Statue of Charlie Chaplin, London
| Statue of Charlie Chaplin | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Year | 1981 |
| Location | United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°30′41″N0°07′50″W/ 51.511415°N 0.130426°W |
| ||
|---|---|---|
|
|
||
Thestatue ofCharlie ChaplininLeicester Square,London,is a work of 1979 by the sculptorJohn Doubleday.It portrays the actor, comedian and filmmaker in his best-known role, asThe Tramp.
A memorial to Chaplin in the city of his birth was proposed on 25 December 1977, soon after Chaplin's death, byIlltyd Harrington,the leader of the opposition in theGreater London Council.Initial plans for a memorial in theElephant and Castle,inSouth Londonwhere Chaplin spent his early years, were dropped and instead Leicester Square, at the centre of London's entertainment district, became the preferred location for the work.[1]
The bronze statue was first unveiled on 16 April 1981 (the 92nd anniversary of Chaplin's birth) at its original site, on the southwestern corner of the square, by the actor SirRalph Richardson.An inscription on the plinth readTHE COMIC GENIUS/ WHO GAVE PLEASURE/ TO SO MANY.The following year a slightly modified version was erected in the Swiss town ofVevey,which had been Chaplin's home from 1952 until his death. Following a refurbishment of Leicester Square in 1989–1992, the statue was moved to a site north of thestatue of William Shakespeare,the square's centrepiece.[1]
In a later refurbishment of 2010–2012, Chaplin's statue was removed altogether, together with busts ofWilliam Hogarth,John Hunter,SirIsaac Newtonand SirJoshua Reynolds.[2]The statue was installed in a nearby street, Leicester Place, in 2013.[3]This was in order to prevent damage to the sculpture during improvement works. In 2016 it returned to Leicester Square and was re-unveiled on Chaplin's birthday.[4]
-
The statue in its original location in the 1980s -
The statue's second location in Leicester Square, in 2008, with theSwiss Centrebehind -
The statue in Leicester Place in 2014
See also
[edit]- Scenes in the Square,a sculptural trail with a cinematic theme installed in Leicester Square in 2020
References
[edit]- ^abWard-Jackson, Philip (2011),Public Sculpture of Historic Westminster: Volume 1,Public Sculpture of Britain, vol. 14, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, pp. 118–19,ISBN978-1-84631-691-3
- ^Howie, Michael (1 June 2012),"Leicester Square or bust... historians demand the return of famous Britons",London Evening Standard,retrieved22 September2014
- ^Statue of Charlie Chaplin returns to Leicester Square,Spotlight, 1 October 2013, archived fromthe originalon 26 July 2014,retrieved19 July2014
- ^Westminster City Council to unveil statue to film icon Charlie Chaplin in Leicester Square,Westminster City Council, 15 April 2016, archived fromthe originalon 28 April 2016,retrieved23 April2016
External links
[edit]
Media related toStatue of Charlie Chaplin, Londonat Wikimedia Commons
