Sydney Earle Chaplin
Encyclopedia
Sydney Earle Chaplin was a film
and theatre
actor
.
and the second by his second wife, Mexican-American actress Lita Grey
, Sydney Chaplin was named after his uncle Sydney Chaplin
(1885–1965).
Lita Grey
was 16 when she married the 35-year-old Charles Chaplin in 1924. Sydney was born two years later in Beverly Hills. His parents divorced a year later. Their elder son, Charles Chaplin, Jr.
died in 1968.
After serving in World War II
, including a stint in Europe, Sydney turned to acting.
Sydney was a founding member of the Circle Players at The Circle Theatre, now known as El Centro Theatre
.
He won the 1957 Tony Award
for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
for Bells Are Ringing
, opposite Judy Holliday
, and received a Tony nomination for his performance as Nicky Arnstein
, the gambling first husband of Fanny Brice
, opposite Barbra Streisand
, in the Broadway
musical Funny Girl in 1964.
Sydney appeared in two of his father's films, Limelight (1952) and A Countess from Hong Kong
(1967).
He was also half-brother to Geraldine Chaplin
, Michael Chaplin, Josephine Chaplin
, Victoria Chaplin
, Eugene Chaplin, Jane Chaplin, Annette Chaplin, Christopher Chaplin and Norman Chaplin.
.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Biography
The third son of Sir Charles 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...
and the second by his second wife, Mexican-American actress Lita Grey
Lita Grey
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.-Personal life:Grey married four times...
, Sydney Chaplin was named after his uncle Sydney Chaplin
Sydney Chaplin
Sydney Chaplin was an English actor. He was the elder half-brother of Sir Charlie Chaplin and served as his business manager, and the half-uncle of the actor Sydney Chaplin , who was named after him.-Early life:...
(1885–1965).
Lita Grey
Lita Grey
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.-Personal life:Grey married four times...
was 16 when she married the 35-year-old Charles Chaplin in 1924. Sydney was born two years later in Beverly Hills. His parents divorced a year later. Their elder son, 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...
died in 1968.
After serving in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, including a stint in Europe, Sydney turned to acting.
Sydney was a founding member of the Circle Players at The Circle Theatre, now known as El Centro Theatre
El Centro Theatre
El Centro Theatre in Los Angeles, California has two stages: The Circle and The Chaplin . Founded in 1946 and originally named the Circle Theatre, it is located at: Hollywood, California 90038...
.
He won the 1957 Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for the Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical. The award has been presented since 1947...
for Bells Are Ringing
Bells Are Ringing (musical)
Bells Are Ringing is a musical with a book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Jule Styne. The story revolves around Ella, who works at an answering service and the characters that she meets there. The main character was based on Mary Printz, who worked for Green's answering...
, opposite Judy Holliday
Judy Holliday
Judy Holliday was an American actress.Holliday began her career as part of a night-club act, before working in Broadway plays and musicals...
, and received a Tony nomination for his performance as Nicky Arnstein
Nicky Arnstein
Julius W. "Nicky" Arnstein was an American businessman, professional gambler, and con artist. Among his aliases were "Nick Arnold," "Nicholas Arnold," "Julius Arnold," "Wallace Ames," "John Adams," and "J...
, the gambling first husband of Fanny Brice
Fanny Brice
Fanny Brice was a popular and influential American illustrated song "model," comedienne, singer, theatre and film actress, who made many stage, radio and film appearances and is known as the creator and star of the top-rated radio comedy series, The Baby Snooks Show...
, opposite Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
, in the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musical Funny Girl in 1964.
Sydney appeared in two of his father's films, Limelight (1952) and A Countess from Hong Kong
A Countess from Hong Kong
A Countess from Hong Kong is a 1967 British comedy film and the last film directed by Charlie Chaplin. It was one of two films Chaplin directed in which he did not play a major role , and his only color film. Chaplin's cameo marked his final screen appearance...
(1967).
He was also half-brother to Geraldine Chaplin
Geraldine Chaplin
Geraldine Leigh Chaplin is an English-American actress and the daughter of Charlie Chaplin.Chaplin first came to prominence for her Golden Globe-nominated role of Tonya in David Lean's Doctor Zhivago . She received her second Golden Globe nomination for Robert Altman's Nashville...
, Michael Chaplin, Josephine Chaplin
Josephine Chaplin
Josephine Hannah Chaplin is an actress and the daughter of actor/comedian/director Charlie Chaplin and his last wife, Oona O'Neill. Her siblings include Geraldine Chaplin, Christopher Chaplin and Michael Chaplin. She was also half-sister to Sydney Chaplin, Charles Chaplin, Jr...
, Victoria Chaplin
Victoria Chaplin
Victoria Chaplin is an Anglo-American actress, the daughter of actor/comedian Charlie Chaplin and Oona O'Neill Chaplin, and the granddaughter of playwright Eugene O'Neill....
, Eugene Chaplin, Jane Chaplin, Annette Chaplin, Christopher Chaplin and Norman Chaplin.
Chaplin's
He was the longtime owner and manager of Chaplin's, a popular restaurant in Palm Springs, CaliforniaPalm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
.
Death
Sydney Earl Chaplin died of stroke on March 3, 2009 at age of 82. He was survived by his wife, Margaret Beebe Chaplin, a son Stephan (by his first marriage) and a granddaughter Tamara.Selected filmography
- Limelight (1952)
- Land of the PharaohsLand of the PharaohsLand of the Pharaohs is a 1955 CinemaScope epic film made by the Continental Company, Ltd and presented by Warner Bros. It was directed and produced by Howard Hawks from a screenplay by Harold Jack Bloom, Harry Kurnitz, and the novelist William Faulkner...
(1955) - Confession (1955)
- Abdullah the Great (1955)
- Pillars of the Sky (1956)
- Fours Girls in Town (1957)
- Quantez (1957)
- A Countess from Hong KongA Countess from Hong KongA Countess from Hong Kong is a 1967 British comedy film and the last film directed by Charlie Chaplin. It was one of two films Chaplin directed in which he did not play a major role , and his only color film. Chaplin's cameo marked his final screen appearance...
(1966) - Double Face (1969)
- The Adding MachineThe Adding Machine (film)The Adding Machine is a 1969 British fantasy drama film directed by Jerome Epstein and starring Milo O'Shea, Phyllis Diller, Billie Whitelaw, Sydney Chaplin and Raymond Huntley...
(1969)