Charlie Chaplin and the FBI

Charlie Chaplin was born in 1889 and died in 1977. He is considered to be one of the greatest comedians and silent film stars of all time. Born in England to an alcoholic father (who later died when Chaplin was12) and a mother who was a singer, Charlie had a natural knack for the stage. In 1910, he began doing comedy tours with the Karno Troupe, a group that claimed Fatty Arbuckle and other famous comedians at that time as their members. Soon, he had his own film group and was making black and white films for larger audiences. He became a huge success, and many credit his humor and style for helping them through the tough times of the Great Depression and World War II.

Some of the better known works from Charlie Chaplin include Laughing Gas, A Night Out, By the Sea, The Kid, Modern Times, A King in New York, and Days of Thrills and Laughter. Limelight has been considered by many critics to be one of his best films. He starred with comedian Buster Keaton in the movie, and it achieved a lot of positive feedback. His success as a movie star was huge and he became a legend in American and English culture. But there were some ties between Charlie Chaplin and the FBI that many people are not aware of. J. Edgar Hoover accused Chaplin of being a Communist during the McCarthy era, and instructed the FBI to keep a secret file on him. In the late 1940s, the FBI put him on the Security List. His hotel rooms were bugged, and the FBI hired informants to find out information about him. They even used fellow actors and actresses to serve as spies to provide them with intimate information. Eventually, Charlie Chaplin decided to stay in Europe permanently, but this was not completely his choice.

Before Chaplin’s exile, he got involved with a young woman named Joan Barry. Barry was about 22 when she met Charlie Chaplin, and she had a troubled past. She claimed her child was his when she became pregnant, and a court case ensued. Eventually, Chaplin was cleared as the father, but it did not help with the other issues he was facing as a high profile FBI case. Some claimed he was un-American, and they believed he was a secret member of the Communist Party. When he went back to England to visit, he was denied re-entry back into the U.S. and considered an “undesirable alien.” Chaplin decided to then stay in Great Britain, but his wife did eventually return to America.

• The FBI Files – Information on the FBI files, including a couple of the original pages.

• Biography – A biography about the life and career of Charlie Chaplin.

• Chaplin and Communism – Excerpts from some of Chaplin’s speeches and books, many regarding his political views.

• Charlie Chaplin costume – Where to get the famous Chaplin “tramp” look.

• Banned from America – A comprehensive look at Chaplin’s life and how his views affected the way America treated him in the age of communism.

• Joan Barry – Information about Joan Barry and her relationship with Chaplin.