Lita Grey (born Lillita Louise MacMurray, April 15, 1908 – December 29, 1995), who was known for most of her life as Lita Grey Chaplin, was an American actress and the second wife of Charlie Chaplin.
She was born in Hollywood, California, to Lillian Carrillo Curry Grey,[1] and christened Lillita Louise MacMurray. Her father was of Scottish descent, and her mother's family was descended from an illustrious ninth-generation Californian Spanish family, whose luminaries included Antonio Maria Lugo.[2] The Lugos were from Andalusia, Spain, and were one of the first families to bring horses to the country.[3][4] In a 1993 interview, Grey claimed to be a grandniece of former California governor Henry Gage.[5]
Grey married four times. By her own account she first met Charlie Chaplin at the age of eight at a Hollywood café, and first worked with him at the age of 12 in the part of the "flirting angel" in The Kid.[5][6] She appeared briefly as a maid in The Idle Class. Her one-year contract was not renewed. At the age of 15, she met Chaplin again when she heard he was testing brunettes for his next film The Gold Rush.[7] She was initially cast as the leading lady in the film, and began an affair with the then-35-year-old Chaplin.
She soon became pregnant, and since Chaplin could have been imprisoned for having sexual relations with a minor, they married that November in secret in Empalme, Sonora, Mexico, to avoid a scandal. She alleged in her divorce complaint that he "sought to have her undergo an illegal operation to prevent the birth of their first child".[8]
The marriage was troubled from the start.[10] The two had few interests in common, and Chaplin spent as much time as he could away from home, working on The Gold Rush, and later, The Circus. They divorced on August 22, 1927,[11][12][13] due to his alleged numerous affairs with other women, and he was ordered to pay over US$600,000 ($9.4 million in 2021 dollars[14]) and US$100,000 ($1.6 million in 2021 dollars[14]) in trust for each child, the largest divorce settlement at the time. Copies of her lengthy divorce complaint, which made scandalous sexual claims against Chaplin, were published, and publicly sold,[15] and the divorce became a sensational media event.[16][17][18][19][20]
She later married Henry Aguirre and Arthur Day. The 1940 United States Census states that Lita and Arthur lived at 38 East 50th Street in New York City, and that in 1935 she had lived in England. The census listed her occupation as "singer", and Arthur's as "manager personal". Lita and Arthur adopted a baby boy in 1940, whom they named Robert. When they split up in 1946, Bobby went to live with his paternal grandmother, and Lita had little contact with him after that.[21] She married her fourth husband, Patsy Pizzolongo (aka Pat Longo), on September 22, 1956, in Los Angeles, California. They were divorced in June 1966.[citation needed]
In the 1970s and 1980s, she worked as a clerk at Robinson's Department Store in Beverly Hills. She wrote two autobiographical volumes covering her life with Chaplin. My Life with Chaplin (1966) was, by her own admission, largely a work of exaggeration and fabrication. She claimed to tell the story as it really was in her second memoir Wife of the Life of the Party (1998).[22] She is portrayed by Deborah Moore in the 1992 film Chaplin, but Grey was depicted on screen for less than a minute in the final film.
Chaplin, Lita (1928). Complaint of the young movie star against her elderly husband. ISBN9781461674320. OCLC 1051461671.
Chaplin, Lita; Cooper, Morton (1966). My life with Chaplin; an intimate memoir. Bernard Geis Associates. OCLC 1304298.
Chaplin, Lita; Vance, Jeffrey (1998). Wife of the Life of the Party. Scarecrow Press. ISBN9780810834323. OCLC 1064282220.
References
^"Lillian Grey, Descendant of Pioneer Family, Dies". Los Angeles Times. May 13, 1985. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
^"Charlie Chaplin Jr". Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Retrieved February 23, 2022. Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (5 May 1925 – 20 March 1968) was an American actor and the son of Charlie Chaplin. Chaplin was born in Beverly Hills, California. His mother was Charlie Chaplin’s second wife, Mexican-American Lita Grey, and he was the elder brother of actor Sydney Chaplin.
^Chaplin, Lita Grey; Vance, Jeffrey (March 5, 1998). Memoirs by Lita Grey Chaplin. ISBN9781461674320. from the original on July 13, 2015. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
^Chaplin, Lita Grey, and Vance, Jeffrey. (1998). Wife of the Life of the Party. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, pg. 2-3; ISBN0-8108-3432-4.
^ abc"Lita Grey Chaplin Interview (1993)". YouTube. July 5, 2018. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
^Chaplin, Lita Grey, and Vance, Jeffrey. (1998). Wife of the Life of the Party. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, pp. 4–13. ISBN0-8108-3432-4.
