Lita Grey
Encyclopedia
Lita Grey was an American
actress and the second wife of Charlie Chaplin
. She was born in Hollywood, California, in 1908, to a Mexican
-born mother and a father of Irish
heritage and christened Lillita Louise MacMurray.
, who was then 35. Chaplin, who could have been imprisoned for having sexual relations with a minor, married her in secret in Empalme, Sonora, Mexico
to avoid a scandal. They had two children, Charles Chaplin, Jr.
(1925–1968) and Sydney Earle Chaplin (1926–2009).
The marriage was troubled from the start. The two had few interests in common, and Chaplin spent as much time as he could away from home, working on The Gold Rush (in which Grey was to have played the female lead) and later The Circus. They divorced on August 22, 1927, due to his alleged numerous affairs with other women, and he was ordered to pay over $600,000 (USD) and $100,000 (USD) in trust for each child. It was the largest divorce settlement up to that time. The divorce was one of the sensational media events of the time. Copies of her lengthy divorce complaint which made then-scandalous sexual claims against Chaplin were published and publicly sold.
She later married Henry Aguirre, then Arthur Day, then Pat Longo.
In the 1970s and 1980s, she worked as a clerk at Robinson's Department Store in Beverly Hills.
She died in Los Angeles, California
, in 1995 of cancer, aged 87, and was buried in Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery
in North Hollywood, California.
She wrote two autobiographical volumes covering her life with Chaplin. My Life With Chaplin (1966) was by her own admission largely a work of exaggeration and fabrication. She claimed to tell the story as it really was in her second memoir Wife of the Life of the Party (1995).
She was portrayed by Deborah Moore
in the 1992 film Chaplin.
The Chaplin biographer Joyce Milton asserted in Tramp: The Life of Charlie Chaplin that the Grey-Chaplin marriage was an inspiration for Vladimir Nabokov
's Lolita
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress and the second wife of Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
. She was born in Hollywood, California, in 1908, to a Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
-born mother and a father of Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
heritage and christened Lillita Louise MacMurray.
Personal life
Grey married four times. In 1924, when she was 16 years old, she suspected she had become pregnant by Charlie ChaplinCharlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
, who was then 35. Chaplin, who could have been imprisoned for having sexual relations with a minor, married her in secret in Empalme, Sonora, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
to avoid a scandal. They had two children, Charles Chaplin, Jr.
Charles Chaplin, Jr.
Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. was an American actor and the son of Charlie Chaplin.Chaplin was born in Beverly Hills, California. His mother was Charlie Chaplin's second wife, Mexican-American Lita Grey, and he was the elder brother of actor Sydney Chaplin...
(1925–1968) and Sydney Earle Chaplin (1926–2009).
The marriage was troubled from the start. The two had few interests in common, and Chaplin spent as much time as he could away from home, working on The Gold Rush (in which Grey was to have played the female lead) and later The Circus. They divorced on August 22, 1927, due to his alleged numerous affairs with other women, and he was ordered to pay over $600,000 (USD) and $100,000 (USD) in trust for each child. It was the largest divorce settlement up to that time. The divorce was one of the sensational media events of the time. Copies of her lengthy divorce complaint which made then-scandalous sexual claims against Chaplin were published and publicly sold.
She later married Henry Aguirre, then Arthur Day, then Pat Longo.
In the 1970s and 1980s, she worked as a clerk at Robinson's Department Store in Beverly Hills.
She died in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, in 1995 of cancer, aged 87, and was buried in Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery
Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery
Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery is located at 10621 Victory Boulevard in North Hollywood, California.The cemetery has a special section called the Portal of the Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation that is the final resting place for a number of aviation pioneers — barnstormers, daredevils and...
in North Hollywood, California.
She wrote two autobiographical volumes covering her life with Chaplin. My Life With Chaplin (1966) was by her own admission largely a work of exaggeration and fabrication. She claimed to tell the story as it really was in her second memoir Wife of the Life of the Party (1995).
She was portrayed by Deborah Moore
Deborah Moore
Deborah Moore is an English actress and the daughter of actor Roger Moore and Italian actress Luisa Mattioli.She made her debut on TV as a child in the The Persuaders! episode "The Long Goodbye" in which her father co-starred alongside Tony Curtis, and early on in her career, she was often billed...
in the 1992 film Chaplin.
The Chaplin biographer Joyce Milton asserted in Tramp: The Life of Charlie Chaplin that the Grey-Chaplin marriage was an inspiration for Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
's Lolita
Lolita
Lolita is a novel by Vladimir Nabokov, first written in English and published in 1955 in Paris and 1958 in New York, and later translated by the author into Russian...
.
Filmography
- Unknown ChaplinUnknown ChaplinUnknown Chaplin is an acclaimed three-part 1983 British television documentary about the career and the methods of the film luminary Charles Chaplin using previously unseen film for illustration....
(1983) (TV) - The Devil's Sleep (1949)
- Seasoned Greetings (1933)
- Mr. BroadwayMr. Broadway (1933 film)Mr. Broadway is a 1933 comedy film written by Abel Green and Ed Sullivan. The film was directed by Johnnie Walker and stars Ed Sullivan along with a cast of celebrity walk-ons.-Plot synopsis:...
(1933) - The Idle ClassThe Idle ClassThe Idle Class is a 1921 American silent film written and directed by Charlie Chaplin for First National Pictures.Charlie Chaplin, as the "Little Tramp", heads to a resort for warm weather and a bit of golf. While at a dance at a country club Edna Purviance mistakes Chaplin for her husband...
(1921) - The KidThe Kid (1921 film)The Kid is a 1921 American silent dramedy film written by, produced by, directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin, and features Jackie Coogan as his adopted son and sidekick. This was Chaplin's first full-length movie...
(1921)
Further reading
- Oderman, Stuart. Talking to the Piano Player 2. BearManor Media, 2009. ISBN #1-59393-320-7.