{"id":15054,"date":"2020-01-08T10:30:06","date_gmt":"2020-01-08T18:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/?p=15054"},"modified":"2020-12-30T21:13:12","modified_gmt":"2020-12-31T05:13:12","slug":"in-search-of-charlie-chaplin-personal-life-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/in-search-of-charlie-chaplin-personal-life-part-3\/","title":{"rendered":"In Search of Charlie Chaplin: His Personal Life, Part 3"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo courtesy of Montreux-Vevey Tourisme\/Maude Rion<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Well, it\u2019s been a week. And once again I find myself sitting on the park bench in Vevey, Switzerland<\/a> next to the statue of Charlie Chaplin, with whom I share the panorama of shimmering Lake Geneva<\/a> and the pristine snowcapped Alps in the distance. I\u2019ve covered a lot of tracks: indulging in the region\u2019s world-class wines and scrumptious Swiss-French cuisine, wandering Lausanne\u2019s<\/a> cobblestone streets, and seeing the former home of Audrey Hepburn in Tolochenaz, near Lausanne, and the current home studio of Jean-Luc Godard, also near Lausanne. I tried to make sense of Huguenot, John Calvin\u2019s Gestapo-like control of Geneva, and laid victim to the region\u2019s steep prices. A simple caf\u00e9 au lait and a buttery croissant set me back twenty U.S dollars! But it was time to return to\u00a0the centerpiece of my trip, an exploration of the life of Sir Charles Spencer Chapin. He chose Manoir de Ban, a neoclassical mansion in Corsier-sur-Vevey, to live his remaining 25 years, which, according to his family, constituted his “happy years.\u201d I had reserved my final day to visit the Manoir, now rechristened Chaplin\u2019s World \u2013 which has been repurposed and expanded as a museum that showcases Chaplin\u2019s work and life as a family man in Switzerland.<\/p>\n

Personal Life<\/h2>\n

Chaplin enjoyed what had appeared to be a fun-filled period during his time in Hollywood, but privately led a lonely life, filled with scandal and haunted memories of his impoverished youth. His home in the Pickfair neighborhood of Beverly Hills \u2013 a neighborhood named after the mansion of married couple, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks \u2013 was designed by himself and built by studio carpenters, not known for building structures that lasted.\u00a0 It began to slowly fall apart, and was affectionately coined, “The Breakaway House.” The guests loved it, and it became a place of merriment and refuge from Hollywood\u2019s bright lights. Chaplin would entertain his guests by playing a pipe organ, inventing new gags, organizing swimming parties and games of tennis, where even the elusive Greta Garbo was a frequent player.<\/p>\n

\"Charlie
Charlie Chaplin and guest Winston Churchill.<\/span> Photo courtesy (c) Roy Export<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sadly, defamation was also part of his life. During World War 1, the British press labeled Chaplin as a self-absorbed coward whose loyalty to his home country of England was questioned for never serving in the military, despite aggressively selling war bonds and transferring large amounts of his substantial income to the British government. Nevertheless, cutouts of the Tramp were propped up by British soldiers in the trenches “so the Germans would die laughing” and his movies were projected on the ceilings of military hospitals where wounded warriors could enjoy morale-raising laughs from their beds. Another scandal occurred when Chaplin briefly dated 22-year-old Joan Barry, who later reappeared in his life, claiming that Chaplin was her baby\u2019s father, and filed a paternity suit.<\/p>\n

The public trial was so intense that Chaplin\u2019s hair literally turned gray overnight. Blood tests proved that Chaplin was not the father, but, at the time, blood tests were inadmissible evidence and he was ordered to pay $75 a week until the child turned 21. Matrimony was also a problem for Chaplin: marrying three times to younger women with striking resemblances to his mother, Hannah. The wives club included Mildred Harris, age 17; Lita Grey, age 16; and actress Paulette Goddard, age 28, who costarred with Chaplin in Modern Times<\/em> and The Great Dictator. <\/em><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

I have the good fortune to be married to a wonderful wife. I wish I could write more about this,
\n<\/em>but it involves love, and perfect love is the most beautiful of all frustrations
\nbecause it is more than one can express.
\n<\/em>\u2013 Charlie Chaplin<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\"Charlie
Charlie and Oona, 1965.<\/span> Evers, Joost \/ Anefo, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons \/ CC0 1.0<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Oona
The sublime Oona O’Neill circa 1943.<\/span> Associated Press, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.<\/center><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

