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Flashback Friday: When Charlie Chaplin’s obsession with young women exposed his sadistic side
This month, Charlie Chaplin would have celebrated his 131st birthday. To mark the occasion, let's take a look at the lesser known part of the global artists life. The part where his sadistic attitude towards women ruined his romantic life and that of his partners.
Even the people who are not aware of Charlie Chaplin’s invaluable contribution to cinema, know his name. Such is the popularity the late artist has across the world. He was a global star who owned the spotlight for years as he entertained the audience with his unique art that people still try to imitate. But here’s the thing about spotlights, once you are in it, you can no longer hide parts of your life according to your convenience. It’s all out in the open for people to judge. And Chaplin was a man with many vices, one of which was his sadistic attitude towards women.
This month is his 131st birthday anniversary on April 16. Born into poverty in South London and having seen all the hardships in his life, the British film star hogged every bit of the limelight ended up ruling the silver screen for years. By the age of 26, he became one of the most famous personalities in the world. Even though he looked nothing like the ideal prince charming, women would throw themselves on him. For the major part of his life, the actor lived in a world where people admired and worshiped his art and women were disposable. He used and discarded his lovers and the pond would never run out of fishes.
His inability to trust and respect women made a complete mess of his romantic life. Yet, he never stopped falling for young girls. The younger the better. He would often make fun of his sexual encounters with Hollywood actresses, Biographer Peter Ackroyd wrote in a book on the actor. The writer also mentioned that the actor would frequently boast about his sexual conquests and would take pride in telling people that he has slept with around 2000 women. Describing one such relationship during an interview with Vanity Fair, the actor said, “I am not exactly in love with her, but she is entirely in love with me.”
He was aware of his actions and the heartbreaks they were causing his partners but anyway. One of the first women to endure his complicated character was Edna Purviance, a 19-year-old actress Chaplin hired for a film, Peter mentioned in the book. Soon enough they became more than just co-stars. But the woman could not find a place in his overly packed worked schedule. They eventually drifted apart. Next in the line was 16-year-old Mildred Harris.
However, it wasn’t all fun and games this time as the starlet informed the actor that she was carrying his child. Arguably to keep his professional life scandal-free, the actor married her. He later found out that she wasn’t pregnant and started to think she tricked him into marrying her. He would mistreat her, abandon her and disrespect her all the time. When she did get pregnant with his child, Harris suffered a nervous breakdown because of his ill-treatment. They eventually got divorced in 1920.
Later the same year, the actor came across a 12-year-old who he “admired” a lot, but did not pursue her till she was of a more appropriate age. When she turned 16, she played a small role in Chaplin’s 1924 film The Gold Rush. They started seeing each other and the actress got pregnant. To avoid criminal charges, the actor married her. She had two of his children and then she joined the long list of women disposed of by the actor as they got divorced in 1927.
He again got married in 1942. This time, to a 22-year-old actress Paulette Goddard. This was one of his only stable relationships of his life. The two had a great working relationship and ended up starring in many of his important projects. She even worked with him in his 1940's controversial film The Great Dictator. Things went South after that and they called it quits. But he wasn’t done yet, in 1943, he wed another woman.
This time to someone much younger than him. Irish playwright Eugene O'Neill's daughter, Oona, was only 18 when the 54-year-old actor married her. This marriage, despite all the criticism it faced, lasted until the actor passed away in 1977. They had 8 children together. While his previous relationships and marriages were loaded with emotional abuse and infidelity, his married life with Oona is believed to be full of love.
