacle of his illustrious career.

Charlie Chaplin's life certainly was not entirely happy, of course. His family had been fragmented from the time that he was very young, and even in later years they never became as close as a regular family. He never saw his father again after first coming to the United States, and his mother's grasp on her own sanity was always tenuous, at best. Then, there were all of the bad romantic relationships that Charlie had, including a number of failed marriages to ladies from Hollywood's elite sector of society. Charlie never really seemed to have sufficient time for a wife and kids, as devoted as he was to his work, until he found Oona O'Neill, whom he would marry and stay together with for more than thirty years, up until the time of his death. Through all of his success, though, Charlie Chaplin always feared two things: that he would lose his mind as his mother had, or that the vast wealth he had earned over the course of his career in film would somehow become lost, and he would again be as poor as he was as a kid. Even at the zenith of his productivity, Charlie never seemed to be a completely happy person.

I'm glad that Sid Fleischman is the one who wrote this book. The juvenile biography crowd deserved a really good biography of Charlie Chaplin, written with the sensitivity and personal affectedness of an author who lived to see most of it himself. I think that he was able to identify with Charlie Chaplin as more than just a fan of his work, though; this book was almost like the final take of one great artist (Fleischman) on the many final takes of another (Chaplin), as the author came full circle in his own amazing life as a celebrated creative figure to take a last look at a person who had at one time, and still surely did, mean a great deal to him. I believe that to be the true emotional core of this biography, and why one is left after reading it with a lingering feeling of having experienced something powerful.

Sir Charlie is a very good biography that treats its subject with admirable balance. Charlie Chaplin is seen neither as a paragon of perfection or a cad-like beast, but is represented as being fully human, a great artist who found his niche in history to become elevated as something far grander and more affecting than he could have ever logically aspired while living as a youth in the poorhouses of Cockney England. His vibrant legacy lives on in every laugh that is brought on today from any stray comedic bit that has its roots in the numerous stylistic creations of Charlie Chaplin, as most of them do. Other stars of comedy may come and go, be celebrated and then eventually forgotten, but it's doubtful that any will ever have quite the impact of Charlie Chaplin. He was an absolute one-of-a-kind, and his career will never be eclipsed.

[Steve Maxwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of The Funniest Man in the World. Chaplin grew up in London at the end of the nineteenth century before moving to America to start what is nothing short of a truly stellar movie career.

We get to glimpse his movies, most of which he wrote, directed, produced, and edited himself. We're witness to him being unceremoniously refused entry back into the US because he might have been a communist sympathiser. (This was never proven, and the assumption was later rescinded.)

He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and lived out his last years in Switzerland, dying on Christmas day 1977. But even in death, Charlie stayed in the papers. A few days after the funeral, his coffin was dug up, and his body kidnapped. The kidnappers made the mistake of making quite a few ransom calls from the same phone. They were quickly caught, and Chaplin's body was reburied under concrete to ensure nothing else happened.

[Blake Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very accessible, condensed and poetic version of Chaplin's life, growing up in the slums of London to having his body stolen by thieves after his death. Fleischman clearly has a fondness for Chaplin, as so many do, and his writing jumps along at crisp pace. He cleverly imbues a clownish mirth into the various aspects of his life, marriage drama and early film work. A great foray for any Chaplin lover who wants to get into the his life or for a teenager looking to learn about what of histories great comedians.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book mostly because I love Sid Fleischman's style of writing and I have been on a SF kick especially everything pertaining to the California Gold Rush and the time shortly after that event. I feel like this book is a significant companion to SF's autobiography and his willingness to share the art of writing bc much of his style is build on a foundation of showmanship. This book is part of a three book series that also includes biographies of Houdini and Samuel Clemens and I thoroughly enjoyed reading all three in a row.

[Tarma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no expectations before reading this book. I knew next to nothing about Charlie Chaplin and now feel I have read something which is, at the least, a fairly accurate portrayal of his life. Also, now, after having read it, I have a huge urge to watch many of the movies that Charlie Chaplin made. I think this is a sad book, but with some great moments in it. I'm glad I read it. A Good Read.

