Christopher Chaplin

Christopher Chaplin
Christopher Chaplin in 2017
Born
Christopher James Chaplin

(1962-07-08) 8 July 1962 (age 61)
Lausanne, Switzerland[1]
Occupation(s)Composer, actor
Years active1983–present
Parent(s)Charlie Chaplin
Oona O'Neill
RelativesSee Chaplin family

Christopher James Chaplin[2] (born 8 July 1962)[1] is a Swiss-born English composer and actor.[3][4] He is the youngest son of film comedian Charlie Chaplin and his fourth wife Oona O'Neill. He is the grandson of Eugene O'Neill.[5]

Biography[edit]

Christopher Chaplin at a concert

Christopher Chaplin was born on 8 July 1962 at Clinique de Mont Choisi in Lausanne, Switzerland.[6][7] He is the youngest child of film actor Charlie Chaplin and his fourth wife Oona O'Neill: when Chaplin was born, his father was 73 years old.[8] Chaplin's father died of a stroke in 1977 at the age of 88, when he was aged 15.

Chaplin studied piano under Irene Denereaz in Vevey, then settled in London to become an actor. He made his feature film debut as Ivan in the comedy film Where Is Parsifal? (1983), screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival,[9][10] and played Jacques Sette in Charles Jarrott's TV miniseries Till We Meet Again based on the eponymous novel by Judith Krantz.[11]

In Peter Patzak's Death of a Schoolboy [de], a historical biopic about the life of 17-year-old Gavrilo Princip,[12][13] Chaplin took on the role of Trifco,[14][15] and he played Franz Kafka in Jaromil Jireš's film Labyrinth (1991).[16] The film received the Critic's Choice at the 1992 American Film Institute International Film Festival.[17][18]

Chaplin played Rodrigo de Escobedo,[19][20] the Spanish royal notary, secretary of Columbus fleet, and commander of La Navidad,[21][22] in John Glen's historical film Christopher Columbus: The Discovery, released for the 500th anniversary of Columbus' voyage.[23] In Liliane de Kermadec's return to feature film, the French period road movie La Piste du télégraphe (lit.'The Telegraph Road') (1994), Chaplin played John alongside Elena Safonova's Lisa Alling.[24][25][26][27] He played French poet Charles Cros in Agnieszka Holland's historical account of the relationship between Paul Verlaine and Arthur Rimbaud, Total Eclipse (1995).[28][29][30]

Since 2005, Chaplin has focused on a career as a composer, and has collaborated with German experimental, ambient and electronic musician Hans-Joachim Roedelius, amongst others. In 2010, he signed to Fabrique Records, and released his solo debut album Je suis le Ténébreux in 2016.[31][32][33]

Discography[edit]

  • Seven Echoes – Kava & Christopher Chaplin (2010, Fabrique Records)[34]
  • King of HeartsHans-Joachim Roedelius & Christopher Chaplin (2012, Sub Rosa)
  • Je suis le Ténébreux – Christopher Chaplin (2016, Fabrique Records) – featuring Hans-Joachim Roedelius, Christine Roedelius, Judith Chemla, Claudia Schumann, Pino Costalunga
  • Deconstructed (Remix EP) – Christopher Chaplin (2017, Fabrique Records) – featuring reworks by Tim Story, Jana Irmert, Peter Zirbs, <tfo>
  • Triptych in BlueHans-Joachim Roedelius, Christopher Chaplin & Andrew Heath (2017, Disco Gecko Recordings)
  • Paradise Lost – Christopher Chaplin (2018, Fabrique Records) – featuring Leslie Winer, Nathan Vale
  • BJARMI – Christopher Chaplin & Stereo Hypnosis (2019, Fabrique Records)
  • M – Christopher Chaplin (2020, Fabrique Records) – featuring Finley Quaye, Aurelia Thierree, Mira Lu Kovacs
  • Enosh – Christopher Chaplin (2020, Fabrique Records)
  • Jared – Christopher Chaplin (2021, Fabrique Records)

Remixes[edit]

  • "Slippery Forces" – Boz Boorer (2012, Fabrique Records)[35]
  • "Virtue" – Loretta Who (2016, Fabrique Records)

Filmography[edit]

Film performances
Year Title Role Notes
1984 Where Is Parsifal? Ivan
1989 Judith Krantz's Till We Meet Again Jacques Sette
1990 Death of a Schoolboy [de] Trifco
1991 Labyrinth Franz Kafka
1992 Christopher Columbus: The Discovery Rodrigo de Escobedo
1994 La Piste du télégraphe John
1995 Total Eclipse Charles Cros
2001 Far from China Port
2017 Je suis le ténébreux Short Film

