Sydney Chaplin | |
---|---|
Born |
Sydney Earl Chaplin March 30, 1926 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Died | March 3, 2009 Rancho Mirage, California, U.S. |
(aged 82)
Cause of death | Stroke |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1952–1977 |
Spouse(s) |
Noëlle Adam (m. 1960; div. 1985) Margaret Beebe (m. 1998; his death 2009) |
Children | 1 |
Parent(s) |
Charlie Chaplin Lita Grey |
Sydney Earl Chaplin (March 30, 1926 – March 3, 2009) was an American actor. He was the second son of Charlie Chaplin and Lita Grey. One of his major roles was his father's film Limelight (1952).
Chaplin was the second son of Charlie Chaplin and Lita Grey. His parents had married in November 1924 when Lita became pregnant with Sydney's elder brother Charles. Sydney was born five weeks prematurely, 10 months after the birth of his older brother. His parents divorced a year after his birth. Sydney also later had eight half-siblings from their father's fourth marriage to Oona O'Neill, as well as a deceased half-brother Norman from their father's first marriage. His mother insisted on calling him "Tommy" on account of her distaste for his father's half-brother Sydney, after whom he had been officially named. Sydney and his older brother were mostly brought up by their maternal grandmother, while his mother attempted to advance her career as a singer. The family spent most of one year in Nice, where the boys became fluent in French.
After serving in the United States Army in the Second World War in Europe, Chaplin turned to acting both on stage and in films. He was one of the founding members of the Circle Players at The Circle Theater, now known as El Centro Theatre, and appeared in several Broadway productions, including Bells Are Ringing opposite Judy Holliday in 1957, for which he won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical, and Funny Girl opposite Barbra Streisand in 1964, for which he was nominated for a Tony Award. Chaplin also had supporting roles in two of his father's films, Limelight (1952) and A Countess from Hong Kong (1967).