Charlie Chaplin - 3.

25/02/2017.

Overview of His Life :

Childhood :

The Younger Brother: W. Dryden

I.
The son of Hannah Chaplin and Leo Dryden, Wheeler Dryden was taken away from his mother as a baby by his father.

He was touring India and the Far East as a vaudeville comedian when he first learned from his father that Charlie Chaplin was his half brother.

After trying for years to contact Charlie, Wheeler finally joined the Chaplin brothers and their mother in the 1920s.

                                                                    **Wheeler Dryden

II.
Though not as gifted as Chaplin, Wheeler was a competent actor who made his career both on stage and on screen.

He became a permanent member of the Chaplin Studios in 1939 when he was appointed assistant director of The Great Dictator.

He was later promoted to associate director for Monsieur Verdoux.

Wheeler also appeared briefly in Limelight, Charlie Chaplin’s last film made in the U.S. He remained in California after Charlie’s departure and died on September 30, 1957, shortly after A King in New York was released in Europe.

**Robert Florey (front left), Wheeler Dryden (back, left of center), Henry Bergman (front center), Rollie Totheroh (back right), and Chaplin (front right) with crew members on the set of Monsieur Verdoux

Next : Charlie Chaplin's Wives -

To be continued ...