Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE (16 April 1889 – 25 December 1977) was an English comic actor and filmmaker who rose to fame in the silent film era. Chaplin became a worldwide icon through his screen persona "the Tramp" and is considered one of the most important figures of the film industry. His career spanned more than 75 years, from a child in the Victorian era to close to his death at the age of 88, and encompassed both adulation and controversy.
Chaplin received several awards and recognitions during his lifetime, especially during his later career in the 1960s and the 1970s. In the New Year Honours 1975 Chaplin was appointed as a Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. Chaplin was also awarded honorary Doctor of Letters degrees by the University of Oxford and the University of Durham in 1962. In 1965 he received a joint Erasmus Prize with film director Ingmar Bergman  and in 1971 he was made a Commander of the national order of the Legion of Honour at the Cannes Film Festival in France.