At the age of 85, silent film star Charlie Chaplin was knighted on March 4, 1975. Known for movies like The Kid and The Great Dictator, and of course his iconic mustache and top hat, this comedian was knighted at Buckingham Palace which is merely minutes away from the slum he grew up in. He was bound by the wheelchair and unable to kneel to receive the honour while he was knighted, but this did little to reduce the effect that the event had. He is known to have been "dumbfounded", especially when the Queen thanked him for his films. All this while, in the background, the eerie theme from Chaplin's film Limelight played on.
Everyman Chaplin was known to portray characters relatably. Only a director like him could have made a silent film like Modern Times, a social and political commentary of sorts, a decade after the talkies were invented. Why? He felt that dialogue might reduce the emotional strength of the film. Chaplin, who passed away at the age of 88, was as legendary as they come.
Some of his eternal words are -
- Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot.
- A day without laughter is a day wasted.
