“Forgotten Hollywood”- Chaplin Museum Set For Switzerland

Posted on May 9, 2014 by raideoman1 | No Comments

Manny P. here…

   Memories of Charlie Chaplin will be remembered above the shores of Lake Geneva, where generations of film lovers will get a chance to be introduced to one of the silver screen’s greatest comic geniuses. Now, after 14 years of planning, Chaplin’s family, investors, and supporters are ready to convert the run-down Manoir de Ban and its property into a museum complex. Three of his children — Michael, Eugene and Victoria — and their business partners in the nearly $69 million project are on track to open the museum early in 2016.

   Chaplin spent his last 25 years on his 35-acre estate along the Swiss Riviera, where he could surround himself with his family (below right), and walk into town, or drive in the countryside, without drawing unwanted attention. He died at the 18th-century Swiss mansion on Christmas Day in 1977. Chaplin and his last wife, Oona Chaplin, the daughter of playwright Eugene O’Neill, lived most of their married life at the Swiss mansion. She also died there, at age 66, in 1991. Eugene Chaplin, who was born at the mansion, lived there until 2008.

ManoirdeBan   800px-Chaplin_family_1961

   The mansion (above), with its verdant lawn and serene view of the lake and the Alps, is stripped bare, and will be refurbished as it was when Chaplin lived there. It has gardens, service buildings, and a pool, and plans call for a large new building with recreated sets from Chaplin’s movies. Nearby Montreux has a huge archive of Chaplin photographs, manuscripts, and other documents from the Victorian-era London of his youth, and from pre-World War II Hollywood, where he found success with his Tramp character.

   A Luxembourg investment firm, Genii Capital, purchased the property in 2008 with the aim of creating the Chaplin museum. The Swiss state of Vaud offered a ten million-franc loan for the repository, which is being developed with corporate help, including French ski resort developer Compagnie des Alpes and Vevey-based food giant Nestle.

   Chaplin came to Switzerland when he was in his 60s, fleeing accusations of being a communist sympathizer during the McCarthy-era witch hunt in the US. In his peaceful new setting, he raised eight children from his last marriage, wrote an autobiography, made films, composed music, and entertained other artists and celebrities.

   This pastoral setting will provide a peaceful legacy for the screen giant.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

This entry was posted on Friday, May 9th, 2014 at 12:17 am and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.


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