[James Biser · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent biography of Charlie Chaplin. It covers the entertainer from the time he was a young English boy until he becomes king of the world of entertainment and is driven away from the United States. This book covers all of the details of what made Sir Charlie Chaplin what he was.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't know much about Charlie Chaplin at all. I learned a lot buttttt this is not a children's book. I'm an avid reader with a graduate degree and there were words in this book that I didn't know. I felt kids would have not understood a lot of this book.

[Heather Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully written!

[Rahul Saikia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can't understand

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good brief overview of his life!

[Maya]

This gave me a ton of very useful information on Charlie Chaplin. I used this book to help me with a project on him, and it totally helped. It includes a lot of info on his early life, making movies, and more. Chaplin's life was also really interesting and the way it was written kept me reading about his life.

[Maricor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sir Charlie: Chaplin, the Funniest Man in the World by Sid Fleischman (2010)
In this page-turning biography of Chaplin, Sid Fleischman tells the story of how the speechless Little Tramp was born and stole the hearts of all moviegoers during the great silent film era. The writer captures Charlie's perilous beginnings in the Kennington slums as a poor Cockney and how his life took him to the trademark slapstick skits that thrilled audiences and left them in uproarious laughter. Fleischman takes the reader on a joy ride, showing how the king of comedy created the hackneyed techniques with banana peels, beautiful ladies, and silent antics, as well as how his perfectionist nature as a director led Marlon Brando to call him “a fearsomely cruel man.” While not holding back the unflattering reality of Chaplin’s demeanor, Fleischman shows the genius in Chaplin’s work and his ability to play on pathos (The Kid), combine farce with tragedy (The Great Dictator), and make social commentary (Modern Times), mostly within the beautifully silent pantomime style that was iconically Chaplinesque. Fleischman’s unique writing style also develops the building narrative with witty one-liners that end paragraphs or chapters and keep the reader enthralled. The design of the book, with its vintage script, unobtrusive elegant flair, and brilliant picture placement, allows the text to flow seamlessly back into the days of silent Hollywood. I would most certainly recommend this book to readers 10 and up who are attracted to the lives of stars, the limelight, and comedy.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sid Fleischman wrote some of the most entertaining biographies I've read - The Trouble Begins at 8: A Life of Mark Twain in the Wild, Wild West and Escape!: The Story of the Great Houdini were both highly entertaining, managing to get me interesting in people I didn't realize I would find fascinating - and he continues in the same vein here with Charlie Chaplin. I know I saw a few Chaplin films as a kid, but I only have a vague memory of them and know Chaplin more for his Little Tramp image than anything else. Fleischman's style is as entertaining as ever, and Chaplin certainly had a full, messy life that gives plenty of material to a biographer. I thought the strongest points in the book were those covering his childhood and rise to stardom - after that, there was more a sense of the material being edited to suit the audience. While that's certainly appropriate, I found the material covering his adult life enlivened more by Fleischman's style than by the details of Chaplin's life.

I'm always pressing Fleischman's other biographies on kids who need one for a school project, and I'll throw this one into the mix, but I still think the Mark Twain bio is the best of the bunch.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

A slapstick comedian, he blazed forth as the brightest movie star in the Hollywood heavens. Everyone knew Charlie—Charlie Chaplin. Abundantly illustrated. (Goodreads Sumary)

Sir Charlie Chaplin by Sid Fleischman is an attractive biography that is abundantly illustrated. I enjoyed it & found it well researched & very informative. For it's intended audience, however, it is not as successful. The florid prose & metaphors of Mr. Fleischman, whom I greatly admire, seems over the top for 6-8th grade readers. The main point, just how funny the Little Tramp character is, gets buried in his descriptive prose at times. His enthusiasm & great knowledge for the subject needed to be tempered with more editing in my opinion.

Fleischman tries to walk a careful line discussing Chaplin's many romances & marriages with women far younger than him. At the same time he discusses false pregnancies, entrapment and divorce. Some readers will not like his tolerance of Chaplin's behavior towards women.

Fleischman does a good job of explaining the way movies were made in Chaplin's time. I greatly appreciate the extensive research and end matter that point interested readers toward more exploration of Chaplin's carrer. Perhaps different editing could have made the book more accessible and exciting for junior high readers. For readers grade 6 & up, and Chaplin fans.