^CHAPLIN'S WIFE HURLS CHARGES: Grave Accusations Made in Plea for Divorce He is Quoted as Branding Bride "Gold Digger" "Blackmailer" Also Said to be Applied to Her LITA CHAPLIN ASKS DIVORCE Serious Charges Hurled at Actor in Legal Action Prominent Picture Actress Mentioned in Suit Comedian Quoted as Calling Bride "Gold Digger”, Los Angeles Times, January 11, 1927, p. A1.
^"Lita Grey embrujó a uno de los genios del cine, lo esquiló y le dio una vida de perros". La Nación, Grupo Nación.
^"CHAPLIN ATTACKS WIFE'S COMPLAINT; Movie Actor's Attorney Argues That Document Fails to Show the Couple Were Married". The New York Times. February 8, 1927. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
^"SETTLEMENT OUT OF COURT ENDS BATTLE; Cost of Peace Stated Be Over Million For Charles; LITA CHAPLIN GIVEN DECREE; Brief Testimony Was Given in Court by Mrs. Chaplin;". Madera Tribune. California Digital Newspaper Collection. August 22, 1927. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
^"Lita Grey Chaplin Granted Interlocutory Divorce From Charlie". Santa Cruz Evening News. California Digital Newspaper Collection. August 22, 1927. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
^"DIVORCE COSTS FIGURED OUT AFTER DECREE". Santa Cruz Evening News. California Digital Newspaper Collection. August 23, 1927. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
^ ab1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda(PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States(PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved April 16, 2022.
^Complaint of the Young Movie Star Against Her Elderly Husband: (and Famous Film Magnate). Privately Published. 1928. OCLC 1051461671. As a warning to maidens as to what may be expected from union with a rich but much older man, we are publishing this...Being an exact and complete copy of the allegations of one of the youngest wife and mother complainants ever to place on record her grievances against an older husband: of his extraordinary and immoral demands on her before, during and after her becoming a mother: of his public and private allegations against her: altogether the most sensational divorce plea ever made before the superior court of Los Angeles, California (The legal complaint, with details of the star's sexual life, infidelities and proclivities as published here)
^"Bestial Acts Charged in Notorious Divorce Case of Lita Louise vs. Chas. Spencer Chaplin". CharlieChaplinArchive.org. Cineteca di Bologna. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
^Bucktin, Christopher (April 2, 2015). "Charlie Chaplin seduced me when I was just 15 and made revolting sexual demands". Daily Mirror. from the original on August 22, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
^ abShipman, David (January 4, 1996). "OBITUARY: Lita Grey". The Independent. from the original on December 9, 2017. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
^"Chaplin v. Superior Court, 81 Cal.App. 367". casetext.com. February 17, 1927. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
^"District Court of Appeal, Fourth District, California. CHAPLIN v. CHAPLIN. Civ. 1712. Decided: September 16, 1935". Findlaw. September 16, 1935. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
^Grey Chaplin, Lita; Vance, Jeffrey (1998). Wife of the Life of the Party: A Memoir. Scarecrow Press. p. 120.
^Grey Chaplin, Lita; Vance, Jeffrey (1998). Wife of the Life of the Party. Scarecrow Press. p. 306. ISBN9780810834323. from the original on July 4, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
^"Lita Grey Chaplin Actress, 88". The New York Times. December 30, 1995. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
^Folkart, Burt A. (December 30, 1995). "Lita Grey; Married Charlie Chaplin at 16". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
Lita Grey interviewed about her life, 1993 on YouTube (15:00)
Lita Grey at Virtual History
January 07, 2023
lita, grey, born, lillita, louise, macmurray, april, 1908, december, 1995, known, most, life, chaplin, american, actress, second, wife, charlie, chaplin, grey, 1925bornlillita, louise, macmurray, 1908, april, 1908los, angeles, california, dieddecember, 1995, 1. Lita Grey born Lillita Louise MacMurray April 15 1908 December 29 1995 who was known for most of her life as Lita Grey Chaplin was an American actress and the second wife of Charlie Chaplin Lita GreyGrey in 1925BornLillita Louise MacMurray 1908 04 15 April 15 1908Los Angeles California U S DiedDecember 29 1995 1995 12 29 aged 87 Los Angeles California U S Resting placeValhalla Memorial Park CemeteryOccupationsActresssingerSpousesCharlie Chaplin m 1924 div 1927 wbr Henry Aguirre m 1936 div 1938 wbr Arthur Day m 1938 div 1948 wbr Patsy Pizzolongo m 1956 div 1966 wbr Children3 including