Chaplin Wanted to be Taken Seriously: In 1921 he Played a Tragic Roll on the London Stage

The world has seen it many times before: the well-loved, widely accepted comedian who decides that being adored by the masses is simply not enough. For too many comic talents, sadly, there comes a time when they slip on one banana peel too many and it occurs to them that they want the world to appreciate them for their ability to think. Comics who fill this description might be Al Frankin, Woody Allen or Steve Martin. This article tries to understand why Chaplin wanted to play a tragic part in a 1921 London stage adaptation of William Thackeray’s Vanity Fair.
We have seen such behavior in comics many times before, they hadn’t.