Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin at the premiere of Chaplin's "City Lights" movie

Albert Einstein and Charlie Chaplin at the premiere of Chaplin's "City Lights" movie

A historical photograph showing Albert Einstein and renowned film actor Charlie Chaplin entering together at the premiere of the screening of Chaplin's "City Lights" movie. The photo shows the excited Chaplin leading Einstein and his wife (standing right) as guests of honor at that famous event, which Einstein's biographer called: "one of the most memorable scenes in the celebrity era". Described on the back in handwriting: "With Charlie Chaplin 1931". California, January 20, 1931.

Einstein first met film actor Charlie Chaplin on the famous physicist's second trip to America, in 1930-31, when he was invited to lecture at the California Institute of Technology. Einstein was then at the height of his fame, when newspapers followed his every move and academics engaged and examined in depth his theories. Einstein was an avid film buff, and the encounter with Chaplin interested him more than the encounters with those physicists who sought his closeness. That December, Einstein arrived in America. He first spent a few days in New York where he was awarded the City Key Award before he got to California. In California, Carl Lamal, Universal Studios CEO of Hollywood, invited him to watch "All Quiet", Einstein took the opportunity and asked him to arrange a meeting with Chaplin. Lamel called Chaplin who was happy to meet the great scientist. The first meeting between Einstein and the comedy star took place at Universal Studios, where the couple took a tour and had lunch together, it was a fascinating meeting for the two stars each in his field. Chaplin wrote later in his autobiography about his impression of that meeting with Einstein: "He looked typical German in the most positive sense, cheerful and friendly. And although his character was calm and gentle, I felt he hid a most emotional temperament, and from this came his extraordinary intellectual energy." According to the same autobiography of Chaplin, during that visit Einstein's wife Elsa, took over the meeting, and invited herself and her husband to Chaplin's home. Einstein stayed at Chaplin's home for two weeks. And Chaplin added that Elsa Einstein told at the time that the "general relativity" of Einstein was conceived by him somewhere in 1915, while playing the piano, occasionally stopping his playing and taking notes, after two weeks handing her the paper with the conclusions of the theory and said "this is it."

Chaplin and Einstein kept in touch after that successful meeting. The actor invited Einstein to attend his next premiere, of the film "City Lights" (1931), as his special guest. When the genius and actor entered dressed in the same clothes with identical black bow ties (as can be seen in the photo), a line of photographers stood up to take a picture, and the crowd cheered for the two in droves. As is well known, when the crowds cheered for the couple, Einstein was embarrassed, and Chaplin explained, "They cheer for both of us, for you, because no one understands you, and for me because everyone understands me."

23.5x17 cm. Glued to the photographer's cardboard substrate: 31x25 cm. Good - very good condition.