Chaplin's started acting at age six, appearing (uncredited) in his father's 1952 film Limelight, and then co-starring alongside him in 1957's A King in New York.
In the mid-1960s Chaplin signed a book contract with British publisher Leslie Frewin to publish his autobiography I Couldn't Smoke The Grass On My Father's Lawn, which was ghostwritten with Tom Merrin and Charles Hamblett.[2][3] This was a teenage hippie-memoir of drugs and rebellion against a world-famous father. Before its release his father filed an injunction to prevent publication, arguing that it would have a detrimental effect on himself and his family.[2][4] The injunction was set aside by judges for the Court of Appeal, who held that Chaplin's contract was binding because he stood to gain from the work's publication, as it launched his writing career.[5]
In addition, Chaplin is the author of a novel, A Fallen God, a modern version of the story of Tristan and Iseult.[6] His last part in a film, which was also his first in 48 years, was in the 2014 short film, The Innovators, where he was the voice of the minister.
Michael Chaplin and his girlfriend Patrice Johns before their wedding (1965)
He was first married to the writer Patrice Johns, with whom he has two sons. He later married Patricia Betaudier, a painter and the daughter of Trinidadian painter Patrick Betaudier. He has five children with her, including actresses Carmen Chaplin and Dolores Chaplin.[7]
In the mid-1960s, Chaplin pursued a brief career as a pop singer in London and the United States, released under the London Records and Columbia Records labels. His most notable release was the single "I Am What I Am".
"I Am What I Am" / "Restless" (1965) – Single released on London Records (US, Catalog No. #9757).[11]
"I Am What I Am" / "Goodbye Stranger" (1966) – Single released on Columbia Records (UK, Catalog No. DB 7935).
"I Am What I Am" / "Restless" (1966) – Single released on London Records (Brazil, Catalog No. 45-9757).
Books
I Couldn't Smoke the Grass on My Father's Lawn (1966), co-written with Tom Merrin and Charles Hamblett. London: Frewin. ISBN 978-0090791503.
A Fallen God. Publisher: The Book Guild Ltd, 2024, ISBN: 978-1915853493
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