Data Department

by David Fisher

A few months ago there was a documentary on TV about Charlie Chaplin (chart 1) and Adolf Hitler (chart 2), born only four days apart. Surely Hitler must have realised from a very early stage in his career that he resembled Chaplin's "tramp" character with that silly moustache. (Nowadays he would be persuaded by a PRO or "spin doctor" to shave it off.) Their respective careers did not cross until World War II when Chaplin made his classic film The Great Dictator in which he played both the dictator Adenoid Hynkel and a Jewish barber - he was said to be half Jewish himself. Just as Hitler had absolute control over Germany, so Chaplin exercised a similar control over his films; he would do the writing, the producing and the directing. Nevertheless, The Great Dictator is a brilliant and timely indictment on the stupidity of totalitarian regimes,although the film is spoiled by the over sentimental plea for peace at the end.

Charles Chaplin 16 April 1889; Walworth, London (51N29, 0W05); 8 pm (20:00) GMT. The first words in My Autobiography (1964), "I was born on 16 April 1889 at eight o'clock at night, in East Lane, Walworth.

Adolf Hitler 20 April 1889; Brannau, Austria (48N15 13E02); 6:30 pm LMT (17:38 GMT) Birth certificate.

The much loved singer and actor Adam Faith died on 8 March 2003 at the age of 62. Although he will be best remembered as one of Britain's top pop idols of the 1960's, he was a singer by default, because acting was his real ambition. Between 1959 and 1964 he had 22 hit records but went the Beatles came along his singing career began to slide. He began acting in modest theatre productions and by the 1970's was enjoying success as small time crook Budgie on TV. His acting appeared to improve with age, for example with Zoe Wanamaker in the TV series Love Hurts. Later he managed people such as Leo Sayer and helped Lonnie Donegan relaunch his career, but later on he was duped by a fraudster, and the digital TV station he helped set up, The Money Channel,collapsed and he went bankrupt. Before he died he was looking forward to resurrecting his singing career.

AdamFaith (real name Terence Nelhams) 23 June 1940, time not known Daily Express 10 March 2003

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