Charles Chaplin Jr and Sydney Chaplin Contents 1 Background 2 Life and career 3 Death 4 Filmography 5 Bibliography 6 References 7 External linksBackground EditShe was born in Hollywood California to Lillian Carrillo Curry Grey 1 and christened Lillita Louise MacMurray Her father was of Scottish descent and her mother s family was descended from an illustrious ninth generation Californian Spanish family whose luminaries included Antonio Maria Lugo 2 The Lugos were from Andalusia Spain and were one of the first families to bring horses to the country 3 4 In a 1993 interview Grey claimed to be a grandniece of former California governor Henry Gage 5 Life and career EditThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed December 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message Grey married four times By her own account she first met Charlie Chaplin at the age of eight at a Hollywood cafe and first worked with him at the age of 12 in the part of the flirting angel in The Kid 5 6 She appeared briefly as a maid in The Idle Class Her one year contract was not renewed At the age of 15 she met Chaplin again when she heard he was testing brunettes for his next film The Gold Rush 7 She was initially cast as the leading lady in the film and began an affair with the then 35 year old Chaplin She soon became pregnant and since Chaplin could have been imprisoned for having sexual relations with a minor they married that November in secret in Empalme Sonora Mexico to avoid a scandal She alleged in her divorce complaint that he sought to have her undergo an illegal operation to prevent the birth of their first child 8 They had two sons Charles Chaplin Jr and Sydney Chaplin born within ten months of each other in May 1925 and March 1926 respectively 9 5 Grey in The Kid 1921 The marriage was troubled from the start 10 The two had few interests in common and Chaplin spent as much time as he could away from home working on The Gold Rush and later The Circus They divorced on August 22 1927 11 12 13 due to his alleged numerous affairs with other women and he was ordered to pay over US 600 000 9 4 million in 2021 dollars 14 and US 100 000 1 6 million in 2021 dollars 14 in trust for each child the largest divorce settlement at the time Copies of her lengthy divorce complaint which made scandalous sexual claims against Chaplin were published and publicly sold 15 and the divorce became a sensational media event 16 17 18 19 20 She later married Henry Aguirre and Arthur Day The 1940 United States Census states that Lita and Arthur lived at 38 East 50th Street in New York City and that in 1935 she had lived in England The census listed her occupation as singer and Arthur s as manager personal Lita and Arthur adopted a baby boy in 1940 whom they named Robert When they split up in 1946 Bobby went to live with his paternal grandmother and Lita had little contact with him after that 21 She married her fourth husband Patsy Pizzolongo aka Pat Longo on September 22 1956 in Los Angeles California They were divorced in June 1966 citation needed In the 1970s and 1980s she worked as a clerk at Robinson s Department Store in Beverly Hills She wrote two autobiographical volumes covering her life with Chaplin My Life with Chaplin 1966 was by her own admission largely a work of exaggeration and fabrication She claimed to tell the story as it really was in her second memoir Wife of the Life of the Party 1998 22 She is portrayed by Deborah Moore in the 1992 film Chaplin but Grey was depicted on screen for less than a minute in the final film Death EditShe died of cancer on December 29 1995 in Los Angeles aged 87 and was buried in Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery in North Hollywood California 18 23 24 Filmography EditYear Title Role Note1921 The Kid Flirtatious Angel UncreditedThe Idle Class Maid Uncredited1925 The Gold Rush Extra Uncredited1933 Seasoned Greetings Store Owner ShortMr Broadway Lita Grey1949 The Devil s Sleep Judge Rosalind Ballentine1953 This Is Your Life Herself Television one episode1979 The Hollywood Greats Herself Television one episode1983 Unknown Chaplin Herself Television filmBibliography EditChaplin Lita 1928 Complaint of the young movie star against her elderly husband ISBN 9781461674320 OCLC 1051461671 Chaplin Lita Cooper Morton 1966 My life with Chaplin an intimate memoir Bernard Geis Associates OCLC 1304298 Chaplin Lita Vance Jeffrey 1998 Wife of the Life of the Party Scarecrow Press ISBN 9780810834323 OCLC 1064282220 References Edit Lillian Grey Descendant of Pioneer Family Dies Los Angeles Times May 13 1985 Retrieved February 23 2022 Charlie Chaplin Jr Hollywood Forever Cemetery Retrieved February 23 2022 Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr 5 May 1925 20 March 1968 was an American actor and