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Famous Historic Figures’ Public Image vs the Reality of their Lives

Khalid Elhassan June 3, 2020 34 min

John Ford - The Searchers — John Wayne. Pintrest

29. Deporting the Lovable Tramp

Charlie Chaplin receiving an honorary Oscar in 1972, his first time back in the US in two decades. Wikimedia

FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, a pervert himself if there was ever one, and one whose straitlaced public image was a fraud, had long disliked Chaplin’s political leanings. So he used the actor’s illicit scandals to launch a smear campaign against him. In 1944, he had Chaplin prosecuted for violating the Mann Act, which prohibits the transportation of women across state lines for carnal purposes. Chaplin was acquitted, but his reputation and public image were severely damaged.

In 1952, while Chaplin was in London for a film premiere, the US Department of Justice revoked the British actor’s re-entry visa. To reenter the US, he would have to submit to an interview concerning his politics and morality. Chaplain decided not to bother, cut his ties with America, and settled in Switzerland.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.