George Wheeler Dryden (August 31, 1892 in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
- September 30, 1957 in
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
) was an
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actor and film director, the son of
Hannah ChaplinHannah Chaplin was the mother of Charlie Chaplin. She was born Hannah Harriett Hill in Camden Street, Walworth, London. She became a Music Hall entertainer and used the stage name 'Lily Harley'....
and music hall entertainer
Leo DrydenGeorge Dryden Wheeler , was an English music hall 'vocal comic'. In 1892, he met Hannah Chaplin, mother of Charlie, and also a music hall performer. They had an affair, and a son, George Wheeler Dryden , leading to the breakdown of her marriage to Charles Chaplin, Sr...
and thus the half brother of Charles and
Sydney ChaplinSydney Chaplin , born as Sidney John Hawkes, was the elder half-brother of Sir Charlie Chaplin and the half-uncle of the actor Sydney Earle Chaplin , who was named after him.-Early life:...
. He was also the father of rock musician
Spencer DrydenSpencer Dryden was an American musician who was best known as the drummer for Jefferson Airplane, New Riders of the Purple Sage and The Dinosaurs.- Early life :...
.
Dryden was the youngest of Hannah Chaplin's children, and his father Leo removed him from his mentally troubled mother as an infant.
George Wheeler Dryden (August 31, 1892 in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
- September 30, 1957 in
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
) was an
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actor and film director, the son of
Hannah ChaplinHannah Chaplin was the mother of Charlie Chaplin. She was born Hannah Harriett Hill in Camden Street, Walworth, London. She became a Music Hall entertainer and used the stage name 'Lily Harley'....
and music hall entertainer
Leo DrydenGeorge Dryden Wheeler , was an English music hall 'vocal comic'. In 1892, he met Hannah Chaplin, mother of Charlie, and also a music hall performer. They had an affair, and a son, George Wheeler Dryden , leading to the breakdown of her marriage to Charles Chaplin, Sr...
and thus the half brother of Charles and
Sydney ChaplinSydney Chaplin , born as Sidney John Hawkes, was the elder half-brother of Sir Charlie Chaplin and the half-uncle of the actor Sydney Earle Chaplin , who was named after him.-Early life:...
. He was also the father of rock musician
Spencer DrydenSpencer Dryden was an American musician who was best known as the drummer for Jefferson Airplane, New Riders of the Purple Sage and The Dinosaurs.- Early life :...
.
Biography
Dryden was the youngest of Hannah Chaplin's children, and his father Leo removed him from his mentally troubled mother as an infant. He was touring
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
and the Far East as a vaudeville comedian when he first learned from his father that the world famous
Charlie ChaplinSir Charles Spencer Chaplin, KBE was an English comedic actor and film director. Chaplin became one of the most famous actors as well as a notable filmmaker, composer and musician in the early to mid Classical Hollywood era of American cinema.Chaplin acted in, directed, scripted, produced and...
was his half brother. After several attempts, he reportedly got in touch with Charlie through actress
Edna PurvianceEdna Purviance was an American actress during the silent movie era. She was the leading lady in many Charlie Chaplin movies. In a span of eight years, she appeared in over 30 films with Chaplin.-Early life:...
, and finally joined the Chaplin brothers and their mother in America in the 1920s. He later appeared in
Stan LaurelStan Laurel was an English comic actor, writer and director, famous as the first half of the comedy double-act Laurel and Hardy, whose career stretched from the silent films of the early 20th century until post-World War II.-Early life:Stan Laurel was born in his grandparents' house on 16 June...
's
Mud and SandMud and Sand is a silent film made in 1922 starring Stan Laurel. Laurel plays a matador who makes a fool of a famous Spanish dancer. The dancer demands revenge and, in the end, kills the matador by throwing a concealed brick at him after a fight with the fiercest bull in Spain...
and was the "other man" in the melodrama
False Women. In 1928, he directed
Syd ChaplinSydney Chaplin , born as Sidney John Hawkes, was the elder half-brother of Sir Charlie Chaplin and the half-uncle of the actor Sydney Earle Chaplin , who was named after him.-Early life:...
in
A Little Bit of FluffA Little Bit of Fluff a.k.a. Skirts is a comedy genre silent film, filmed in England in 1928, and directed by Wheeler Dryden and Jesse Robbins. It is based on the farce of the same title by Walter W. Ellis, which premiered at the Criterion Theatre, London, on October 27, 1915, featuring Ernest...
, and later, worked at the Chaplin Studios as Charlie's assistant director on his final Hollywood productions,
The Great DictatorThe Great Dictator is a comedy film directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin. First released in October 1940, it was Chaplin's first true talking picture, and more importantly was the only major film of its period to bitterly satirize Nazism and Adolf Hitler.The film is unusual for its period, as...
and
Monsieur VerdouxMonsieur Verdoux is a 1947 black comedy film directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin.-Plot:The film is about an unemployed banker, Henri Verdoux, and his sociopathic methods of attaining income. While being both loyal and competent in his work, Verdoux has been laid-off. To make money for his...
. He also appears in the supporting roles of a doctor and a clown in Chaplin's last American film
LimelightLimelight is a 1952 comedy-drama film written, directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin, co-starring Claire Bloom, with an appearance by Buster Keaton. In dance scenes, Bloom is doubled by Melissa Hayden. The film score is composed by Chaplin and arranged by Ray Rasch.Limelight is probably a unique...
. After Chaplin left America for Switzerland in 1952, Dryden managed the winding down of Chaplin's Hollywood business affairs until 1954, when the studio was sold. He suffered from mental illness and reclusiveness in his final years, exacerbated by aggressive FBI inquiries into his brother's politics.
Family
Wheeler was married from 1938-1943 to Radio City Music Hall prima ballerina Alice Chapple (1911-2005), and they had a one child
Spencer DrydenSpencer Dryden was an American musician who was best known as the drummer for Jefferson Airplane, New Riders of the Purple Sage and The Dinosaurs.- Early life :...
. Dryden took his son to LA jazz clubs in the 1950's, which inspired his musical ambitions as a jazz and rock drummer.
External links
- Wheeler Dryden at the Internet Broadway Database
The Internet Broadway Database is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade association for the North American commercial theatre community....