His life took a blissful turnaround upon meeting the luminous Oona O’Neill in 1943, daughter of American playwright Eugene O’Neill. Chaplin had been looking for a lead actress for his next (unrealized) project, and discovered the mesmerizing 17 year old\u00a0O’Neill. He was overwhelmed by her captivating beauty, and their meeting led to a life-long romance. A month after O’Neill turned 18, they eloped and married in a secret civil service in Carpentaria, California.\u00a0 Playwright Eugene O’Neill immediately disowned her upon learning of her marriage to Chaplin, who was the same age as him. He refused all future attempts at reconciliation. Chaplin\u2019s final marriage lasted until his death, producing eight children: Geraldine Chaplin, Michael Chaplin, Josephine Chaplin, Victoria Chaplin, Eugene Chaplin, Jane Chaplin, Annette-Emilie Chaplin and Christopher Chaplin. Although Oona stayed in the background, happy to focus on their home and children, she also spent time at the studios when Chaplin was working, offering her opinion about his various projects.<\/p>\n

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Charlie Chaplin with his wife Oona and their children, 1961.<\/span> Associated Press, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
<\/div>\n

I have no further use for America. I wouldn’t go back there if Jesus Christ was President.
\n<\/em>\u2013 Charlie Chaplin<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

During the 1950s, the House Un-American Activities Committee\u2019s witch hunts, a disturbing period in U.S. history where Cold War tensions fueled fears of widespread Communist subversion, was in full swing. The committee used various charges of communism, communist sympathies and disloyalty to attack a number of\u00a0 individuals, which included many left-leaning Hollywood personalities. Chaplin was considered dangerously progressive and amoral. FBI Chief J. Edgar Hoover and HUAC mistakenly believed that he was injecting Communist propaganda into his films. It was also revealed that he had never bothered to become a U.S. citizen. When Chaplin and family were departing back by vessel to Hollywood from a European vacation, Chaplin was informed that he would have to submit to an interview concerning his political views and moral behavior in order to re-enter the U.S. Rather than fight a pending investigation by Immigration Services, Chaplin decided not to return to Hollywood at all. The Chaplin family, though, needed a new address in Europe. His older half-brother Sydney Chaplin, suggested they visit Switzerland\u2019s Lake Geneva region. Chaplin set his eyes on the enchanting town of Vevey, nestled along the lake. He was taken by its enticing tranquility, not to mention Switzerland\u2019s attractive tax laws.<\/p>\n

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Chaplin family\u2019s new home, Manoir de Ban in Corsier-sur-Vevey. Photo courtesy of Chaplin’s World\u2122 \u00a9 Bubbles Incorporated.<\/span> Photo by C. Recourat.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
<\/div>\n

You’ll never find rainbows if you’re looking down.
\n<\/em>\u2013 Charlie Chaplin<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Manoir de Ban<\/h2>\n

He purchased the vacant Manoir de Ban, a neoclassical mansion in Corsier-sur-Vevey, in a resplendent country-like setting near the banks of Lake Geneva. This is where he chose to live his remaining years with his family, from 1952 until his death in 1977. It was the most joyful and contented period of his life, where he would take strolls in the spacious grounds, plant flowers in his radiant gardens, play with his children and host friends from around the globe. He also spent a large percentage of his time working on the screenplays for his films, A King in New York<\/em> and A Countess from Hong Kong<\/em>, as well as adding music to his silent feature films, which he composed at the family piano.<\/p>\n

Chaplin\u2019s health was in slow decline after suffering a series of minor strokes in the late 1960s. Despite the setbacks, he was soon writing a new film script, <\/span>The Freak<\/em>, which he intended as a starring vehicle for his daughter, Victoria. His fragile health prevented the project from being realized.\u00a0 His speech, hearing and sight began to be impaired, and he later he was confined to a wheelchair.<\/span>After 10 years of absence, Chaplin returned to the U.S. to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 1972 Oscar ceremonies. (The same year, Limelight<\/em> is finally released in the U.S. and he wins an Oscar for best original score the next year). In this clip, Chaplin is clearly overwhelmed by the audiences\u2019 response as he accepts the Lifetime Achievement Award.\u00a0 The applause lasts for a record of 12 minutes, still the longest in Academy Award history.<\/p>\n