The Chaplin family is a multinational acting family. Norman Spencer Chaplin was the son of the famous Charlie Chaplin. Norman’s birth caught special media attention not only because of his birth to a star but also because of his death. He died only after 3 days after his birth.
Norman Spencer Chaplin’s Family
Norman Spencer Chaplin was born on 7 Jul 1919 to Charlie and his first wife, Mildred Harris. Mildred was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on April 18, 1901, and was a successful actress. The 16-year-old Mildred met actor Charlie Chaplin in mid-1918, dated, and came to believe she was pregnant by him, but the pregnancy was found to be a false alarm. They married privately on October 23, 1918, in Los Angeles. She subsequently did become pregnant and Norman was born. Norman was born malformed and died three days later, on 10th July. The couple separated soon after.
Charles Spencer “Charlie” Chaplin Jr. was born on 16 April 1889 to Hannah Chaplin (née Hill) and Charles Chaplin Sr. At the time of his birth, Charlie’s parents were both music hall entertainers. Hannah, the daughter of a shoemaker, had a brief and unsuccessful career under the stage name Lily Harley, while Charles Sr., a butcher’s son, was a popular singer. Charlie’s childhood was fraught with poverty and hardships before he broke all odds and rose to stardom.
Charlie married 4 times and had 11 children. In 1924, he married the teenage actress Lita Grey, who was only 16 at the time of her marriage to 35 years old Charlie. Their son Charles Spencer Chaplin III was born in May 1925, followed by Sydney Earl Chaplin in March 1926. Lita filed for divorce in 1927 with a cash settlement of $600,000($11 million in 2023), the largest awarded by American courts at that time. From 1932 to 1942, Charlie was married to actress Paulette Goddard.
Oona O’Neill, daughter of American playwright Eugene O’Neill and Agnes Boulton, was his 4th & last wife. Charlie & Oona had 8 children. Charlie died on 25 December 1977 at the age of 88.
Norman Spencer Chaplin’s Net Worth
Norman Spencer Chaplin was known to the world because of the popularity of his father, Charlie Chaplin, the iconic comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He had a net worth of $100 million (today’s $415 million) at the time of his death. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered one of the film industry’s most important figures.
Charlie continues to be held in high regard, with The Gold Rush, City Lights, Modern Times, and The Great Dictator often ranked on lists of the greatest films. He received a special Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1972, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Lincoln Center Film Society the same year.