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Robinson, David (1989). Chaplin. Sein Leben, seine Kunst. Zürich: Diogenes. p. 685. ISBN 3-257-01806-1.
  2. ^ Catherine Saint-Martin (1987). Charlot/Chaplin, ou, La conscience du mythe (in French). Té.Arte. p. 121. ISBN 978-2-9500717-1-2.
  3. ^ "FABRIQUE RECORDS". Fabrique. Archived from the original on 2 October 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  4. ^ "After Film Events 2013". MMiFF. Archived from the original on 2 October 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  5. ^ Jerry Epstein (1 January 1989). Remembering Charlie: the story of a friendship. Clio Press. p. 339. ISBN 978-1-85089-351-6.
  6. ^ Lynn, Kenneth Schuyler (1997). Charlie Chaplin and His Times. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9780684808512.
  7. ^ "Comic actor Charlie Chaplin holding his week-old son Christopher at..." Getty Images (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  8. ^ "Celebrating 125 years of Charlie Chaplin: The actor-director's life spent off camera". News18. 16 April 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  9. ^ Brian Mills (21 October 2010). 101 Forgotten Films. Oldcastle Books. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-84243-390-4.
  10. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Where Is Parsifal?". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 25 June 2009.
  11. ^ George Batista Da Silva (3 September 2008). Charles Chaplin (in Spanish). Clube de Autores. p. 25. PKEY:90134199.
  12. ^ Roman Schliesser; Leo Moser (2006). Die Supernase: Karl Spiehs und seine Filme (in German). Ueberreuter. p. 177. ISBN 978-3-8000-7228-6.
  13. ^ Variety International Film Guide. Andre Deutsch. 1990. p. 176. ISBN 978-0-233-98613-5.
  14. ^ Filmkunst. 145-148 (in German). Österreichische Gesellschaft für Filmwissenschaft, Kommunikations- und Medienforshung. 1995. p. 54.
  15. ^ Wochenpresse (in German). Vol. 45. Kurier-zeitungsverlag und Druckerei. November 1990. p. 63.
  16. ^ Jessica Winter; Lloyd Hughes; Richard Armstrong (27 September 2007). The Rough Guide to Film. Rough Guides Limited. p. 257. ISBN 978-1-84836-125-6.
  17. ^ "AFI FESTIVAL : A 'Great Day' With Some Great Films". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  18. ^ "CRITICS' PICKS". The Washington Post. 14 June 1992. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  19. ^ John Willis (1 May 1993). Screen World 1992. Hal Leonard. p. 90. ISBN 978-1-55783-135-4.
  20. ^ Luis Trelles Plazaola (1996). Imágenes cambiantes: descubrimiento, conquista y colonización de la América hispana vista por el cine de ficción y largometraje (in Spanish). La Editorial, UPR. p. 145. ISBN 978-0-8477-0244-2.
  21. ^ Christopher Columbus (5 February 2004). The Four Voyages of Christopher Columbus. Penguin Books Limited. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-14-192042-9.
  22. ^ Peter Barratt (21 May 2004). Bahama Saga: The epic story of the Bahama Islands. Author House. p. 90. ISBN 978-1-4107-9830-5.
  23. ^ Willman, David (6 May 1992). "Christopher Columbus Sails Right Past Bankruptcy". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
  24. ^ Claude-Marie Trémois (1997). Les enfants de la liberté: le jeune cinéma français des années 90 (in French). Seuil. p. 35. ISBN 978-2-02-032309-3.
  25. ^ Carrie Tarr; Brigitte Rollet (1 November 2001). Cinema and the Second Sex: Women's Filmmaking in France in the 1980s and 1990s. A&C Black. p. 270. ISBN 978-0-8264-4742-5.
  26. ^ Positif. 407-412 (in French). Nouvelles éditions Opta. 1995. p. 58.
  27. ^ Janis L. Pallister; Ruth A. Hottell (2005). Francophone Women Film Directors: A Guide. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press. p. 151. ISBN 978-0-8386-4046-3.
  28. ^ Jacob Levich (1996). The Motion Picture Guide 1996 Annual: The Films of 1995. CineBooks. p. 307. ISBN 978-0-933997-37-0.
  29. ^ Cinéma Gay - Un siècle d'homosexualité sur grand écran (in French). Editions Publibook. 2006. p. 318. ISBN 978-2-7483-8799-5.
  30. ^ Paolo Mereghetti (2001). Il Mereghetti: dizionario dei film 2002. Baldini & Castoldi. p. 1601. ISBN 978-88-8490-087-6.
  31. ^ "BBC Radio 3 – Late Junction Session – May 2011 – Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Christopher Chaplin". BBC. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  32. ^ "Christopher James Chaplin – Composer". christopherjchaplin.com. Archived from the original on 13 February 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  33. ^ Leo Truchlar (4 July 2013). Lichtmusik: zur Formensprache zeitgenössischer Kunst. LIT Verlag Münster. p. 555. ISBN 978-3-643-50472-2.
  34. ^ "Kava & Christopher Chaplin - Seven Echoes". Archived from the original on 25 June 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  35. ^ "Record Store Day 2014: All 608 exclusive releases revealed!". Official Charts. Retrieved 19 May 2016.

External links[edit]