Charlie Chaplin and his new bride, 18 year old Oona O’Neill, make their first public appearance at the Mocambo nightclub in Hollywood, 1943. Oona, the daughter of playwright Eugene O’Neill, married the 54 year old Chaplin earlier that year.

When this photo was taken in 1943, Charlie Chaplin’s marriage to Oona O’Neill was one of the most talked about relationships in Hollywood. The 36 year age difference drew immediate public attention, but the story behind their whirlwind romance added another layer of intrigue. Before meeting Chaplin, Oona had been part of New York’s elite social circle and was briefly engaged to writer J. D. Salinger, who would later become famous for The Catcher in the Rye. At the time of Chaplin and Oona’s courtship, Salinger was serving overseas during World War II. Their relationship faded through letters as the war kept him abroad, and by the time he returned, Oona had already married Chaplin. The couple wed just months after meeting and would remain together for the rest of Chaplin’s life, a rarity in the turbulent world of Hollywood relationships. Despite the controversy surrounding their age difference, Charlie Chaplin and Oona O’Neill remained married for 34 years, until Chaplin’s death in 1977. Together, they had eight children. Oona’s father, Nobel Prize winning playwright Eugene O’Neill, strongly disapproved of the marriage and never spoke to his daughter again. © History Pictures #archaeohistories

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