Chaplin's Gypsy Heritage

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spadeneal
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Chaplin's Gypsy Heritage

Post by spadeneal » Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:37 pm

Did anyone else hear of this?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... queen.html

I dunno. Even if true, it doesn't change anything about Chaplin, other than to make his beginnings seem even more modest.

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FrankFay
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Post by FrankFay » Sat Apr 02, 2011 1:36 am

This was published a little too close to April 1st for my taste.
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Derek Gee
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Post by Derek Gee » Sat Apr 02, 2011 12:00 pm

FrankFay wrote:This was published a little too close to April 1st for my taste.
It was published in February.

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Post by Mike Gebert » Sat Apr 02, 2011 12:11 pm

Nevertheless, the likelihood that it's utter BS is high. Somebody sent a celebrity a letter, the celebrity filed it away, and from that a newspaper concludes that it's true, that he took it seriously, that it was a secret he was hiding... yeah, right.
Cinema has no voice, but it speaks to us with eyes that mirror the soul. ―Ivan Mosjoukine

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Post by FrankFay » Sat Apr 02, 2011 3:11 pm

I'd go so far as to say Chaplin might have had some non-Anglo blood in his heritage (the Jewish theory was not implausible though it hasn't been supported) but this has a strong hoax smell about it.
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Post by boblipton » Sat Apr 02, 2011 6:48 pm

Permit me to put it plainly: Chaplin was not a gypsy.


Given the rather public -- albeit the language is veiled for the era -- knowledge of Mother Chaplin, why would there be any attempt to cover up any gypsy heritage? His mother was, at best, stupid in her choice of husbands, and at worst was promiscuous in in a 'profession' that was frequently held to be a cover for prostitution. One of Chaplin's half-brothers had a Jewish father. One of Chaplin's half-brothers was run out of a country and the movie business for adultery. Chaplin's mother went insane. Chaplin made satires of Hitler when he was considered a good fellow who needed some scolding, and he'd be fine. Chaplin engaged in serial statutory rape then apparently lived openly in sin with a Jew for several years. Chaplin got kicked out of the US. Yes, Yes, I know. He left and was not permitted readmittance.

After all that, I'm supposed to believe he was ashamed of being a gypsy? So ashamed that he kept it a deep dark secret for decades? Just how gullible do you think I am?

Bob
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Chaplin

Post by moviepas » Sun Apr 03, 2011 1:47 am

Bob Lipton seems on the right bus on this one. The Jewish theory is that his name was Chaplin which is a surname in the Jewish list of surnames although I know a guy here with that surname who says he is not. But than many people have called Charlie, Chapman; Jolie as Al Johnson and of course the male star of New Moon(1940) is Eddie Nelson. But it is plausible that he was a Jew. One is supposed to be a Jew or a Catholic to be in films or TV, as legend has it, and I am one of them.

Yes, there appears to be no evidence of a birth certificate and if he was born in a workhouse they may have had records if they survived. Certainly here in my country a foundling home has good records going back more than 90 years and the name of the home still exists. My mother lived near that home when she was growing up. I know people who searched those records, who have been adopted, and found leads and full information of the mothers and like, Chaplin's mother, insanity was what was in the files. Why not at the London workhouse referred in Kennington, the home of the Oval cricket ground and later those files moved to a government records office?

There appears no records to prove any divorces or marriage to Paulette Goddard, who was, definitely. Jewish and some who's looks I like in those days with Chaplin. That things happened in Mexico re marriages etc has not been proved. His book, like Flynn's had a lot of crap in it. This book omits any reference to the mother of his sons Charles & Sydney. Ironically, Paulette also retired to Switzerland.

Just as interesting would be to find a print of that unreleased feature Chaplin destroyed in the 1930s. Probably not much hope of that now. But then they did find that Civil war footage before motion picture film and movie cameras were invented so anything is possible!!!!!

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