Sir Charlie : Chaplin, the Funniest Man in the World
Author(s): Sid Fleischman
See him? That little tramp twitching a postage stamp of a mustache, politely lifting his bowler hat, and leaning on a bamboo cane with the confidence of a gentleman? A slapstick comedian, he blazed forth as the brightest movie star in the Hollywood heavens.
Everyone knew Charlie—Charlie Chaplin.
When he was five years old he was pulled onstage for the first time, and he didn't step off again for almost three-quarters of a century. Escaping the London slums of his tragic childhood, he took Hollywood like a conquistador with a Cockney accent. With his gift for pantomime in films that had not yet acquired vocal cords, he was soon rubbing elbows with royalty and dining on gold plates in his own Beverly Hills mansion. He was the most famous man on earth—and he was regarded as the funniest.
Still is. . . . He comes to life in these pages. It's an astonishing rags-to-riches saga of an irrepressible kid whose childhood was dealt from the bottom of the deck. Abundantly illustrated.
Review(s):
Praise for The Trouble Begins at 8: “Highly enjoyable . . . No worthier Twain bio will cross a child’s path than this feisty tale.”
“Engaging.”
“Sets a standard few can meet: it is top-notch entertainment.”
Praise for Escape!: “[Fleischman’s] rendering of the great Houdini is full-bodied and fresh, exuberant yet probing, meticulous and, yes, magical.”
“Fleischman does the story of Houdini justice with an accessible, witty, and fascinating ride that is sure to draw in the skeptical and the admiring alike.”
“A feat that’s pure magic.”
“Fleischman’s unabashed adoration for the duck-footed comedian, filmmaker and movie star effervesces from this fascinating, generously illustrated biography.”
“[A] standout portrait.”
“Delightful and informative…this book is as good-looking as it is well written.”
“A book as entertaining as Sir Charlie himself.”
ISBN: 9780061896408