18. Charlie Chaplin
Few would likely guess that legendary comedian Charlie Chaplin’s early life was one of extreme poverty. His mother, who had two illegitimate children by two different men, separated from Charlie’s father when he was still very young. She had no reliable source of income, after a failed career in entertainment, and his father paid no financial support to the family. At the age of seven, he was sent to a workhouse for destitute families. Two years later, he was sent to an institute for impoverished children.
His mother developed psychosis soon after, from a combination of syphilis and malnutrition. She was institutionalized in an asylum in London. The boys briefly lived with their father who was a violent alcoholic. He died from cirrhosis of the liver shortly after they moved in with him. During all of this turbulence in his personal life, the young Chaplin began to perform on stage doing comedy and vaudeville routines.
Chaplin’s life story is often regarded as one of the most dramatic rags to riches stories the world has ever seen. What people may not know, is that under the goofy mustache and makeup of his most famous character, the tramp, Chaplin was a handsome young man. While he rarely showed his natural face on the screen, he certainly could have been a leading man with his youthful good looks.
