Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977)

Chaplin was Hollywood's greatest comic talent in the first half of the 20th century. 

Chaplin was born into poverty and raised partially in orphanages and work houses. He was of part Romani ancestry, and deep sympathy for the impoverished and the outsider permeates his work.

"Discovered" by Mack Sennett, Chaplin became one of the most recognizable Hollywood stars by 1920.

His key character, "The Little Tramp," endures today. Chaplin's films are (mostly) comedies, and meant to entertain, but they are also deeply serious social commentaries as well.