Sydney Chaplin
(March 16, 1885 – April 16, 1965)
Today marks the 121st birthday of Sydney (or Sidney) Chaplin.
If remembered at all today, Syd is best remembered for being Charlie’s older brother. He is also often described as “Jewish.” Well, in both cases he was only half, but in general these are correct descriptions. He was also the half brother of Wheeler Dryden, a wonderful Canadian-raised character actor (Limelight, 1957). He also earned the love and admiration from Chaplin fans worldwide for not only partially raising little Charlie, who loved him dearly, but also for getting his brother into show business in the first place.
However, Syd Chaplin should be remembered for more than his familial connections. In fact, Syd Chaplin had a prosperous career of his own on the English music hall stage, as well as in several well-received tours of North America. Further, when he moved to Hollywood in 1915, he attained some impressive success as a silent film comedian. His solo flicks included A Better ‘Ole (1926), Charley’s Aunt (1925) and the Gussle comedy shorts series (1915) for Keystone.
Still, whatever is positive about Syd’s solo career, the most wonderful way to see him on film is working with his little brother. Actually, “Syd Spotting” has become something of a game with us at my house. He crops up in some strange places in the Chaplin shorts. For example, that is him as the lunch-wagon manager in A Dog’s Life (1918), and as the father of the bratty monster in The Pilgrim (1923). And that is also him as the Tramp’s heroic best mate in Shoulder Arms (1918) – in which he also appears as the Kaiser himself! It seems he made a pretty good Kaiser, because that’s him reprising the role in The Bond (1918).
There is magic when Syd and Charlie worked together. The sleight of hand reaches such a level of skill in A Dog’s Life that we ache from laughing at it. And the camaraderie between the two in Shoulder Arms can only serve to make you smile.
Syd never made it big in the talkies. The closest he came was a mono picture (score only) for Warner Brothers in 1927. When the sound revolution swept Hollywood, Syd was happy to return to his first job: looking after Charlie. He was a co-manager at Chaplin Studios until after World War II, even if he did this for some years from Europe. It was a wise move on Charlie’s part to engage him at the studios. He knew how shrewd his brother could be. After all, it had been Syd who had negotiated Charlie’s famous (and historical) million dollar contract!
Syd retired to Nice after the war, and enjoyed a close relationship with his little brother when he moved to Switzerland in 1952. He died on Charlie’s birthday in 1965, at the age of 80, with his wife, Gypsy, by his side.
The Chaplin brothers had a bond forged by a life of poverty and strengthened by the horror of their mother’s mental illness. There was love, respect and mutual dependence between them for as long as they both lived. It may not be fair that Syd is always remembered as “Charlie Chaplin’s brother” (it has a certain irony, because Charlie grew up, and entered comedy, as “Syd Chaplin’s little brother”), but, frankly, I am not sure that Syd would mind.
He knew Charlie was the more talented of the two. And he was perfectly happy taking his credit as the more financially wise one.
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