Chaplin took a little break from walking down the aisle for the next decade or so. Then in 1936, he wed actress Paulette Goddard, who was at least in her 20s (though he was in his 40s by then). That one didn’t stick either. The fourth time was apparently the charm: In 1943, when Chaplin was 53, he married an 18-year-old named Oona O’Neill. She was a legal adult, so that was a step in the right direction, although the age gap had progressed substantially by this point; the man was old enough to be her grandfather. They stayed married until his death in 1977.
If that isn’t scandal enough for you, Chaplin was also banned from the U.S. in 1952 due to communist leanings and did not return until 1972 to collect an honorary Oscar. The tabloids must have loved him!
Everyone has feet of clay; Chaplin, like many celebrities, was most likely treated differently by the "law" than a working man would. Some of his marriages were "legal" if not disreputable in terms of morality; marrying one of his wives (Lita Grey) seemed to get him off the hook in terms of being charged with statutory rape. The general public tends to set aside these "scandals" due to their love and appreciation for the stars. Hollywood has always been accused (and known for) the "casting couch" and the power that big-name stars had over (usually) females. IMHO, Chaplin let his sex addictions (including a propensity for women under 20 years of age) and character defects control him, with him choosing dangerous relationships that were damaging to young women, and the resultant negative publicity. I am not a student of that era, so what the public and press thought and said/wrote at the time is not within my sphere of knowledge. We shouldn't put celebrities on pedestals, but many of us do. We imagine them as they are on stage and/or film, and cannot (or won't) believe or support "allegations or rumors" about them. I enjoy your blog and the many different subjects you write about.
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