An actor and motion picture pioneer who made millions laugh, Sir Charles Spenser Chaplin (1889-1977) was born on this day in London.

He said, "Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot."

Raised in poverty, Chaplin chose performing as a way to escape the harsh realities of the slum he lived in. "All I need to make a comedy is a park, a policeman and a pretty girl," he once said.

Chaplin joined Mack Sennett's Keystone Film Company, then won international fame with his portrayal of The Little Tramp (1915). The Tramp, with cane, hat and trousers, was a tragic, but memorable figure. Naively full of impossible aspirations, defiantly, he triumphed. With originality and carefully choreographed timing, he made people laugh.

Chaplin described his beloved mustachioed character as: "A tramp, a gentleman, a poet, a dreamer, a lonely fellow, always hopeful of romance and adventure."

In 1919, the disciplined actor founded the United Artists Corporation (UA) with fellow silent-screen star Mary Pickford. With a career of over 50 years, Chaplin was a perfectionist and genius at pantomime; a writer, director, composer, choreographer, and producer. His 81 films included the timeless classics City Lights (1931) and Modern Times (1936).

"You have to believe in yourself, that's the secret," he explained. "Even when I was in the orphanage, when I was roaming the street trying to find enough to eat, even then I thought of myself as the greatest actor in the world."

Laughter IS the surcease for pain.