Sydney Chaplin (actor, 1885)

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Sydney Chaplin

Sydney John Chaplin (born March 15, 1885 as Sydney John Hill in London , England , † April 16, 1965 in Nice , France ) was a British actor and comedian . He is best known today as the older brother of Charlie Chaplin , but was also a popular comedian in his day.

Early life

Sydney Chaplin was born the illegitimate son of 19-year-old dancer and singer Hannah Chaplin . His father is said to have been the Jewish bookmaker Sydney Hawkes. One year after Sydney's birth, his mother married the entertainer Charles Chaplin Sr. (1863-1901), on April 16, 1889 their child, Charlie Chaplin, was born. After the separation of Chaplin Sr. and his wife Hannah, the family lived in great poverty, also because Chaplin Sr. regularly evaded maintenance payments. The mother also suffered from mental health problems. Sydney Chaplin first worked as a seaman for a few years and supported his family with the money before he got into show business like his parents.

In the 1910s, Charlie and Sydney found out that they had a younger half-brother, Wheeler Dryden (1892-1957), who was raised by his father, Leo Dryden, and who also worked as an actor.

Acting career

Syd Chaplin (on the pipe) in the film A Submarine Pirate (1915)

Sydney Chaplin began his show career as a teenager in the theater. In 1906 he was contracted by the London theater producer Fred Karno for his ensembles. Two years later, Charlie Chaplin signed - also through the mediation of his older brother - also with Fred Karno. With Karno, Sydney was a very popular performer, even more successful than his brother. In the fall of 1914, Sydney followed his younger brother to Keystone Studios in the United States . In the following year he shot a few short film comedies there and embodied the character Gussle , a kind of funny would-be aristocrat , in several films . He has also directed some of his films. He also played the lead role in the comedy A Submarine Pirate (1915), which would become the second-largest commercial success in Keystone Studios history. Syd Chaplin was popular with Keystone, but fell into the overwhelming shadow of his brother.

In the following years, Sydney mainly supported his brother Charlie, who had meanwhile become a movie star with his comedies, as a manager . He marketed his brother in public, took care of his finances and contracts with the film studios. Sydney also played supporting roles in five films by his younger brother at First National , including as Kaiser Wilhelm II in two productions. While successfully managing his brother's film career, his own acting career stalled. Sydney signed a high-paying contract with the Famous Players-Lasky film studio in 1919, but was only able to make one film there.

It wasn't until the mid-1920s that Sydney Chaplin experienced the peak of his film career. He played leading roles in a number of comedies, including a 1925 silent film version of Charley's aunt . He left the USA in 1927 and directed the film A Little Bit of Fluff for British International Pictures . It was supposed to be Sydney's last job after he was embroiled in a sexual assault scandal with actress Molly Wright. British International Pictures terminated his contract and he was declared bankrupt in 1930.

Private life

Sydney Chaplin's grave

After this scandal, Syd Chaplin moved from England to mainland Europe, spending most of his late life in France and Switzerland. He stayed in good contact with his brother Charlie and occasionally advised him. When he moved to Switzerland in the 1950s, they visited each other regularly.

In addition to his work as an actor, Sydney Chaplin was enthusiastic about flying. Together with the pilot Emery Rogers, he even founded his own airline in May 1919, the Syd Chaplin Airline Company. However, it dissolved again after a short time.

Sydney Chaplin was married twice but remained childless. His first wife Minnie died in France in 1936 of complications from breast cancer, while the second wife Henriette survived him. Sydney Chaplin passed away in Nice a month after his 80th birthday. He is buried in Clarens , Switzerland .

Sydney Chaplin in films

In Richard Attenborough's biography Chaplin (1992) about his younger brother, Sydney Chaplin is played in a major supporting role by Paul Rhys .

Filmography

  • 1914: Fatty's Wine Party
  • 1914: Among the Mourners
  • 1914: His Prehistoric Past
  • 1914: Wild West Love
  • 1914: Gussle, the Golfer
  • 1915: Hushing the Scandal
  • 1915: Giddy, Gay, and Ticklish
  • 1915: Caught in a Park
  • 1915: That Springtime Feeling
  • 1915: Gussle's Day of Rest
  • 1915: Gussle's Wayward Path
  • 1915: Gussle Rivals Jonah
  • 1915: Gussle's Backward Way
  • 1915: Gussle Tied to Trouble
  • 1915: A Lover's Lost Control
  • 1915: No One to Guide Him
  • 1915: A Submarine Pirate
  • 1918: A Dog's Life (A Dog's Life)
  • 1918: The bond (The Bond)
  • 1918: rifle over (shoulder arms)
  • 1921: King, Queen and Joker
  • 1922: Payday (Pay Day)
  • 1923: The Pilgrim (The Pilgrim)
  • 1923: The Rendezvous
  • 1923: Her Temporary Husband
  • 1924: The Galloping Fish
  • 1924: The Perfect Flapper
  • 1925: Charley's Aunt (Charley's Aunt)
  • 1925: The Man on the Box
  • 1926: Oh What a Nurse!
  • 1926: The Better 'Ole
  • 1927: The Fortune Hunter
  • 1927: The Missing Link
  • 1928: A Little Bit of Fluff

literature

  • Lisa K. Stein: Syd Chaplin: A Biography , McFarland, 2010, 279 pages

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ goldensilents.com: © Sydney Chaplin - Silent Film Actor - goldensilents.com. Retrieved January 24, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Sidney Chaplin | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos | AllMovie. Retrieved January 24, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Sidney Chaplin | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos | AllMovie. Retrieved January 24, 2018 .
  4. ^ Matthew Sweet: Behind Britain's silent movies: sex, drugs and scandal-struck stars. April 8, 2011, accessed January 24, 2018 .
  5. ^ Sydney Chaplin: Charlie's Mentor, Brother and a Star in His Own Right . March 16, 2013 ( wordpress.com [accessed January 24, 2018]).
  6. ↑ Sidney Chaplin | Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos | AllMovie. Retrieved January 24, 2018 .
  7. ^ Sydney Chaplin the brother to Charlie Chaplin. Retrieved January 24, 2018 .
  8. ^ A Mysterious Little Car at the Syd Chaplin Airdrome | The Old Motor. Retrieved January 24, 2018 (American English).
personal data
SURNAME Chaplin, Sydney
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Chaplin, Sydney John (full name); Hill, Sydney John (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British actor and comedian
DATE OF BIRTH March 15, 1885
PLACE OF BIRTH London , England, UK
DATE OF DEATH April 16, 1965
Place of death Nice , France