Charlie Chaplin was born in London in 1889 and grew up in terrible poverty.
His mother was often ill, and as a child he even lived in a home for poor children.
He began working on the stage very young and travelled to America with a theater group.
There he invented his most famous character, the little tramp with a small hat and a walking stick.
People all over the world laughed at his silent films, because they needed no words.
But his comedies were also serious, and they showed the lives of poor people.
In 1940 he made fun of Hitler in the film The Great Dictator.
He died in Switzerland in 1977, and his films are still loved today.
Words in this story
- be
- is / am / are / was
- bear
- be born: to come into the world
- grow
- to become bigger or older
- up
- toward a higher place
- terrible
- very bad
- poverty
- the state of being poor
- mother
- your mom
- often
- many times
- ill
- sick
- child
- a young person
- even
- used to show something is surprising
- live
- to have your home somewhere; to be alive
- home
- the place where you live
- poor
- having little money
- begin
- to start
- work
- to do a job
- stage
- the place where actors perform
- very
- really; a lot
- young
- not old
- travel
- to go to places
- theater
- a building for plays
- group
- several people together
- there
- in that place
- invent
- to create something new
- most
- more than all others
- famous
- known by many people
- character
- a person in a story or film
- little
- small; young
- tramp
- a poor person with no home
- small
- little; not big
- hat
- something you wear on your head
- walk
- to go on foot; to take a dog out
- stick
- a long thin piece of wood
- people
- more than one person
- world
- the Earth and everyone on it
- laugh
- to make sounds because something is funny
- silent
- without sound
- film
- a movie
- need
- to have to have
- word
- a unit of language
- comedy
- a funny film or play
- also
- too
- serious
- not funny; important
- show
- to let someone see
- life
- the time you are alive
- people
- more than one person
- make
- to create; to cook
- fun
- enjoyment; make fun of: to laugh at
- die
- to stop living
- still
- even now
- love
- a strong feeling of liking
- today
- this day