The King Who Played the Tramp
“Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot.”– Charlie Chaplin
“He has made more people laugh than any other man who has ever lived… [He is] the unquestioned king of comedy”, one writer wrote in 1960 when Chaplin signed a contract with a production company for $10,000 a week. By then, he was writing and directing some of the funniest and most successful comedies in Hollywood history.
Charles Spencer Chaplin was one of the most struggling artists ever. Born in London at the end of the nineteenth century, he had a miserable childhood. His father left him at an early age, his mother who looked after him and his brother went insane a number of times and had to be taken to the asylum, he was put into a workhouse when he was just seven years old, and there were even times when he and his family waited in long queues to get small packages of food from charities for a day’s meal.
He was not just a survivor, he was a fighter.
Most of us would clearly go insane if put into such dreadful situations. But Chaplin protected and nourished the fire in his soul and despite all these difficulties, he realized his dream of becoming an actor. Today he is considered as one of the greatest entertainers of all time, the most recognized face in movie history and the king of comedy.
At the end of every tragedy, right from his early childhood to creating and immortalizing ‘The Little Tramp’, Chaplin reminded himself again and again what a fine actor he was.
“I had to feel that exuberance that comes from utter confidence in yourself, without that you go down to defeat” — Charlie Chaplin
The greatest take away from his story is the value of hope and persistent effort. Most of the people quit too early in life, they don’t be persistent.
Always keep this in mind: Hope is a very powerful thing. The hope those hard times would pass soon; it is what helps us survive. The hope of victory; it is what makes us fight. The hope that we will finally reach where we want to be regardless of what struggles we face on the way; it is what enables us to take that daring leap into the void.
So don’t lose hope. That extra effort that you put in every day, persistently, is taking you — one step at a time — closer to victory. Keep on moving forward and one day, sooner than later, you will be where you want to be.
