On this day in history : 17th May 1978 – The intact coffin of Charlie Chaplin is found after it had gone missing from his grave over two months before….
Charlie Chaplin – Public domain
Chaplin had died at his home in Switzerland, at the age of 88, on Christmas Day 1977…. He had been buried four days later in the cemetery of the village of Corsier-sur-Vevey, in the hills above Lake Geneva….
On the 2nd of March 1978 his grave was found empty…. Massive media speculation followed; had Chaplin been dug up by fans – or anti-Semites objecting to a Jew in a Christian burial ground – or even pro-Nazis taking revenge for the film ‘The Great Dictator’….
Chaplin satirising Adolf Hitler in ‘The Great Dictator’, 1940 – Public domain
A ransom demand of 600,000 francs (£400K) had been made to Chaplin’s widow, 51-year-old Lady Oona Chaplin, for the return of her husband’s body…. It appeared the kidnappers were willing to negotiate, as in all 27 phone calls were made to Oona and to her lawyer…. What they didn’t know was that Oona had no intention of paying up – saying “my husband is in Heaven and in my heart”…. She added “Charlie would have thought it rather ridiculous”…. However, by keeping the dialogue open police were able to watch some 200 telephone kiosks in the area….
Chaplin, Oona and 6 of their children, 1961 – Public domain
On the 16th of May 24-year-old Roman Wardas, a Polish refugee car mechanic was arrested in a phone booth…. His accomplice, 38-year-old Bulgarian Gantscho Ganev was arrested shortly afterwards…. Chaplin’s coffin was found the following day buried in a corn field about a mile from the Chaplin family home…. It was reburied in a more secure concrete grave….
Chaplin’s grave, Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland – Silk Tork CC BY-SA 3.0
Wardas claimed he had been inspired by a similar case that he had read about in an Italian newspaper…. As the mastermind behind the crime he received four and a half years hard labour…. Ganev was given an eighteen month suspended sentence….
On this day in history : 26th April 1880 – The birth of Eric Campbell – the actor who invariably played the part of the bully in Charlie Chaplin’s films – and who’s life came to a tragic end….
Eric Campbell – Fair use
Campbell was born in Sale, Cheshire – although it had previously been thought that he was born in Dunoon, Scotland…. His parents were William, a cotton dealer and Jane Campbell – and he was one of four sons…. He began acting as a boy and was later discovered by theatre impresario of the music hall Fred Karno…. Campbell was a gentle giant; at 6ft 5in tall and weighing nearly 20 stone it was his sheer size and baritone voice that impressed Karno….
He married Fanny Gertrude Robotham, a fellow music hall performer, on the 30th of March 1901…. They travelled to New York in 1914 and Campbell was hired by Broadway producer Charles Frohman…. In March 1916 he was acting in George M. Cohen’s play ‘Pom Pom’ when brothers Charlie and Syd Chaplin came across him…. They took him back to Hollywood with them….
Campbell may have been built like a wrestler but he had a comparatively small head – which he kept shaven…. Charlie, by darkening his eyes, exaggerating his eyebrows and getting him to grow a scraggy beard, created Campbell into the prefect villain to play opposite his own ‘Little Tramp’ character…. Campbell’s first film with Chaplin was ‘The Floor Walker’ in 1916 and was followed by a quick succession of other films…. By the summer of 1917 Campbell had become Chaplin’s favourite co-star – he appeared in a total of 11 of his films…. Possibly his best role was in ‘Easy Street’ in 1917….
Chaplin was, at the time, the most famous movie star in the world….and he had many imitators…. However, Campbell also had his fair share, including Oliver Hardy, of Laurel and Hardy fame….
Campbell’s career had really taken off – it looked as if his future was rosy…. Chaplin’s contract with Mutual had ended and he was signed with First National Pictures – a real scoop for him – and he intended on taking Campbell with him…. In the meantime Campbell was working with Mary Pickford, co-founder of Pickford-Fairbanks Studios, with Douglas Fairbanks, on the 1918 film ‘Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley’…. But tragedy was about to strike Campbell’s life….
On the 9th of July 1917 his wife, Fanny, died suddenly of a heart attack, after they had been out for dinner at a restaurant near to their Santa Monica home…. Then as his 16-year-old daughter, Una, walked to a nearby shop to buy an outfit in which to mourn her mother, she was struck by a car, leaving her with serious injuries….
