#1
Posted: 3/6/09 at 4:03am
From the Associated Press:
Charlie Chaplin's actor-son Sydney Chaplin dies
by Bob Thomas
Sydney Chaplin, Charlie Chaplin's son and himself a Tony-winning actor who starred on Broadway opposite Judy Holliday in "Bells Are Ringing" and Barbra Streisand in "Funny Girl," has died at 82.
Chaplin died Tuesday at his home in Rancho Mirage, longtime family friend Jerry Bodie told The Associated Press on Thursday. He said Chaplin had recently suffered a stroke.
He won his Tony for "Bells Are Ringing," the 1956 Betty Comden and Adolph Green musical about a telephone answering service operator (Holliday) who falls in love with a customer (Chaplin). New York Herald Tribune critic Walter Kerr wrote that the actor "doubles the evening's warmth by the simple expedient of believing in its love story."
His best-remembered show, though, was the 1964 smash "Funny Girl" as Nicky Arnstein, the gambler who woos Streisand in her star-making role as Fanny Brice. The New York Times called him "a tall, elegant figure as Nick, gallant in courting and doing his best when he must be noble."
The show brought him another Tony nomination, but he departed in June 1965, citing unspecified differences with producer Ray Stark. When it came time to make the movie, Omar Sharif, a major heartthrob following his roles in "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Doctor Zhivago," was cast opposite Streisand.
Chaplin - also bypassed in the film version of "Bells Are Ringing" (for Dean Martin) - said he wasn't disappointed.
"I never had the burning desire for recognition and respect that had driven my father," he explained.
He starred in another Comden-Green musical, 1961's "Subways Are for Sleeping."
He was the second son born to Charlie Chaplin's second wife, Lita Grey. The other son, Charles Chaplin Jr., died in 1968.
Sydney Chaplin's survivors include his wife, Margaret, and a son, Stephan Chaplin.
Charlie Chaplin's actor-son Sydney Chaplin dies
by Bob Thomas
Sydney Chaplin, Charlie Chaplin's son and himself a Tony-winning actor who starred on Broadway opposite Judy Holliday in "Bells Are Ringing" and Barbra Streisand in "Funny Girl," has died at 82.
Chaplin died Tuesday at his home in Rancho Mirage, longtime family friend Jerry Bodie told The Associated Press on Thursday. He said Chaplin had recently suffered a stroke.
He won his Tony for "Bells Are Ringing," the 1956 Betty Comden and Adolph Green musical about a telephone answering service operator (Holliday) who falls in love with a customer (Chaplin). New York Herald Tribune critic Walter Kerr wrote that the actor "doubles the evening's warmth by the simple expedient of believing in its love story."
His best-remembered show, though, was the 1964 smash "Funny Girl" as Nicky Arnstein, the gambler who woos Streisand in her star-making role as Fanny Brice. The New York Times called him "a tall, elegant figure as Nick, gallant in courting and doing his best when he must be noble."
The show brought him another Tony nomination, but he departed in June 1965, citing unspecified differences with producer Ray Stark. When it came time to make the movie, Omar Sharif, a major heartthrob following his roles in "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Doctor Zhivago," was cast opposite Streisand.
Chaplin - also bypassed in the film version of "Bells Are Ringing" (for Dean Martin) - said he wasn't disappointed.
"I never had the burning desire for recognition and respect that had driven my father," he explained.
He starred in another Comden-Green musical, 1961's "Subways Are for Sleeping."
He was the second son born to Charlie Chaplin's second wife, Lita Grey. The other son, Charles Chaplin Jr., died in 1968.
Sydney Chaplin's survivors include his wife, Margaret, and a son, Stephan Chaplin.
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