Charlie Chaplin was the silent film era’s most famous star, and one of the silver screen’s all-time greats. The English-born icon was a pioneer who revolutionized acting and comedy. There was another side to the Lovable Tramp, however: Chaplin was also a deviant who liked ’em young. Young enough to cause scandal, derail his career, and get him de facto deported from the US.
Charlie Chaplin Had a Thing for Pies
Long before Harvey Weinstein, there was Charlie Chaplin. Indeed, Chaplin probably pioneered the “casting couch”, whereby powerful Hollywood figures extracted favors from actresses during auditions. He used caption cards during auditions to prompt aspiring actresses into increasingly suggestive poses. He kept at it until they finally stood naked or just about. Chaplin was into more than just the run of the mill quid pro quo harassment, though. The Lovable Tramp was into some… unusual stuff. Chaplin had a thing for pies – and not just as comedic props and gags.
Once he got getting actresses to strip during auditions, Chaplin would grope them in exaggerated ways on the couch. Then, having brought himself to a boil, he would stand them naked against a wall, and… throw pies at them. It was not just him. Back then, when the pie throwing gag had been popularized by Chaplin, and then even more so by the Three Stooges and early cartoons, pies took on erotic aspects for some people. It was popular enough that some brothels stocked up on pies. Some prostitutes’ specialty was throwing pies at clients or having clients throw pies at them.
The Silver Screen Lovable Tramp vs the Real Life Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin was also into orgies, which he frequently organized with his friend and fellow comedic film star, Fatty Arbuckle. It is unclear if pies featured heavily in those bacchanalias. Given Chaplin’s proclivities, though, and that pie throwing was huge in both his and Arbuckle’s movies, one cannot help but speculate. The orgies came to a screeching halt in the aftermath of a scandal that rocked the country in 1921. That year, Arbuckle was accused of fatally assaulting a woman during a days-long orgy at a San Francisco hotel. Arbuckle was tried for murder, and although acquitted, the iconic comedy duo’s orgies never resumed.
To the public, Chaplin was best known as a lovable tramp on screen. To who came into close contact with him, however, the real Chaplin differed from his public image. Marlon Brando, for example, said that Chaplin was “probably the most sadistic man I’ve ever met”. He formed that negative impression of the comedy icon when he worked with him on A Countess From Hong Kong. On the set, he witnessed the iconic comedian viciously humiliate his own son in front of the entire crew.
Prosecution, Persecution, and De Facto Deportation
Marlon Brando was also subjected to Chaplin’s ire. He was berated by the funny superstar – in a less-than-funny-way – for tardiness, and called a “disgrace to [his] profession”. Karma caught up with Chaplin in the form of J. Edgar Hoover, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations. Hoover had long disliked Chaplin’s politics, so he used the actor’s scandals to launch a smear campaign against him. Ironically, the FBI director was himself a pervert whose straitlaced public image was a fraud. He had no sympathy for a fellow freak, though, and in 1944, Hoover had Chaplin prosecuted for Mann Act violations.
Used decades earlier against heavyweight boxing champ Jack Johnson, and more recently against music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, the Mann Act prohibits the transportation of women across state lines for carnal purposes. Although found not guilty by a jury, Chaplin’s reputation and image were severely damaged in the court of public opinion. Hoover was not done with the English-born icon, though. In 1952, while Chaplin was in London for a film premiere, the US Department of Justice revoked his visa. To reenter the country, he would have to submit to an interview about his politics and morality. Chaplain decided not to bother, cut his ties with America, and settled in Switzerland.
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Some Sources & Further Reading
New Yorker, September 18th, 2015 – Charlie Chaplin’s Scandalous Life and Boundless Artistry
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