the son of Charlie Chaplin Chaplin was born in Beverly Hills California His mother was Charlie Chaplin s second wife Mexican American Lita Grey and he was the elder brother of actor Sydney Chaplin Chaplin Lita Grey Vance Jeffrey March 5 1998 Memoirs by Lita Grey Chaplin ISBN 9781461674320 Archived from the original on July 13 2015 Retrieved July 11 2015 Chaplin Lita Grey and Vance Jeffrey 1998 Wife of the Life of the Party Lanham MD Scarecrow Press pg 2 3 ISBN 0 8108 3432 4 a b c Lita Grey Chaplin Interview 1993 YouTube July 5 2018 Retrieved January 28 2022 The Gold Rush http www charliechaplin com Archived February 7 2015 at the Wayback Machine Charlie Chaplin The Official Website Retrieved September 17 2014 Chaplin Lita Grey and Vance Jeffrey 1998 Wife of the Life of the Party Lanham MD Scarecrow Press pp 4 13 ISBN 0 8108 3432 4 CHAPLIN S WIFE HURLS CHARGES Grave Accusations Made in Plea for Divorce He is Quoted as Branding Bride Gold Digger Blackmailer Also Said to be Applied to Her LITA CHAPLIN ASKS DIVORCE Serious Charges Hurled at Actor in Legal Action Prominent Picture Actress Mentioned in Suit Comedian Quoted as Calling Bride Gold Digger Los Angeles Times January 11 1927 p A1 Lita Grey embrujo a uno de los genios del cine lo esquilo y le dio una vida de perros La Nacion Grupo Nacion CHAPLIN ATTACKS WIFE S COMPLAINT Movie Actor s Attorney Argues That Document Fails to Show the Couple Were Married The New York Times February 8 1927 Retrieved February 23 2022 SETTLEMENT OUT OF COURT ENDS BATTLE Cost of Peace Stated Be Over Million For Charles LITA CHAPLIN GIVEN DECREE Brief Testimony Was Given in Court by Mrs Chaplin Madera Tribune California Digital Newspaper Collection August 22 1927 Retrieved February 23 2022 Lita Grey Chaplin Granted Interlocutory Divorce From Charlie Santa Cruz Evening News California Digital Newspaper Collection August 22 1927 Retrieved February 23 2022 DIVORCE COSTS FIGURED OUT AFTER DECREE Santa Cruz Evening News California Digital Newspaper Collection August 23 1927 Retrieved February 23 2022 a b 1634 1699 McCusker J J 1997 How Much Is That in Real Money A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States Addenda et Corrigenda PDF American Antiquarian Society 1700 1799 McCusker J J 1992 How Much Is That in Real Money A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States PDF American Antiquarian Society 1800 present Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Consumer Price Index estimate 1800 Retrieved April 16 2022 Complaint of the Young Movie Star Against Her Elderly Husband and Famous Film Magnate Privately Published 1928 OCLC 1051461671 As a warning to maidens as to what may be expected from union with a rich but much older man we are publishing this Being an exact and complete copy of the allegations of one of the youngest wife and mother complainants ever to place on record her grievances against an older husband of his extraordinary and immoral demands on her before during and after her becoming a mother of his public and private allegations against her altogether the most sensational divorce plea ever made before the superior court of Los Angeles California The legal complaint with details of the star s sexual life infidelities and proclivities as published here Bestial Acts Charged in Notorious Divorce Case of Lita Louise vs Chas Spencer Chaplin CharlieChaplinArchive org Cineteca di Bologna Retrieved February 23 2022 Bucktin Christopher April 2 2015 Charlie Chaplin seduced me when I was just 15 and made revolting sexual demands Daily Mirror Archived from the original on August 22 2018 Retrieved March 16 2019 a b Shipman David January 4 1996 OBITUARY Lita Grey The Independent Archived from the original on December 9 2017 Retrieved March 16 2019 Chaplin v Superior Court 81 Cal App 367 casetext com February 17 1927 Retrieved February 23 2022 District Court of Appeal Fourth District California CHAPLIN v CHAPLIN Civ 1712 Decided September 16 1935 Findlaw September 16 1935 Retrieved February 23 2022 Grey Chaplin Lita Vance Jeffrey 1998 Wife of the Life of the Party A Memoir Scarecrow Press p 120 Grey Chaplin Lita Vance Jeffrey 1998 Wife of the Life of the Party Scarecrow Press p 306 ISBN 9780810834323 Archived from the original on July 4 2014 Retrieved October 4 2016 Lita Grey Chaplin Actress 88 The New York Times December 30 1995 Retrieved February 23 2022 Folkart Burt A December 30 1995 Lita Grey Married Charlie Chaplin at 16 Los Angeles Times Retrieved February 23 2022 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lita Grey Lita Grey at IMDb Lita Grey interviewed about her life 1993 on YouTube 15 00 Lita Grey at Virtual History Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lita Grey amp oldid 1124087329, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
