Travel
Switzerland
Charlie Chaplin was happy at Corsier-sur-Vevey
Sir Charles Chaplin spent the happiest 25 years of his life at the neoclassical Manoir de Ban in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland. (Photo courtesy Chaplin’s World, Bubbles Incorporated, by C. Recourat)
BY ED BOITANO A warm wind blows across Lake Geneva, which I find both soothing and invigorating. Soon I’m amidst the steeply terraced vineyards in the UNESCO region of Lavaux, the largest contiguous vineyard area in Switzerland. Terrace after terrace of vines surrounds me. It has been said the vineyards in Switzerland’s Lake Geneva region are blessed with three forms of sun: direct sunlight, second-hand sunlight bouncing off Lake Geneva, and the warmth of the sun contained in ancient Roman walls that terrace many of the vineyards. The Romans introduced winegrowing on the shores of Lake Geneva, with Benedictine and Cistercian monks continuing the tradition, dating back to the 11th century. My senses kicked up a notch higher, with magnificent views of the deep blue lake below and the snowcapped Alps in the distance above. Who wouldn’t want to live here? I
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was in the Lake Geneva region to explore its seemingly endless wonders. But the centerpiece of my time would be a journey to the neoclassical mansion Manoir de Ban in Corsier-sur-Vevey and the final resting place of Sir Charles Chaplin and his wife Oona in a nearby simple grave. I once had the pleasure of meeting Chaplin’s middle son, the most gracious Eugene Chaplin. He informed me Manoir de Ban was repurposed as Chaplin’s World by Grévin and expanded as a museum showcasing Chaplin’s work and life as a family man. I was already champing at the bit to see it. Vevey has long been popular for its sublime tranquility, not to mention its position in a nation serving as a tax haven for wealthy expats. This is where Chaplin spent his last 25 years, which were his happiest, according to the Chaplin family. I recall a scratchy home movie, where Oona, his wife of 36 years and daughter of playwright Eugene O’Neill, pushed the elderly wheelchair-bound Chap-
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lin along Vevey’s lakefront path, stopping to gaze at the bronze statue of the diminutive Little Tramp. Despite their differences in age, you could tell they were still happily in love. Upon my arrival at Vevey I, too, gazed admiringly at the Little Tramp statue. Chaplin’s work as a film director and actor had an immense effect on the world, including my life as well. Now I would walk in his tracks, breathe the same fresh air and experience the same enchanting beauty as I reflected on his life.
“All I need to make a comedy is a park, a policeman and a pretty girl” - Charles Chaplin The magical name of Charlie Chaplin is known throughout the far corners of the globe. Just saying “Charlie” or “Charlo” (popular in France and Spain) is bound to elicit a smile. The positive act of smiling is
something for which Chaplin strove, and the world really did smile along with the most famous actor. Despite a horrific childhood right out of Dickens’ bleakest novels, it was his embrace of life that kept him marching onward, taking the world along with him. His situation, according to his authorized biographer, David Robinson, was “the most dramatic of all the rags-to-riches stories ever told.” Charles Spencer Chaplin was born into immense poverty in the slums of Victorian London. His father (who abandoned the family when Charlie was still an infant) was a successful music-hall artist. He died at age 38 from alcoholism when Charlie was 12. His mother, Hannah, was also a professional musical-hall entertainer, whose career was plagued by ill health. She was a loving mother who performed humorous bits for Charlie and his older half-brother, Sydney. Charlie and Sydney’s younger half-brother, Wheeler Dryden, was taken away from Hanwww.LovinLife.com
