Charlie Chaplin Body Stolen and Ransomed, Just three months after his death, Charlie Chaplin’s body was stolen on Christmas day in 1977, by two mechanics. They thought they could get money from his family in exchange for his body. However, the two grave robbers were captured and eleven weeks later and Chaplin’s body was recovered. To stop this from happening again, Chaplin was buried under 6 feet of concrete the second time around.
The coffin containing the body of the legendary silent comedian was taken from a field a mile away from his home in Corsier, near Lausanne, Switzerland, on March 1, 1978.
One of the most bizarre thefts in Hollywood history took place on this day 35 years ago, when Charlie Chaplin’s grave was dug up and his coffin stolen.
The coffin containing the body of the legendary silent comedian was taken from a field a mile away from his home in Corsier, near Lausanne, Switzerland, on March 1, 1978.
The iconic actor died on Christmas Day 1977, aged 88, and was buried two days later in the hills above Lake Geneva.
After the theft, Chaplin’s family received ransom demands of £400,000 for return of the body.
Chaplin’s widow, Lady Oona Chaplin, 51, refused to pay the demands, saying: “Charlie would have thought it ridiculous.”
The kidnappers also threatened to hurt her two young children in further ransom phone calls.
Chaplin’s family kept quiet about the ransom calls, leading to rumours that the coffin had been dug up because Chaplin was a Jew buried in a gentile cemetery.
Swiss police eventually arrested two men – a 38-year-old Bulgarian and a 24-year-old Pole – who were charged with attempted extortion and disturbing the peace of the dead.
Police said the two men confessed to stealing the coffin and reburying it – it was found ten miles away on May 17.
Police didn’t release the names of the men, but said they were both motor mechanics.
The footage above, from 1915, shows Chaplin at his best in the silent film, ‘The Champion’.
After the theft was solved, a spokesperson for the Chaplins said: “The family is very happy and relieved that this ordeal is over.”
Posts
