Charlie Chaplin was, and nonetheless is, one of the vital well-known actors and filmmakers of the early, silent period of filmmaking. Over the course of dozens of beloved quick movies and a number of basic options — like “The Gold Rush,” “Metropolis Lights,” “Trendy Occasions,” and “The Nice Dictator” — he gave audiences unforgettable comedy sequences, just like the dancing bread rolls, death-defying curler skates, and a vicious parody of Adolf Hitler enjoying with a globe like a balloon.

He spent his best years making films in America, however he was denied entry again into the nation as a result of, on the top of the “Purple Scare,” he was declared a communist sympathizer. So he wound up dwelling in Switzerland till he died on December 25, 1977.

Simply two months later, Charlie Chaplin’s corpse was stolen, and the thieves demanded $600,000 for the return of his physique. (That might be almost $2.8 million at the moment, adjusted for inflation.) Oona Chaplin, the filmmaker’s widow, refused to play ball and an investigation finally revealed that the culprits have been Roman Vardas and Gantscho Ganev, who had deliberate to make use of the cash to start out their very own auto mechanic enterprise. They have been despatched to jail and Charlie Chaplin’s physique was present in a cornfield, not removed from the Chaplin household house.

And in case anybody’s getting any concepts, Charlie Chaplin was re-buried — with concrete this time — to forestall any future copycats.

However that did not cease grave robbers from plundering different movie star tombs!