2:14PM, Jul 03, 2009
2 of 24The Little Tramp had been in a strop with the Hollywood system for years ever since the "talkies" had rendered his knockabout silent routine redundant.
His refusal to accept the technological march of time meant he was out of step and and he had been out of Tinseltown and even America for decades.
However, when the great and the good rose as one at the 1971 awards to give him the standing ovation to end them all, he was almost lost for words (no-one in Hollywood is ever completely lost for words).
They saved his entrance until last - even after the Best Picture award. And when he appeared on stage, the roar only paused long enough for the clearly touched Chaplin to force out a brief speech.
"Words are so futile - so feeble." he said. Moments later Jack Lemmon popped onto the stage and presented Chaplin with a hat and cane. The silent movie star promptly performed his Little Tramp routine, and the applause kicked off all over again.
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