 April 16, 2011

122nd Birthday of Charlie Chaplin

 Charlie Chaplin wasn’t just the greatest star of the silent film era; he
also wrote, directed and produced more than 80 movies in a career that
spanned decades and included such masterpieces as The Kid, The
Gold Rush and Modern Times. He scored many of his pictures as well,
and on at least one occasion served as an on-set hairdresser.

Chaplin is also one of my creative heroes. Despite being an art-

obsessed high schooler preemptively bored by anything in black and
white, I borrowed a VHS tape of Chaplin’s work from the library on a
lark. It’s not an exaggeration to say watching it changed my life. I
laughed, I cried—I cried from laughter. For the first time I realized the
power of visual storytelling.

We sometimes tell small stories with Google’s logo, but for Sir Charles
Spencer Chaplin’s 122nd birthday tomorrow, April 16, the Doodle team
created something extra fun. For the next 36 hours the Google
homepage will pay homage to Charlie Chaplin’s creative legacy with our
first-ever live action video doodle.

The simple, silent short film stars the entire Doodle team (with fellow
doodler Mike Dutton sporting that famous mustache, hat and eyeliner)
and was shot on location in Niles, Calif., the setting of several of
Chaplin’s early classics including The Tramp. Niles is also home to our
advisers for this doodle, the ever-helpful Niles Essanay Silent Film
Museum.

True pieces of art, Chaplin’s films still feel fresh today even though
some of them are nearly a century old. We hope that our homage gets
 people talking about his work and the many virtues of silent film.

As a bonus, check out some of these fun behind-the-scenes shots:

Posted by Ryan Germick, Doodler, Writer, Director, Keystone Cop