In September 1917, still grieving, Campbell met comedienne Pearl Gilman at a publicity gathering…. Twice divorced, each time from an extremely wealthy man, Gilman was nothing short of a gold-digger….and she set out to take full advantage of Campbell’s situation…. Five days after they had met the pair were married….two months later Gilman sued for divorce, claiming he was a heavy drinker and had abused her…. Campbell moved out of their home and took a room at the Los Angeles Athletic Club, next door to his best buddy, Charlie Chaplin….
With Charlie Chaplin in ‘The Immigrant’ 1917 – Public domain
On the 20th of December 1917 Campbell attended a Christmas party – and drowned his sorrows…. At 4am he drunkenly drove towards home – but was involved in a head-on collision – he was killed instantly….
After his cremation his ashes were to remain unclaimed…. His daughter had returned to the UK by now, to live with relatives in Nottingham…. It was to be 30 years before Campbell’s ashes were eventually laid to rest in an unknown site within the Rosedale Cemetery, Los Angeles….
On this day in history : 16th April 1965 – The death of actor and comedian Sydney Chaplin – who died on the birthday of his younger half-brother, Charlie Chaplin….
Promotional picture of Sydney Chaplin – Public domain
Sydney was born on the 16th of March 1885 in London…. His mother was 19-year-old Hannah Hill, a music hall entertainer…. She claimed his father to be Sydney Hawkes – but this was never to be confirmed…. A year later Hannah married Charles Chaplin Sr – and he became Sydney’s legal guardian and his name was changed to Chaplin…. When Sydney was 4-years-old a little brother arrived, Charlie…. The pair were always to be close as brothers….
Syd and Charlie were taken into care following their mother’s mental breakdown…. At the age of 12 Syd was trained for a life at sea, serving on the ‘Exmouth’, a training ship based at Grays, Middlesex…. He spent the next few years at sea as a steward….
However, entertainment was in Syd’s blood…. In 1905 he and Charlie appeared on stage together for the first time, in a production of ‘Sherlock Holmes’…. Then in 1906 Syd managed to get a contract with Fred Karno as a music hall comedian – performing with ‘The Speechless Comedians’, one of the most successful entertainment troupes of the time…. Syd enjoyed relative fame and secured his brother a place within the company – but Charlie’s time of fame was to come later….
Syd married his first wife, Minnie, at some time around 1914…. They had no children – and she was to die in the September of 1936, in France, following surgery for breast cancer….
By 1915 Charlie had become famous worldwide…. It was around this time that Syd and Charlie were contacted by their younger half-brother Wheeler Dryden, who was living in America…. Born to Hannah, in 1892, Wheeler had been brought up by his father, music hall entertainer Leo Dryden, as she was continuing to have mental health issues…. Syd and Charlie, along with their mother, emigrated to the US and the family was reunited….
Charlie Chaplin – Public domain
Wheeler Dryden – Public domain
Syd and Minnie settle in California…. He was to make a dozen or so films, including ‘A Submarine Pirate’ for Keystone in 1915 – one of the most successful Keystone comedies ever made….
Syd Chaplin at the periscope in a scene from ‘A Submarine Pirate’ – Public domain
Charlie’s fame continued to grow and soon Syd began to handle the majority of his business affairs and negotiate his contracts for him…. At the same time he was still making a few films himself, amongst them the highly successful ‘Shoulder Arms’ in 1918….
His later work included ‘Charley’s Aunt’ in 1925 and ‘The Better ‘Ole’ in 1927…. His last film ‘A Little Bit Of Fluff’ was made in England in 1928…. He was due to make a further film in 1929 but was accused of sexual assault by actress Molly Wright…. After settling out of court, seen as an admission of guilt by many, Syd retired from the screen and moved to the South of France, to escape the scandal…. He left behind a catalogue of unpaid debts and tax demands….and in 1930 he was declared bankrupt….
Fair use
After Minnie’s death Syd married Henriette, know as ‘Gypsy’…. He died after a long illness and was buried in the Clarens-Montreux Cemetery, close to Vevey…. Gypsy was later buried next to him….
Cottage Capers 