by David Robinson. Published 1985. This biography, in my opinion, is at the top of the list for everything about Chaplin. It is impeccably researched and written with great intelligence and care that has made it such an important contribution to his story. Happy to say, I have a copy signed by David. And no, I don’t lend it out. The Washington Post, in its review, said, “Likely to stand alone for many years as the definitive life of Chaplin.” So true.

Published 1964. Charlie tells his life story as he lived and remembered it. An astonishing accomplishment by this great artist.

From the introduction: “At two o’clock on Sunday afternoon, the pub closed and its occupants filed outside…before bidding each other adieu; and I would gaze fascinated and amused…When the last had gone his way, it was as though the sun had gone under a cloud. And I would return to a row of old derelict houses that sat back off the Kennington Road, to 3 Pownall Terrace, and mount the rickety stairs that led to our small garret. The house was depressing and the air was foul with stale slop and old clothes.”

From these unhappy beginnings arose Charles Spencer Chaplln.

Perspective on the Life and Art of the Great Comedian.
Published 2006. Edited by Richard Schickel. Contributors include Stanley Kaufmann, Alistair Cooke, James Agee, Graham Greene, Andrew Sarris, and even Winston Churchill. I like the way other accomplished people saw Chaplin. Enlightening.

Edited by Kevin Hayes. Interviews with filmmakers from 1915 to 1967. Published 2005. From the introduction: “One thing that shows clearly from Chaplin’s interviews is his profound belief that whatever film happened to be his latest he considered his best. Despite the personal and political setbacks he suffered, Chaplin, as his interviews make clear, never lost his enthusiasm for the art of filmmaking.”

Discovering Early Hollywood Through the Films of Charlie Chaplin.
With a foreword by Kevin Brownlow. Published 2006

by Glenn Mitchell. Published 1997. I consider this a must-have for anyone interested in Chaplin. It’s been my go-to book whenever I need to get information, A to Z, about any and all aspects of Charlie’s life and films.

Published by NBC Editions Paris in 2005. An exquisite volume of pictures, beautifully printed and arranged. This acknowledgement is important: “It is thanks to the generosity and trust of Kate Guyonvarch that I was able to discover all the wonders of the Chaplin Archive. Without her advice, encouragement and patience, this exhibition and this catalogue would never have happened. This book is dedicated to her.” A final thanks goes to Josephine Chaplin, Charly Sistovaris and the Chaplin family. The book was printed in conjunction with an exhibit of the photographs that took place in Paris, Rotterdam, and Hamburg, 2005-2006.

In collaboration with the Chaplin family and the Cineteca de Bologna. Edited by Paul Duncan. Published 2015. This is a monster of a book, and I mean that in every positive way. It measures 12” x 15” and weighs 15 pounds, with 560 pages.
It’s a coffee table book, if you have a sturdy coffee table. The contents are impeccable - photographs (many previously unpublished), background and production information, insights into the players and personalities, production stills, memos, storyboards, scripts, posters. This is as complete a book on Chaplin and his movies as you’ll find.

by Jeffrey Vance. Published 2003. This is a magnificent 400-page oversize volume of photographs and text, beautifully designed and printed. Jeffrey Vance has done an incredible job of honoring Chaplin with this book. One of my favorites, for both the selection and printing of the photos, and the text that reaches deep into Chaplin’s life and world.

by Simon Louvish. Published 2009
Louvish knows film comedy. He’s written books about W.C. Fields, the Marx Brothers, and Laurel and Hardy. Enough said: the man knows how to write.

by Theodore Huff. Published 1951. This is one of the first books I ever owned about Chaplin and remains one of my favorites, even though it was written over 70 years ago. It covers just about every aspect of Charlie’s life and career. At the time, this was the most complete biography available.

by Jerome Larcher. Originally published, in French, in Paris 2007. Published in English in the U.S. in 2011. A 100-page soft-bound book that was part of a series on filmmakers by Cahiers Du Cinema. A treasure of photographs and text.

by Kevin Brownlow. Published 2005 and 2010
A most unusual book that offers new insights into Chaplin and those around him. Brownlow wrote this in conjunction with his uncovering a wealth of Chaplin material that resulted in a three-part documentary, The Unknown Chaplin.There are no other resources like this one.